Sustainable gastronomy makes headway in the new Michelin Guide Spain and Portugal 2023

One of the most awaited gourmet guides of the year launched in Spain and Portugal.

Restaurants Atrio and Cocina Hermanos Torres ascend to the pinnacle of gastronomy with Three MICHELIN Stars. 3 new restaurants move up to the Two MICHELIN Star category, while 34 others earn One MICHELIN Star (29 in Spain and 5 in Portugal).

In the ancient city of Toledo, Michelin unveiled the restaurant selection of the MICHELIN Guide Spain and Portugal 2023. This edition, brimful of new surprises, includes 2 restaurants which receive the highest Three MICHELIN Star distinction, while 3 others rise to the Two Star category and 34 earn One MICHELIN Star. Moreover, the MICHELIN inspectors added 38 new Bib Gourmand restaurants to the selection, as well as 14 MICHELIN Green Stars.

Faithful to its commitment, the MICHELIN Guide strives to highlight restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes sustainable gastronomy, by awarding them a MICHELIN Green Star.

This year the inspectors awarded 14 new MICHELIN Green Stars, 13 in Spain and 1 in Portugal, bringing to 42 the number of restaurants to have received this distinction. In alphabetical order they are: Ambivium (Peñafiel), ARREA! (Santa Cruz de Campezo), Cancook (Zaragoza), Casa Nova (Sant Martí Sarroca), Casona del Judío (Santander), El Visco (Fuentespalda), Les Moles (Ulldecona), Maskarada (Lekunberri), Mesa de Lemos (Passos de Silgueiros), Muxgo (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Narbasu (Cereceda), Oba- (Casas-Ibáñez), Venta Moncalvillo (Daroca de Rioja) and Zelai Txiki (Donostia/San Sebastián).

Together and each in its own way, these restaurants create gastronomic experiences which combine culinary excellence and a remarkable dedication to environmental responsibility. A true source of inspiration for gourmets and professionals alike, these restaurants promote awareness and issue a call to action.

@ Diego Arenas/ @Slow & Low

In total, the 2023 Guide showcases 1,401 restaurants throughout Spain, Portugal and the Principality of Andorra. Among those, 13 boast Three MICHELIN Stars, 41 have Two MICHELIN Stars, 235 are awarded One MICHELIN Star and 281 receive a Bib Gourmand.

Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guides declared, “Including 2 new Three MICHELIN Star restaurants, as well as many new restaurants at Two Star and One Star level, our 2023 edition of the MICHELIN Guide perfectly illustrates the growing excellence, creativity and boldness of Spain and Portugal’s culinary landscapes.

We were delighted to see how younger chefs are taking the lead and embarking on their own journeys, in many cases flying the flag of reinterpreted regional or fusion cuisines.”

Gwendal Poullennec added “In turn, vegan options are gradually forging ahead on menus, something which was already occurring in other European countries. Finally, the growing number of MICHELIN Green Stars is another illustration of the flourishing and significant commitment of restaurants in Spain and Portugal to a more sustainable gastronomy”.

Atrio and Cocina Hermanos Torres Restaurants each receive Three MICHELIN Stars

In the beautiful city of Cáceres, Atrio earns the ultimate distinction, thanks to its elegant and delicate dishes, prepared by chef Toño Pérez, who has shaken up local gastronomic traditions. On the menu, Iberian pork and the natural bounty of Extremadura take center stage, for a gastronomic experience which shines by its passion, sincerity and technical excellence.

In the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona, meanwhile, Cocina Hermanos Torres earns Three MICHELIN Stars for firing the imagination with every bite. Chefs Sergio and Javier Torres have created a magical space in which the gastronomic experience – which consistently seeks out the very best seasonal produce – exceeds foodies’ expectations, turning it into a dining extravaganza.

With these two new additions, the MICHELIN Guide Spain and Portugal now boasts 13 Three MICHELIN Star restaurants.

