View of the city of Murcia from the air
It was once again an open secret. As happened last year with ** Almería **, when it won the ** Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2019 ** without there being any more candidates in the running, this time it is Murcia the one that is done with an award that only she attended after presenting her candidacy a little over a week ago. One of the few names that sounded, that of ** Marbella **, finally gave up submitting to the contest.
Thus, the announcement of the award, organized by the **Spanish Hospitality Federation (FEHR) and the Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers (FEPET)**, has not caught anyone by surprise.
The Jury has highlighted that "the Murcia project shines for their fidelity to their own product and for a total and determined commitment to gastronomic tourism”, according to the press release.
Murcia will succeed Almería in the position and the next January 1 will assume its status as Spanish Capital of Gastronomy that will maintain until December 31, 2020. During this year, it will launch its program The garden of 1,001 flavors, with which precisely 1,001 activities will be developed, ranging from a traveling vegetable museum to gastronomic routes through the region, passing through a gastronomic festival of fruits and vegetables.
So that you go from plate to plate, here is a selection of our essential restaurants in Murcia.
A creative approach respecting tradition
DAWN (Andrés Baquero street, 15. Telephone: 968.23.23.23. __Price: €€-€€€) __
Take a look: market cuisine which, in its second generation, is committed to a more creative approach while respecting tradition.
At the table: family restaurant with more than 20 years of existence, owned by Antonio Muñoz, where his son David puts into practice a proposal with a certain modern touch. The space, with a contemporary aesthetic, includes a bar for tapas and a dining room where you can taste stews, rice dishes (by reservation), seafood, meat and fish within its extensive letter.
. They highlight the seasonal products from the Murcian garden and seafood from the neighboring coastal area of Almería.
ALMA MATER _(Madre de Dios Street, 15. Telephone: 868.06.95.57. Price: €€-€€€) _
Take a look: careful market cuisine, with creative touches.
In the table: after passing through restaurants of the stature of Cabaña Buenavista, Flanigan, El Portal de Echaurren, Arzak or Calima; and through the kitchens of Formula 1 (he toured the world with Ferrari for six seasons), the Chef Juan Guillamon now undertakes his own project in a modern and cozy place.
He does it without giving up his Murcian roots, but under a more adventurous prism: marinated confit bonito with lemon; seaweed fennel salad; red tuna parpatana; Mediterranean stir fry and homemade pickles; and painted with black mole, corn and stewed vegetables with lemon thyme.
. careful selection of wines, with special attention to those of the region, from the hand of Alberto Hernandez.
THE CHURRA. CHURRA HOTEL _(Bishop Sancho Dávila Street, 13. Telephone: 968.27.15.22. Price: €€€) _
At a glance: traditional cuisine of the region.
In the table: With almost 65 years of history, El Churra is an institution in Murcia. Spacious and cozy place, with a extensive letter, where to try typical dishes, be it meat (roasted kid shoulder or flat Murcian pork sausages), fish, shellfish, vegetables... and, of course, the paparajotes (typical dessert from the Murcian orchard made with lemon tree leaves covered with a dough of flour and fried egg and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon) . The letter is accompanied by a complete cellar with more than 250 references.
. It has a tapas bar and terrace open all year.
Uramaki Ebi
ENSO SUSHI _(Santa Teresa street, 6. Telephone: 968.90.66.11. Price: €€€) _
At a glance: Japanese cuisine.
In the table: the project of Antonio Bernal and Patricio Alarcon was a pioneer in Murcia. Today it is a benchmark of the Japanese gastronomy in Levante (They also have restaurants in Los Belones, Las Colinas Golf, Las Colinas Beach and Alicante). Nigiris, makis, temakis, tatakis, ceviches, tartares... Good raw material, technique and respect for tradition. You can eat a la carte or ask for a tasting menu (€42). There is also an executive menu (€25).
. There are up to 20 varieties of sashimi, where the differentiating element is the commitment to Mediterranean fish.
KEKI _(Fuensanta, 4. Telephone: 968.22.07.98. Price: €€) _
Take a look: creative and traveling cuisine that takes as refer to street cooking.
In the table: without giving up mediterranean Elements, Sergio Martínez, who previously worked, among others, at the Guggenheim restaurant, Las Rejas, El Churra or El Palacete de la Seda, bets on a selection of snacks that includes its already famous creamy acorn-fed ham croquettes; the chicken and curry wrap; duck cannelloni with mild mustard; the bravas or the coca of roasted vegetables.
. There is option of tasting menu for €35 (eight savory flavors and one sweet) and has a lunch menu (from Tuesday to Friday) .
At Keki, the reference is street food
KOME _(Avda. Libertad, 6, local 2. Telephone: 968.15.09.37. Price: €€€) _
Take a look: attractive and careful proposal that has evolved from the asian bar concept (without reservation) with which it began four years ago.
