At the start of each year, Valencia’s gastronomic world eagerly awaits the publication of the Almanaque Gastronómico, the benchmark guide that reviews, assesses and celebrates the finest of the Comunitat Valenciana’s culinary scene. And once again, Alenar has been recognized as one of the essential establishments in Valencia city centre.
This recognition is no accident. It is the result of five years of consistent work championing local produce, the most comprehensive Valencian wine cellar in the city, and a Mediterranean tapas offering that reinvents tradition without losing its soul. If you would like to know why the Almanaque singles us out, read on.
What is the Almanaque Gastronómico?
The Almanaque Gastronómico is an annual publication, available in both print and digital formats, dedicated to analyzing the Comunitat Valenciana’s culinary scene with rigor, discernment, and deep knowledge of the region. This is not a superficial list of restaurants: it is a thorough examination of proposals, trends, products and professionals who are shaping contemporary Valencian gastronomy.
For chefs, sommeliers, producers and food lovers alike, appearing in the Almanaque is a seal of quality and confirmation that you are doing things properly. For diners seeking somewhere reliable to dine in Valencia city centre, it is the trusted guide that never disappoints.
Alenar according to the Almanaque Gastronómico: love for the land in a contemporary key
The Almanaque highlights something we have carried in our DNA since day one: the reinvention of the Spanish tapa through a Valencian lens, with the larder of La Marina taking centre stage. Jordi Gil, Alenar’s founder, is passionate about the indigenous products of the Comunitat’s most authentic region that coastal strip between El Montgó and the interior that holds an unrivalled culinary diversity.
What makes Alenar special, as the publication acknowledges, is its ability to deliver a high-quality gastronomic offering without hobs, almost everything served cold, using just two ovens: one for coques and another for warming. Jordi Gil’s conviction and the imagination of Two Many Chefs, the gastronomic consultancy led by Carlos Medina and Tomy Soriano, have worked wonders.
The result is a Valencian tapas bar that operates continuously from morning to night, with highly competitive prices yet first-rate produce, and which has earned a Repsol Sol and a loyal clientele who return religiously.
The dishes the Almanaque Gastronómico highlights
The Almanaque does not simply mention the restaurant: it delves into the dishes that make Alenar a singular space in Valencia. Here are some of the creations the publication singles out:
Tomato salad with roasted red pepper and Catí cheese
A classic revisited to perfection, built on tomato, roasted red peppers, smoked tuna, cubes of Catí cheese (a goat’s cheese from Castellón, subtle in intensity yet deeply flavorful), and braised mushrooms. In summer, with outstanding native tomatoes such as the rosa de Altea, those from Muchamiel or Jesús Pobre, this salad becomes a hymn to the Valencian huerta.
Anchovies with truffle oil, honey and basil
Good-sized anchovies (00 grade), dressed with truffle oil, honey and basil. The Almanaque describes them as “masterful” and “a little work of art” for their ability to balance the saltiness with the sweetness and aromas added to them. Not for purists, but genuinely delicious and perfectly harmonious.
Steak tartare with truffle butter
Beef cut by knife, as the Florentines eat it, with just the right seasoning including an anchovy served with toasted bread and a thin layer of truffle butter. It tastes of beef, without artifice, and is one of the dishes that most surprises those who do not expect to find this creation in a tapas bar.
Coques: tradition and contemporaneity
Coques are part of Alenar’s soul. The Almanaque highlights two versions:
- Coca with red peppers, sardine, mojama, sweet onion and pericana from Bocairent: flavorful and straightforward.
- Coca with roasted aubergine, dried octopus, yondu onion and low-temperature egg yolk with kimchi: surprising, an exercise in updating traditions with foreign elements and contemporary cooking techniques.
Borracho de cremaet
The star of the dessert menu. A fusion of Italian tiramisu with huerta queimada, made with coffee cream, Jijona nougat ice cream, ginger biscuit, rum, Baileys and jelly. It does not cloy despite what one might expect, gaining in delicacy whilst losing the rock-and-roll edge that Valencians so love in their carajillo.
Catí cheesecake
Made with goat’s cheese from Catí, deeply flavorful yet subtle in intensity. Delicious, closer to the texture of ricotta than to something molten. Perfect when accompanied by a mistela de moscatel on the rocks.
The most comprehensive Valencian wine cellar in Valencia city centre
The Almanaque also recognizes something we have carried with pride since day one: our wine cellar. More than a hundred references, almost all of them Valencian, starting with one of the best vermut selections in the city (Xaloneret, Ostras Pedrín by Vicente Gandía, among others) and continuing with the finest whites, rosés and reds from the Comunitat.
Everyone who matters is here: Velázquez, Mendoza, Calatayud, Valiente, Ossorio, Revert, de la Vega, Belda, Cambra, Sarrión, Mara Bañó… Practically everyone making wine in the Comunitat Valenciana has a place on our list. For lovers of local wine, Alenar is an essential stop.
Come and discover why we are in the Almanaque Gastronómico
The best way to understand why the Almanaque Gastronómico highlights Alenar year after year is to come and see for yourself. We are based in the heart of Valencia, open continuously from Monday to Friday from 8:45 to 23:00 and Saturdays from 10:45 to 23:00.
You can book your table through our website, call us on +34 960 039 603 or write to us at hola@alenarbodega.com. If you would like to keep up with all the gastronomic events in Valencia we take part in, join the Club Alenar.
