Ricard Camarena

After a disappointing experience at Riff, another Michelin starred Valencia restaurant, I approached our meal at Ricard Camarena with some apprehension. There was no need for any trepidation. RC provided a exemplary dining experience.
The room’s décor was minimalist, but was able to envelop us with warmth and comfort, something totally missing from the ambiance at Riff. The reclaimedl wood tables provided a casual touch to the posh elegance. Service was professional and on point, but with a self deprecating attitude, making the diner the center of attention. We were the stars of the evening, invited in to enjoy their culinary treasures. All pretension was left outside.
Opting for the nine course surprise menu, dish after dish arrived, presented beautifully and with wonderful explosions of flavor. The star of the evening for me was the roasted aubergine and Almadraba tuna taco. It tasted like succulent lox and cream cheese, and I write that with all due respect! The baby cuttlefish with onion juice, green cabbage, and truffle tasted amazing and I almost licked my plate. Desserts, bread, etc. were all simply delicious. Wine offerings covered the globe and displayed an eclectic array of prices. We opted for a mid priced white Rioja that complemented the food perfectly. Our bill, for a timeless, memorable, and fabulous meal was around $ 219 dollars for two people. A bargain for this experience.

It almost hidden on a street and had to ring the doorbell to get in but were greeted by the waiting staff very quickly. We had the Richard Camerena menu with wine pairing on our last night in Valencia and it was amazing! The staff were helpful and gave great suggestions and information about the food and wine origins. I would definitely suggest going here on a special occasion (slightly pricey) — I cannot think of anything negative to say at all (ask for the goat cheek!!)

Por fin, después de mucha paciencia conseguimos reserva en Valencia Cuina Oberta.
Un disfrute para la vista y el paladar, de la mano de uno de los grandes cocineros de la tierra como es Ricard Camarena, imaginación y creatividad, es como definiría lo que probamos. Para mí este restaurante junto con el Poblet de Quique Dacosta, son los máximos exponente de la cocina de vanguardia Valenciana.
Cuando vienes a un sitio como este vienes a dejarte sopreder y disfrutar de la propuestas.
Ahora bien, todo tiene un precio, y el Ricard Camarena, no es para ir todas las semanas, para eso el mismo chef a abierto hace poco el Habitual (en el mercado de Colón).
Sólo como dato, el menú degustación cuesta 100 € /​persona.
Pero si te gustan este tipo de experiencia y quieres darte un capricho es el sitio ideal, en un local muy intimo, tranquilo, servicio super atento, en una palabra impecable.
Que si volveré, por supuesto, es cuanto se recupere la cartera. :)))

One of the best meals I’ve ever had. The flavors match throughout the menu. The staff speaks very good English and the sommelier helped me choosing top wines without being very expensive. A must do for foodies.

He de decir que como mi primera experiencia en el fenómeno de la «alta cocina» fue buena.
Mis sensaciones mas positivas fueron: sorprendente, elaborado, mínimalista, buen producto, muy buena atención, espacio y ambiente moderno, sabores diferentes…
Mis sensaciones menos positivas fueron: lentitud, excesivo servicio, poca información de los platos, el no poder elegir la comida, mucha mezcla, precio…
Conclusión: es un sitio q hay que probar una vez en la vida pero no volvería a repetir.
No he probado el gastrobar quizá me convenza más.

¡¡Amo a este cocinero! ¡¡No lo puedo evitar! ¿Alguien puede resistirse a las manos y la cocina de Ricard Camarena? Porque yo no.
Tuve una inauguración y que gran suerte que el catering iba a cargo de Ricard Camarena, nunca había probado el restaurante que tiene en el mercado de Colón y aunque en esta ocasión se trataba de un simple catering os puede confirmar que cada cosa que probé era aún mejor.
Foie, cucuruchos de ensaladilla, rollitos vietnamitas y así mil y una cosas, todo acompañado de vino y por supuesto bueno amigos.
Os recomiendo este gran chef y este gran restaurante en que yo solo pude probar un poquito de su magia pero os aseguro que es probarlo.
Cualquiera de los restaurantes que tiene en Valencia son para probarlos, así que tanto como si venís de visita, como si sois valencianos no podéis perderos esta gran experiencia para cualquier paladar.

