From L'Estimat to El Poblet: Valencia's Michelin Stars and the Perfect Paella

Valencia: the city that invented paella — and much more

Valencia is world-famous for paella. What few know is that it also has two restaurants with two Michelin stars each, a rice tradition no other city in the world can match, and restaurants that rank among Spain's best with almost no publicity outside the Valencian community.

L'Estimat: Rice and Paella Facing the Grao

L'Estimat is where Valencia eats paella when it wants to eat well. Facing the Grao port, with decades of history, L'Estimat is the city's first rice reference. No protocol, no pretension, just extraordinary produce and technique inherited through generations. The arrós a banda, seafood paella and black rice are the defining dishes.

Ricard Camarena: Two Stars, Valencian Avant-garde

Ricard Camarena Restaurant is the temple of Valencian haute cuisine. Two Michelin stars, 50 Best nominated, with a philosophy that places local Valencian produce as the absolute protagonist of technically excellent cuisine. Camarena's tasting menus are among Spain's most exciting.

Riff: One Star, Technique and Creativity

Riff is the restaurant that surprises those who don't know it. One Michelin star, technical and creative cuisine at a high level and a more accessible atmosphere than Camarena without losing gastronomic rigour. Chef Bernd Knöller has spent decades building a proposal combining Valencian tradition with Central European techniques.

El Poblet: Quique Dacosta in Central Valencia

El Poblet bears the signature of Quique Dacosta, the three-Michelin-star chef from Dénia who has established in Valencia with a more urban but equally demanding offering. If Ricard Camarena is the avant-garde of the kitchen garden, El Poblet is the avant-garde of the sea.