Good news for Spanish gastronomy, which this year has managed to sneak a total of 42 restaurants into the new European ranking of Opinionated About Dining (OAD), becoming the country with the most representation in this gastronomic guide, followed by Italy (21), United Kingdom (17), Denmark (16) and France (15).
Promoted 10 years ago by the maverick foodie Steve Plotnicki and with more than 6,000 voters throughout the world, the OAD guide has chosen Madrid on this occasion to present its 2023 edition. The new list has been unveiled this afternoon at the Taller de Bombas del restaurante Since 1911, during a gala attended by some of the most important chefs on the national scene and for whom Eneko Atxa, Paco Morales, Hugo Muñoz, Massimiliano Delle Vedove, Nacho Manzano, Quique Dacosta, Diego Murciego, have cooked. Rafael Zafra and Alberto Aguado.
For the second time in a row, the Danish Alchemist, by Rasmus Munk in Copenhagen, heads the European OAD ranking again, a restaurant that in recent times has given much to talk about for trying to push its diners to the limit by offering a most transgressive gastronomic experience . It is followed in second place by the Swedish Frantzén, from chef Björn Frantzén in Stockholm, and Asador Etxebarri, from Bittor Arguinzoniz in Axpe (Vizcaya), is again third (it has been in this position since 2018).
In fourth and fifth place there are also Spanish restaurants: Bagá, by Pedro Sánchez in Jaén (which has climbed one position), and Madrid’s Desde 1911, respectively. The latter has also won the Highest Climber award (highest climb of the year), since he has managed to climb 59 positions at once (in 2022 he was number 64).
The Spaniards Diverxo (15), Disfrutar (18), Azurmendi (20), El Celler de Can Roca (27), Ca l’Enric (29), Els Casals (30), also occupy a position in the new OAD list. Casa Marcial (32), MartÃn Berasategui (40), Noor (42), Cocina Hermanos Torres (43), Alkimia (44), Restaurante Iván Cerdeño (47), Enigma Concept (53), Aponiente (57), Estimar Madrid ( 62), Arzak (71), BonAmb (75), Mugaritz (76), Estimar (77), Amelia (79), Lasarte (80), El Poblet (81), Dos Pebrots (88), Smoked Room (90) , Al Kostat (95), L’Escaleta (98), Deesa (99), La Tasquita de Enfrente (120), Bardal (112), Ãbacus (114), El Pescadors (115), Moments (124), El Campero (125), Skina (144), Nerua (146) and Can Jubany (147).
Bardal, from Malaga by chef Benito Bardal in Ronda, and Kaleja, by Dani Carnero in Malaga, have entered the European OAD list for the first time. Last year they were on the Highly Recommended list and this 2023 they have managed to rise to the position 112 and 130 of the Top150, respectively. The restaurant of the Oba-Hotel, by the very young Cañitas-Maite in Casas Ibáñez (Albacete), has also been directly incorporated into the list, specifically at position 149.
They do not appear in the Top150, but another 70 Spanish restaurants do appear among the Highly Recommended (HR) and Recommended (R) restaurants, including AÃœRT (Barcelona), Tohqa (El Puerto de Santa MarÃa , Cádiz), Akelarre (San Sebastián) mbivium (Peñafiel, Valladolid), Sollo (Fuengirola, Málaga) or Coque (Madrid).
In addition, Spanish gastronomy was also the big winner in the list of the best casual restaurants in Europe for 2023 that OAD released last week. If Mannix in Campaspero (Valladolid) was proclaimed number 1, Elkano in Getaria (Guipúzcoa) was second, followed by Los Marinos José in Fuengirola (Málaga), in third place, D’Berto in O Grove (Pontevedra) and Güeyu Mar (Ribadesella, Asturias) in the fourth.
“Michelin or The World’s 50 Best Restaurants are too local or stagnant for my taste, they have no movement,” Plotnicki once explained to La Vanguardia, assuring that one of OAD’s strengths is that voters move and their lists do not They are made by the people of the country. “It is not the same view of a Spaniard on the cuisine and restaurants of Spain as that of a Japanese, for example. That makes the difference.”
For this reason, its ranking not only presents a single list, but several. The 100 best restaurants in Asia, the United States, Europe, the 100 best Casual Gourmet, the 100 classics, those with the best product… OAD tries to cover a wide range of possibilities to offer all kinds of options when choosing.
“I usually find voters on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. If I find someone I’m interested in, I follow them and, normally, when they follow me back three days later, I send them an invitation. If I invite them before following them, they usually say no,” explained Plotnicki.