Ricard Camarena is an amazing chef, we´ve tried his bistro restaurant and the mercat bar before but now it was time to experience the Michelin star restaurant! A great opportunity to try this during Valencia cuina oberta, the restaurant week. We had a lunch menu for 35 euro and we had 5 wines with it, so in the end we spend 60 euros. I have to say it was wel spend for this gastronomic experience.
The restaurant is refined, modern and creates a good ambiance; our table was right next to the open kitchen, great! Our waiters were excellent in their explanation and also in their wine recommendations.
I was blown away with the canapé of smoked Eel. The squid infusion we did not liked a lot, but the dish with beans and the glazed mackerel was making up for that. The chicken breast was ok, but did not come close to the other dishes. The desert with coffee and burnt milk was a new experience that I could not appreciate but my boyfriend loved it.

Being my first night in Valencia in a while on a Sunday night I knew it was going to be difficult to find a good restaurant to eat at. I had remembered a few things I’d listed and then started combing online systems to see what was open. What? Ricard Camarena is open? Im there 10.30pm (like a good Spaniard). The problem is when I showed up it was closed! Luckily, the kitchen door was open and I could hear bustling inside. I look in and I use my terrible Spanish to see if anyone knows what’s wrong. People show up and they all look at the reservation that I apparently had for that night.
«No se. Lo siento…» lots of what I would hear. Luckily, Ricard Camarena has another restaurant which is on the other side of his flag ship that is open every night. The kitchens are connected and the server from Canalla bistro walked me over there instead. Needless to say I had an excellent meal. Just not what I expected. It would however be a precursor for what was to come.
3 years ago I came to this exact location when it housed the Michelin starred Torrijos. They say the chef and his wife moved to Madrid while his father in law the elder Torrijos retired. I knew it looked familiar from the outside. Same metal door with subtle lettering. Two days later I come back for lunch. I get inside and except for the kitchen, the place has been redone. Now Torrijos was a beautiful space. A shame they had to redo it, but I understand when you have a vision, you need to execute it and Chef Camarena’s aesthetics and food are certainly tops in Valencia at this point. I’d gotten a small booth towards the middle. I looked on at a 4 top to my right, and long row of seats that could be a huge communal table or handle many two tops. Around the cornver there were a handful of other tables. Ahead, I could see a system of hanging poles that created a semi private dining space. See the pictures for what I mean. Knowing that I did not succeed a few nights ago, I was determined to go the full gambit on this lunch. I was doing the long tasting menu, which was
House made bread
A series of amuses/​snacks
Courses
Desserts
The google translations of the menu are a bit wacky (im going to fix this as soon as I can)
*Amuse Buche
«Kokkotxa» and Egg of Cod
TUNA Donut & Radish
Dehydrated Tomato & Foie Gras
*Courses
SMOKED EEL
SOUP OF SEA BEANS and MUSSELS
CELERY SOUP WITH ROCK OCTOPUS
BROCCOLI DOME OF TUNA SALAD PEPPER AND PEPPERS
RICE «margherita»
CEPS in their own broth
MULLET WITH FRIED CAULIFLOWER, LEMON JUICE AND CAPERS
IBERIAN ACORN PREY IN DRESSING ROASTED WITH LEEK, DRY MUSTARD AND BEAUTIFUL SHOULDER OF LACQUERED KID, FRIED EGGPLANT TARTARE And Anchovy
*Desserts
ROASTED PUMPKIN, YOGURT AND GINGER
CURRY SWEET FRUITS, HERBS AND COCO
Needless to say this is a lot of food. However when Chef found out how much I understood of the food, he sent out a many things that were unexpected. But Im not complaining! The flavors and technique were phenomenal. Chef Camarena came out a few times and we chatted. His staff, notably David, the Sommelier (who came with chef from Restaurant Arrop) took great care of me. This is one of those places where you can see that modern Spanish cooking is being showcased at the highest levels. If you’re in the area, and you appreciate the soul of tradition meeting modernity, it’s worth your while to come here. Chef Camarena and team are certainly on the forefront of dining in Valencia.