Most of the tourists who visit the province of Valencia, whether from other regions of Spain or from abroad, concentrate all their gastronomic experiences on the beachfront or in one of the restaurants in the old town of the Turia capital. In doing so, they overlook the true jewel of this land, its differential point with respect to many other regions bathed by the sea: the orchard
eating in an environment flowered artichokes and exuberant lettuce is an immersive experience that must be enjoyed once in a lifetime. The wide horizon of ridges, farmhouses and traditional cabins offered by the Valencian orchard is a spectacular landscape, which also brings us closer to the most authentic Valencian gastronomic culture.
Away from the madding crowd of the city, but without having to travel more than 15 or 20 minutes by car, we find very special restaurants. Of those who already have a faithful parish and are filled with local customers week after week. Let’s talk about some of them, but not before clarifying that in all of them it is advisable to book well in advance.
Ca Pepico
An absolute classic, located in the heart of Huerta Norte, in the Roca neighborhood of the nearby town of Meliana. Ca Pepico is the favorite restaurant of many Valencian gourmets due to several reasons. The first, of course, is the quality of the gastronomic offer, very close to tradition and based on the fresh produce that grows at its doors. Homemade food without cheating or cardboard: Carved tomato from the garden with tuna bellyValencian stew croquette, figatells or cuttlefish legs with onion, which are stewed for hours, without haste. High quality raw material and little handling. It is also an ideal place to try the delicious rice with fessols and naps or the traditional fetge de bou dry rice (bull’s liver), which is no longer easily found in other houses.
Jose Ferrer Rodrigo, grandfather of the current owners, founded this family business in 1930. He built this beautiful house in the middle of the Meliana orchard, which initially functioned as a sale. The house was on the first floor, and below was the store where bulk wine, beer, spices and other products were sold. It had a bar and three or four tables where locals and travelers stopped to have an aperitif. This is how in 1975 it became officially a bar. In the year 2000, with the brothers Ana and Pepe Ferrer at the helm, Ca Pepico took the definitive leap and became a cult restaurant.
Besides of indisputable charm From its bright rustic room, whose connection with the countryside is evident in each of the dishes on the menu, Ca Pepico is a paradise for wine lovers. His cellar has more than 500 references chosen one by one by Pepe, who in addition to being a renowned sommelier and manager, is a wonderful conversationalist. This is an ideal restaurant to ask for a pairing and enjoy the stories that the walls of the place tell, full of memories and references to orchard life.
Address: C/ Mediterrani, 1. Barrio Roca (Meliana, Valencia) Reservations: 961 491 346
napicol
Very close to Ca Pepico, without leaving the confines of the Roca neighborhood, in Meliana, we find another of the jewels in the crown of the Valencian orchard. In this case, it is a relatively new restaurant (it opened its doors in 2018) and elegant, but completely committed to the discourse of tradition and territory.
The visual stamp offered by Napicol could not be more bucolic. Its large terrace, surrounded by fruit trees and hanging bougainvillea, is located at the foot of the organic garden from which most of the vegetable ingredients that make up the dishes on the menu come from. It also has an interior lounge with an open kitchen, where we can see Chemo Rausellcook and co-owner of the restaurant with his partner, Anna Calf. His father, Anselmo, is responsible for singing the “off menu” and the recommendations of the day, which should always be paid attention to.
Napicol’s gastronomic proposal is very marked by kilometer zero and the designs of the season. Their forte is stews and the dry and sweet rice, in which they combine classic recipes followed to the letter with freer and more contemporary versions. For lovers of spoon dishes we recommend the rice with fessols and naps or the stew cap i pota (the Catalan version of streets that adds veal nose and legs). Among the dry ones, we prefer the one with monkfish tail, cuttlefish and artichokes (especially between January and the beginning of spring, which is when the Valencian artichokes reach their splendor). They all have in common the funds of intense flavor, elaborated with patience and affection. Also keep an eye on the starters, which include classics such as cod mandonguilla and eel all i pebre.
Address: Calle San Isidro, 28. Barrio de la Roca (Meliana, Valencia) Reservations: 96 111 91 10
The Farmhouse of Boro
A different restaurant to live an experience that you will never forget. It is also a perfect place for large gatherings of friends or family. In the Boro farmhouse – which is the name of the cook and owner of this beautiful farmhouse located in the orchard area of Tipon the outskirts of València-, there is no menu or options.
