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13. September 2014: Restaurant Ricard Camarena

| November 6, 2014 | 0 Comments

So, as quite often before I have checked TripAdvisor again before booking restaurants in Valencia – and the Ricard Camarena is the number one (as of now). And obviously, I decided to go for the “Menu Degustacion” (EUR 90.00) in order to get the full experience. The menu started with “Spring Onion, Anchovies, Coffee, and Black Garlic”. While the dish in its entirety is definitely of rather simple nature, I must admit that it was surprisingly refreshing and aromatic.

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The second course was a “cold emulsion of cucumber and squid” which was somewhat interesting as the combination of cucumber and squid is not really a common one but I must also admit that the taste was a bit overwhelmed by the sea water which was not so pleasant.

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The first official course of the menu was “Oyster from Valencia, avocado and “horchata” of galanga” – and while I am usually not a big fan of oysters I must admit that the one which they had served here was quite good – as the horxata and the avocado balanced off the sea taste.

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Second in line was the “marinated line-caught grouper, mandarin and parsley” which was a very interesting combination of a fish taste, a sweet fruit taste, and a balancing parsley taste.

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The “roasted white asparagus salad, salmon caviar “gnoquis”, coconut jus and kaffir lime” was at first pleasant to watch but once the coconut jus had been added, the dish really took off. The salmon caviar “gnoquis” were molecular little balls with almost liquid salmon inside – which was quite interesting in consistency as I have never tried liquid salmon before.

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The coconut jus together with the kaffir lime made the dish really smooth and on the other hand ensured that there was a certain acidity to the dish.

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The next course was my personal disappointment – the “stewed hake barbel in a beach herbs jus” was really just a soup of sea water. I mean, the ingredients per se were not bad but the whole thing tasted like sea water once more (a bit better than as two days before at the Restaurant Riff) which is obviously something typical Valencian but quite a big no-go for me!

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While generally speaking a rather simple dish, I must admit the “baby cuttlefish with roasted vegetables emulsion, leeks and dill flower” was – while simple – tasty. Especially the roasted vegetables emulsion was great in taste and just made you want to dip your bread in the sauce.

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The next course was great due the combination of ingredients – providing a nice range from sweet, to base, to salty: “Mediterranean crayfish, courgette, basil and passion fruit”. The crayfish was nicely dry but not too dry – so of great consistency. The rather basic taste of the courgette in combination with the refreshing sweetness of the passion fruit gave the dish a nice twist.

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The next course, a “sea bream (fish of the bay with celery, lemon and tumeric root)” was okay. The fish itself was smooth but somehow lacking taste. The celery, lemon and tumeric root together on the other hand provided a good basis to level up the dish a bit.

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My absolutely favourite of the evening was the “Iberian pork shoulder blade sandwich, smoke eel and peanuts”. The smoked eel which was the middle layer of the “sandwich” was of a smooth consistency but did not have much own flavour – but this was not necessary as the Iberian pork shoulder which was used as a wrapper for the eel, and the peanut sauce made up for that and formed a great explosion of taste. A perfect match of flavours!

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As a first dessert, “sweet fruits curry, herbs and coconut” was served and while it was a nice combination of flavours it absolutely came short after the pork-eel-sandwich and also did not make it to the level of the dessert which was served after this.

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Usually not being a huge dessert fan, I must admit that the “fig with sweet red wine from Alicante reduction on top, jelly vinegar and vanilla” was definitely an amazing dessert (the picture looks not completely ideal as I had forgotten to initially take a picture and only realized after some time into eating the dish that I still had to do that). The smoothness of the fig with the sweet red wine from Alicante reduction on top fit perfectly. When I read jelly vinegar at first I thought of something really untasty but it was actually providing the dish with the surprise effect it needed.

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The bread served was rather ordinary and was – while being good – somehow boring compared to the dishes which came after (I mean, I do not mind regular bread, and it is fine to make that just really great – or then offer a nice variety of different breads like in other restaurants).

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The place itself has a very calming atmosphere and makes you feel extremely comfortable as it is the perfect combination of open kitchen, modern design, warmth through wood and last but not least, it is designed in a way you also have some privacy depending on where you are seated.

With regards to the service I am biased what to say – in general, the service is good and dedicated (if you ignore that one had to wait sometimes quite a bit until someone felt like refilling your water or wine glass). But one of our party had some allergies which is obviously not easy for a place which only serves degustation menus. However, we had called the evening before explaining the challenges in-depth and were adivsed to pick a dish for the evening in advance (which were the salmon gnoquis). Upon arrival we were informed that the gnoquis were no actual gnoquis. So, the service should flexible enough to adjust – despite the “pre-order” – the order to a simple sea bream with vegetables and potatoes. When the dish was served though, there were no potatoes but mushrooms. Now, I understand that it is maybe the chef’s wish to serve a dish which functions well together, and I understand (although only partially) that the kitchen has no potatoes but I do not understand why one would just change the dish without informing the customer in advance. That is not what I call high-class service.

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With regards to the prices, I consider EUR 90.00 for 10 courses fair given the quality of the food but again – besides the pork-eel-sandwich I was not blown away by what I had. The prices for the beverages were fine (water, EUR 3.50; double espresso, EUR 3.00). Upon asking for recommendations for wine, a white (Tricó Nicolás, 2010) for EUR 36.00 and a red (San Vincente, 2010) for EUR 52.00 were recommended and they went well with the dishes and in addition to that were actually also fine in price. What was a bit surprising – and to me even disappointing was the fact that they did not have any pairing wines to the menu to offer.

To sum my experience at Ricard Camarena – great atmosphere, good food, average service (considering the special request and its handling, else the service is good too), and fair price performance ratio. While the restaurant is definitely good, I must admit I am not entirely satisfied with my experience.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Ricard Camarena

Calle de Doctor Sumsi 4

46005 Valencia (E)

Tel.: +34 963 35 54 18

E-Mail: reservas@ricardcamarena.com

Homepage: http://www.ricardcamarena.com

About the Author:

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.
EUR 460.00 (incl. tip) Filed in: Restaurants, Valencia (E)
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