Opinionated About Dining (OAD) guide
The OAD guide has revealed its best European restaurants and more throughout the Malaga province have been added to this list.
In the European ‘casual’ category, Los Marinos José from Fuengirola remains in third place (out of 150) and Hermanos Alba (49th) and Marisquería Jacinto (112th) have joined the list in the casual category. The global restaurant review platform, promoted by Steve Plotnicki, also added one of the most eagerly awaited lists to its honour roll: Top European restaurants, a category focused more on haute cuisine. Malaga is also on this list and has improved its position compared to the previous year.
Michelin Stars
The first restaurant to appear, Bardal in Ronda with two Michelin stars is headed by Benito Gómez, the second, Kaleja in Malaga with one star and Dani Carnero at the helm, lands at number 130; while the third, Skina in Marbella, also two-starred and under the direction of Marcos Granda, now occupies 144th position.
At number 90, is Smoked Room, which, despite being located in Madrid, bears the signature of the Dani García Group. The chef from Marbella gains ground and climbs ten places compared to the 2022 edition.
In the recommended section, with one Michelin star each: Sollo (Fuengirola) by Diego Gallegos; José Carlos García Restaurante in Malaga, run by the chef of the same name; and El Lago (Marbella), which debuts in this category with Fernando Villasclaras at the helm of the kitchen. Alongside them are two other Andalusian restaurants: Tribecca from Seville and Alevante (Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz).
Bagá, Noor and Aponiente, the top Andalusian restaurants
The new top restaurant list was announced on Monday night during a dinner served by leading figures in Spanish gastronomy at the Madrid restaurant, Desde 1911. This establishment closes the top five of the overall ranking, which is headed by Denmark’s Alchemist, followed by Frantzén of Sweden and Basque Etxebarri; then in fourth place comes the first Andalusian representation, Bagá, which is headed by Pedro Sánchez in Jaén with a Michelin star.
You have to go a little further down to see the next Andalusian in the list: the two-starred restaurant Noor of Cordoba, by Paco Morales, in 42nd position. Behind it, the three-starred restaurant Aponiente, by Ángel Léon, in 57th place; and another Cadiz restaurant, El Campero, in 125th position in the ranking.
There are more Andalusian restaurants in the recommended category: Choco by Kisko García in Cordoba, Tohqa and Lú Cocina y Alma in Cadiz, and Abantal in Seville.
In total, 42 Spanish eateries are included in OAD’s selection. “There are many Spanish restaurants in the top positions of the list,” Steve Plotnicki, founder of Opinionated About Dining, which began as a blog, but has now become a respected international guide, said a few weeks ago in Madrid ahead of the list’s publication.
The New Yorker started the guide a decade ago as a way of sharing his dining experiences. But he wanted to go further, and went from giving his own opinions to offering the results of a series of surveys carried out by some 7,500 voters. Today, the basis of the selection system is the experience of those who vote.
