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NAMES of Europe's 150 best restaurants have been released – and Spain hogs half the list.
If it had achieved two more than the 74 eateries that feature, Spain could legitimately say its restaurants were the majority of the top establishments on the continent.
The prestigious platform Opinionated About Dining (OAD), founded in 2003 by Steve Plotnicki and based upon over 220,000 restaurant reviews by more than 7,000 voters, has one in the top three and several others in the top 10, plus dozens more nationwide.
'Best in Europe' is Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark, followed by Restaurant Frantzen in Stockholm, Sweden; third-best is in Spain, in the province of Vizcaya – the capital of which is Bilbao – the Asador de Etxebarri, run by chef Bittor Arginzoniz.
Celebrity chef Quique Dacosta – who once featured on Gordon Ramsay's Costa del Nightmares, where he taught the restaurateurs at the centre of the show about silver service on a premises with three Michelin stars – is in the top 10, and is given a special mention for dishes which 'pay tribute to beauty and to Mediterranean cuisine'.
Although Dacosta has several eateries, it is his establishment in Dénia, northern Alicante province, which was chosen – formerly known as El Poblet, after the shop-and-bar complex it sits next to, and a short distance from the nearest beach, the eponymous Restaurante Quique Dacosta is the most upmarket of his entire chain and has won countless awards, as well as topping previous 'best-in-world' lists.
Also in the province of Alicante, the restaurant L'Escaleta in the northern inland town of Cocentaina – home to just over 100 British nationals, according to the last census – has made the top 10.
Along with Quique Dacosta and L'Escaleta are the Barcelona-based trio Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas and their premises Disfrutar, the world-famous Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, Vizcaya province, run by 'super-chef' Eneko Atxa; and another regular 'top-of-the-world-list' premises, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, capital of the province which is home to the Costa Brava and run by the Roca brothers.
Farther down the list, but well within the top 150 on the continent, are Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz province), run by Ángel León; Bagá, run by Pedro Sánchez – not to be confused with Spain's president, of the same name – in Jaén; Noor, in Córdoba, run by Paco Morales; Alkimia in Barcelona, run by Jordi Vilà; Amelia, run by Paulo Airaudo in San Sebastián; Mugaritz in Rentería, in the same province as San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa; Barcelona's El Calsals, run by Oriol Rovira, and Madrid's DiverXO, owned by celebrity Dabiz Muñoz – whose first name is pronounced the same as 'David' and who is occasionally referred to using the more conventional spelling.
No other single country has more restaurants in the list as Spain does – this would mean only space for one other nation.
Also, eateries that come under the heading of 'casual' on the OAD list, hinting that their prices are more within range of the average income on a non-special occasion, include Grani, in Caiazo, Italy, run by Pepe, and two others based in Spain – Mannix, in Campaspero, Valladolid province, Castilla y León, and Elkano, in Getaria, Guipúzcoa province.
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