In this feature I am thrilled to bring you our top five tastes from Spain as a part of a collection of stories of great restaurant destinations by Cuisine. The recommendations are from five World of Mouth experts with excellent knowledge of Spanish cuisine and the local restaurant scene. Among their favourite picks are some of the best local seafood restaurants, traditional paella places and contemporary restaurants offering the best of regional cooking.

Covering Spain in one article does create a challenge and the five places recommended here are only a scratch on the surface of one of the oldest cuisines in Europe, which offers a vast variety of different restaurant types. Tradition is always present when eating in Spain. As an evolution of this tradition we have the culinary juggernaut that Spain became some 30 years ago, when a group of avant garde chefs, led by brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià, went on a mission to not only change Spanish cuisine, but also the world’s cuisine. This has resulted in a national cuisine that offers some of the most traditional restaurants and foods, but also some of the world’s most cutting-edge restaurants. This is a country obsessed by some excellent and unique produce made only in certain regions by traditional methods, like cured sausages and hams such as the air-dried Pata Negra ham, cheeses from Manchego to Idiazabal, numerous Spanish rice varieties used in paella and other rice dishes and some of the best fish and seafood in the world. Add to this the Spanish wine offerings, from bone-dry fino sherry to sparkling cava, full-bodied rioja wines and sweet dessert wines, and you’ll already stay busy planning your eating and drinking itinerary in Spain.

Among the places recommended here you’ll find the best Paella Valenciana, cooked to order over logs of orangewood in the outskirts of the rice-growing capital of Valencia. A more contemporary approach to tradition is found in the very south of Spain in Cádiz, where the use of fish has been revolutionized in chef Ángel León’s cooking at Aponiente. And across the country, in the northern Basque Country, the seemingly simple art of grilling turbot, prawns and squid over charcoal is perfected at Kaia-Kaipe in Getaria.

I hope these picks inspire you to discover many more of the personal expert recommendations in the World of Mouth app, which you can download for free in your app store. In the World of Mouth, all of our experts bring their knowledge and unique perspective to you about their personal experience at these restaurants and I can guarantee you that you’ll find their opinions and suggestions worth the visit. The guide is driven by a rapidly growing global community of passionate food lovers who are committed to creating the world’s most credible and transparent restaurant guide, without advertising and mediocre restaurants paying for their visibility.

I founded the guide five years ago with my colleagues in Helsinki, Finland. The aim of the guide was, from the very beginning, to provide the ultimate insider information by food lovers for food lovers and to highlight great restaurants of all categories, from street food to fine dining.

Users can access personal recommendations from both experts and fellow food lovers, filter them based on various criteria such as location, cuisine and price range, and save their favourite spots to wishlists and create collections to plan their trips.

I hope you’ll head over to the World of Mouth app to join our vibrant global community of food lovers. Meanwhile, please enjoy planning your next culinary trip to experience the fantastic tastes of Spain.

Hotel Restaurante Rioja
Carrer Verge del Fonament,
37, 46181 Benisanó

“Located on the outskirts of Valencia, in the small town of Benisanó, this restaurant-hotel has the best paella in Valencia.”
Quique Dacosta, chef -restaurateur, Dénia

Sacha
C. de Juan Hurtado de
Mendoza, 11, Posterior,
Chamartín, 28036 Madrid

“Spanish recipes with excellent seasonal products. Sacha Hormaechea is the best host. King crab fake lasagna, lobster ‘salpicón’, Spanish ‘tortilla vaga’, or ask Sacha Hormaechea for a personalised tasting menu. Beautiful terrace in the summer.”
Stefania Giordano, maître d’, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Culler de Pau
lugar Reboredo, 73, 36980
O Grove, Pontevedra

“One of the most interesting restaurants in northwestern Spain. A contemporary approach to Galician tradition with a focus on vegetables and seafood.” Jorge Guitián Castromil, food writer and journalist, Santiago de Compostela

Aponiente
C. Francisco Cossi Ochoa,
s/n, 11500 El Puerto de
Sta María, Cádiz

“Aponiente with chef Ángel León is such a beautiful restaurant. It’s so deep into a concept, which is the sea and all that comes from it, combined with a lot of innovation. Located by the sea in Cádiz.” Virgilio Martinez, chef-restaurateur, Lima

Kaia-Kaipe
General Arnao Kalea,
4, 20808 Getaria

“Kaia-Kaipe, with a nice view of the fishing port in Getaria, is often called the sister restaurant of Elkano. I dream of the spider crab I had at Kaia-Kaipe, which was the most beautiful thing.” Lennox Hastie, chef-restaurateur, Sydney

World of Mouth is an independent restaurant guide powered by a global community of experts. Find pizza joints loved by locals in New York, the hottest new eateries in London, the best street food in Singapore and much more – already 18,000 recommendations in 5,000 destinations. worldofmouth.app