The menu invariably consists of starters – a table of Iberian cold cuts and cheeses, esgarraet Y steamed clótxinas-, garden tomato salad Y classic valencian paella -that is, with chicken, rabbit and snails, although duck is also added here because it is an animal that has always lived in rice fields and therefore very often ended up in the pot-. Everything is finished off with a seasonal fruit dessert, an exquisite artisanal llanda coca and a glass of mistela, the favorite sweet wine of the Valencians. All for 33 euros, including drinks consumed during the meal.
The price is very reasonable and the landscape is beautiful, but the most special thing about this farmhouse-restaurant is the concept of collective paella carried out by Boro, an agricultural engineer converted into a “scientific” cook. Affectionate, friendly and talkative, Boro allows himself to be observed and asked by the clients while he bustles in the center of the garden with his impressive paella with six handles and capacity for 300 people. The maximum capacity of the restaurant is 70 people, but here you can repeat the dish as many times as you want.
His personal technique for cooking Valencian paella over firewood is based on extensive experience, which began in childhood at the side of his mother and continues until his current 46 years. Along the way, Boro had teachers like Marian Mark, who was the one who discovered that large paellas do not have to be battles. Theirs are close to perfection: unsurpassed cooking point, intense flavour, balanced salt point, tender meats, vegetables at their point and a thin layer of rice (albufera variety, by the way).
“Valencians, when they go out to eat rice away from home, usually go for the seafood, because the classic is the one that is always cooked at home. However, we have managed to turn that around. 90 percent of my clientele is from here”, says the chef proudly.
The greatest charm of this unconventional restaurant is concentrated in that moment when you get up from the table during the aperitif and approach (cold beer in hand) the huge paellero that presides over the garden of the farmhouse. You will find Boro wrapped in the smoke of the orange tree firewood; maybe he’s biting into a piece of lettuce. It is his trick to clean his tongue before tasting a sample of the broth and check the salt level without the risk of making a mistake.
“I have developed my technique based on listen to older people and other chefs, but always looking for the whys. That is, studying the physical and chemical processes involved in the preparation of a paella. For example, there are grandparents around here who always spoke of “the two boils”, which is nothing more than the double cooking technique that I always use to make the meat much more tender. To the cut cooking, you generate a change in temperature that breaks the fibers and compensates for the dehydration to which we subject the meat by frying it a lot and with a lot of salt. Another of my tricks is to cut only the tail of the bassinet [variante de judía verde plana que se utiliza en la paella clásica] which forms the union with the plant. Normally, people also discard the other part, when it is the most tender and tasty part”.
As in this farmhouse all the diners they eat the same paella -properly plated and transferred by the waiters to your table, of course-, the synchronization of all the participants has to work like in a Bolshoi ballet. Everyone has to arrive at 1:30 p.m., and at approximately 2:30 p.m. the dishes begin to be served. It is also important to book at least two days in advance (much more if you want to go in a group).
Address: Alquería de Real, 11 Reservations: 659 99 71 02
The Barraca by Toni Montoliu
Our itinerary of immersive experiences in the garden ends at Toni Montoliu’s Barraca, a very touristic destination (this yes) and at the same time very peculiar. It is a mixture of a restaurant, an ethnographic house-museum on the Valencian orchard and a farm-school for children.
We are again in the heart of the orchard of Melianawhere this mediatic country man grows all kinds of vegetables, takes care of his animals (goats, ducks, a donkey and a horse) and even carries out an interesting job of recovering the native collaret cocoa crop (which is practically in Danger of extinction). Tony He is a popular and well-liked character in Valencia. His personality and his self-confidence have led him to star in many reports and television programs. In fact, years ago he participated as a judge in one of the episodes of the Masterchef cooking contest, which held a test with contestants in this barracks.
Valencia up close 3 (Lonely Planet Up Close Guides)
Here the paellas are also cooked with orange firewood and many of the ingredients on the menu are organically produced and grown two meters from the table. Their paellas may not be the best that can be found in the province, but of course this is a perfect destination for families with children. Children can explore their surroundings, listen to stories about when and how tomatoes, lettuce and pumpkins grow, and perhaps find out what the old farming implements in the shed are for. If you lend yourself to it, maybe Toni will make you unsheath beans.
Among the activities proposed by Toni through its website, the visit inside the barracks traditional -separated by a few meters from the restaurant hall- and a beautiful bike ride that starts in the center of Valencia and crosses the towns of the Huerta Norte to reach the restaurant. A plan of ten for sunny spring days.
Address: Casa Jaime. Departure from l’Ermita, 25 Reserves: 629 68 98 05
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