Texturas de vitelão, batata confitada com recheio de trufa, cebolete, cenourinhas da horta, alho francês, jus de vitela e pimenta rosa. © Rui Rocha/Rio by Paulo André @Michelin Guide Spain and Portugal 2023

Deessa Restaurant,  Pepe Vieira Restaurant, and El Rincón by Juan Carlos are awarded Two MICHELIN Stars

Deessa, the luxurious restaurant located in Madrid’s legendary Mandarin Oriental Ritz, is awarded Two MICHELIN Stars for the sophisticated, creative and Mediterranean-inspired dishes of maestro Quique Dacosta, executed by chef, Guillermo Chávez.

Next to Raxó (Pontevedra), and located in the small village of Serpe, Pepe Vieira also earns this accolade. Chef Xosé T. Cannas has composed a team of professionals from all fields to create a unique countryside restaurant, with a discernible avant-garde design and the single aim of exalting the flavors of, “the newest cuisine in the world!”, as they say themselves.

At El Rincón de Juan Carlos, located within the Royal Hideaway Corales Beach (Adeje, Tenerife), the Padrón brothers (Juan Carlos and Jonathan) earn Two MICHELIN Stars for their takes on traditional Canary Islands recipes, which they execute with creative flair, using premium products, ultra-sophistication and the ability to thrill diners with a variety of dishes.

With these three new restaurants boasting Two MICHELIN Stars, the MICHELIN Guide Spain and Portugal now features 41 restaurants worth a detour, 7 of which are located in Portugal and 34 in Spain.

© Mário Ambrózio/Rawstudio/ @Mesa de Lemos (Passos de Silgueiros)

34 new restaurants, 29 in Spain and 5 in Portugal, shine bright with One MICHELIN Star.

It’s clearly been a great year for the One MICHELIN Star category. Gastronomy aficionados will find new restaurants throughout Spain and Portugal with numerous chefs who have reached professional maturity and young talents who enchanted the MICHELIN inspectors with their culinary personality and prowess. Additionally worthy of note is the entry into the realm of haute cuisine of vegan cooking, which is gradually gaining ground and which is getting a very positive response from foodies.

Spain is still growing gastronomically speaking and boasts 29 new restaurants located throughout the peninsula and its two archipelagos. In alphabetical order they are: Ababol (Albacete), Ajonegro (Logroño), Aleia (Barcelona), AlmaMater (Murcia), Alquimia – Laboratorio (Valladolid), Ancestral (Illescas), ARREA! (Santa Cruz de Campezo), Ceibe (Ourense), Cobo Evolución (Burgos), Código de Barra (Cádiz), COME by Paco Méndez (Barcelona), Enigma (Barcelona), Etxeko Ibiza (Es Canar, Ibiza), Ferpel (Ortiguera), Fusión19 (Muro, Majorca), Gente Rara (Zaragoza), Kaleja (Málaga), La Finca (Loja), Mont Bar (Barcelona), Monte (San Feliz), Montia (San Lorenzo de El Escorial), Oba- (Casas-Ibáñez), O’Pazo (Padrón), RavioXO (Madrid), San-Hô (Adeje, Tenerife), Slow & Low (Barcelona), Tabaiba (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria), Ugo Chan (Madrid) and Zuara Sushi (Madrid).

© Jordi Play/@Cocina Hermanos Torres Restaurant

In Portugal, meanwhile, 5 new One MICHELIN Star restaurants illuminate the Portuguese culinary scene.

New establishments in this category are found in the country’s two major cities (Lisbon and Porto), with a high presence of Japanese restaurants.

The establishments are: Encanto (Lisbon), Euskalduna Studio (Porto), Kabuki Lisboa (Lisbon), Kanazawa (Lisbon) and Le Monument (Porto).

In total, the MICHELIN Guide 2023 recommends 235 One MICHELIN Star restaurants (203 in Spain, 31 in Portugal and 1 in the Principality of Andorra).

© Foodesing Company/ @El Rincón by Juan Carlos