Global Courant
Travelers in Andalusia looking for a three-Michelin star meal inevitably end up at Aponiente.
It is the only restaurant in the region with the distinction.
Located in the heart of the Bahia de Cadiz Natural Park, the restaurant is headed by Chef Angel Leon.
Unlike most Michelin-starred restaurants where the seasons dictate the menu, Leon’s muses are discarded seafood, such as fish eyeballs, and never-before-seen harvests from the ocean floor, such as eelgrass and sea rice.
jamon in aponiente.
Alvaro Fernandez Prieto
For all the culinary accolades Leon has earned, his travels outside of Andalusia are surprisingly few and far between.
He knows the region – and when asked where to eat in southern Spain, makes the following recommendations.
Ronda: Bardal
A restaurant with two Michelin stars in the city of Ronda, Bardal is owned and managed by Catalan Benito Gomez.
Benito Gomez of Bardal.
Source: Bardal
Gomez was born to Andalusian parents who ran a restaurant in Barcelona. He draws on Andalusian and Catalan cuisine to serve up what Leon describes as “the region of Ronda on a plate.” Favorites include grilled red snapper with chamomile and chamomile butter, as well as goat meat salted in seaweed with seaweed juice and sides of the animal’s shoulder, brain and kidneys.
Jaen: Baga
Chef Pedro Sanchez opened Baga in 2017, after cutting his teeth at Casa Antonio, Chateau de Bagnols and Restaurant Martin Berasategui.
The quisquilla de Motril from Baga.
Source: Baga
With only 16 seats, the a restaurant with a Michelin star may be small, it manages to match minimalistic ingredients with innovativeness.
Menu highlights include partridge escabeche (partridge marinated in vinegar and loaded with herbs and spices), quisquilla de Motril (shrimp from the town of Motril served in mushroom broth), and rusty pear and smoked eel skin.
Fuengirola: Los Marinos Jose
Los Marinos Jose in Fuengirola, a town on the Costa del Sol, is what Leon describes as a ‘temple of seafood’.
Jose Sanchez and his family have been running this spectacular restaurant for over 30 years. Next to the restaurant they have a boat with which they fish daily. The seafood goes straight from the boat to the kitchen to make sure it’s fresh.
Bolonia: Restaurant Las Rejas
Located on Bolonia beach in Cardiz, Las Rejas is a “chiringuito” (or beach bar) that serves traditional dishes in a unique setting.
Carlos and his brothers make guests feel at home with comfort foods such as shrimp omelette, tuna in lard with roasted peppers, boiled white shrimp and squid croquetas. The borriquete, a fish from the Atlantic Ocean, is a highlight on the menu.
Arcos de la Frontera: Horno Artesa
Horno Artesa is a bakery located in the town of Arcos de la Frontera, a gateway to the “Route of the White Villages”, which winds from the provinces of Cadiz to Malaga.
It is the only bakery in the province to be featured in “La Ruta del Buen Pan”, an annual selection of one hundred artisanal bakeries in Spain. The bakery’s toasted malt bread, managed by Paco Ruiz Salguero, is legendary, as are the pastries and specialty loaves with raisins and walnuts.
Jerez: Bar Maty
According to Leon, Bar Matty is arguably the “best bar in the world” to eat fried fish washed down with beer or wine.
It is a small establishment with only one bar and several high tables outside. The menu has shrimp salad, fried choquitos (baby squid) and boqueroncitos (anchovies), frigate tuna and grilled mackerel, but the star is the fried fish, which is prepared by Antonio Gonzalez. He runs the place but still makes time to chat and joke with customers.
El Puerto de Santa Maria: Churros Charo
Open daily from 8am to noon, Churros Charo is a market stall in the town of El Puerto de Santa Maria that is run by 80-year-old Charo Salguero Venegas (also known as Grandmother of Churros). She started making churros when she was 13, continuing a tradition started by her grandfather.
The stall serves churros finos (thin churros) and churros gordos (thick churros), which can be eaten with coffee or chocolate at one of the nearby bars.
La Taberna del Chef del Mar
Located on the original spot where Leon founded Aponiente, La Taberna del Chef del Mar is an informal tavern in El Puerto de Santa Maria with friendly service by Leon himself.
La Taberna del Chef del Mar serves “easy food with a marine soul,” according to the website.
Source: Alvaro Fernandez Prieto
The cuisine is funky and caters to locals and tourists alike with Aponiente signatures such as grilled sardines with eggplant, sea meats and plankton risotto.