In the table: Samuel Ruiz develops a totally differential kitchen, in continuous transformation. Trained in top-class restaurants, such as Barcelona's Dos Palillos, Ruiz takes great care of the raw material and tries to convey another way of understanding Asian-influenced cuisine. In this new stage, the experience is lived only through tasting menu (since 2018, in addition, it can be reserved) . Among the most striking dishes: the anchovy in vinegar with its olive, the dry almadraba sausage or the Aztec sea bass.
. From least to most curious, choose: Short film menu (14 services, €45) or feature film (19 services, €59).
THE SMALL TAVERN _(Plaza de San Juan, 7. Telephone: 968.21.98.40. Price: €€€) _
Take a look: tavern, not so "small", to enjoy the typical Murcian gastronomy.
At the table: it was born almost 40 years ago (1980) and there it continues as market kitchen reference. In the letter, assorted tapas (the famous horse -breaded shrimp- is not missing) and traditional cuisine dishes Murcian and Mediterranean with special attention to the products of the garden.
. Do not leave without trying Grandma's artichokes (with a sauce based on wine and meat broth) .
Here you cook with the heart
REHEARSAL LOCATION _(Police Calle Ángel García, 20, Puente Bacons. Telephone: 968.24.70.54. Price: €€€) _
At a glance: contemporary and experimental cuisine.
In the table: small and neat space (with industrial and organic elements), located on the outskirts of the city, where the Murcian chef David Lopez collects current gastronomic trends and proposes a tasty cuisine, traveling and of a certain complexity. David claims to do a kitchen with heart, hence the name of the three menus on it: Tachycardia (55€), bradycardia (€65) and Contraction (€45, only Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) . The chef is highly committed to sustainability and works with ecological cooperatives and seasonal products.
. interesting cellar led by the sommelier Pedro Jiménez.
MORALS _(Avda. de la Constitución, 12, corner with Bartolomé Pérez Casas. Telephone: 968.23.10.26. Price: €€€) _
At a glance: bourgeois market restaurant where you can enjoy classic preparations and excellent service.
In the table: with its more than 50 years of history and the regularity by flag, in the letter stand out its shellfish from Santa Pola, Galician barnacles, Gillardeau oysters, squid from the Bay, neck of hake, cocochas, kid shoulder, red meat...
. For lovers of bars, A few meters away they have a tapas space: Dmorales.
Bourgeois market restaurant where you can enjoy classic dishes and excellent service
PEPE'S CORNER. HOTEL TRYP MELIÁ RINCÓN DE PEPE (Apóstoles Street, 34. Telephone: 968.21.22.39. Price: €€€)
At a glance: market cuisine.
At the table: classic but modernized room that Bet on the product with fish from the area such as wild bream from the Mar Menor, shellfish from the bay of Santa Pola, vegetables from the Murcian orchard and good meats; also for more innovative proposals, such as the ceviche of vegetables macerated in citrus. For something more casual, the bar is an institution where you can have some shrimps or some red prawns from Santa Pola, some mullet roe, a marinera (donut with salad and anchovy) or some stuffed pig's trotters.
. From Monday to Friday, they prepare a bar menu, made up of a traditional homemade stew.
SALZILLO _(Cánovas del Castillo street, 28. Telephone: 968.22.01.94. Price: €€€€) _
Take a look: a classic to drink dishes from popular Murcian cuisine and fish from the nearby coast.
In the table: family restaurant opened in 1988, owned by Antonio Belanda, which offers on the menu traditional stews, vegetables from the Murcian garden (Watch out for the natural pickled artichokes!), meat, seafood and fish from the area. Don't forget to try the grilled Murcian kid chops or the cabañil garlic, the grilled grouper with regional vegetables or the Gallo Pedro de Garrucha.
. Daily tasting menu elaborated according to the market and that includes a homemade stew.
Garlic clams with pine nuts
T38 _(Jiménez Baeza Street, 12. Telephone: 968.71.50.48. Price: €€) _
At a glance: fresh, globetrotting and creative cuisine in small bites.
At the table: concise and fun menu divided into five sections: “to whet your appetite”, “a little fresh”, “the limbo”, “end of the party” and “our sweet spot”. A new proposal in which three young people (Fran García, in charge of the kitchen; Matías Fernández, sommelier; and Juan Peñaranda, in the dining room and barman) give free rein to their imagination: sweet chili tiger milk ceviche, grilled with Thai soup... They have a tasting menu for less than €40 and an interesting wine and cocktail list.
. A curiosity: T38 is the union of the T (from All life together) and 38 (Murcia is located on the 38th parallel North).