Garum

Finally! This Vicente Torres – of Oli, Mercado Roma fame – Mediterranean masterpiece is open. Named after the legendary Roman fish sauce, it’s nothing short of an absolute must-visit but, don’t take our word for it. This spot fuses glam and attention to detail in every single dish and delivers on their promise to make your dinner unforgettable.

The foie gras was brought over from OCA, the Valencian chef’s first restaurant, with its sweet wine and edible flowers. The rest of the menu is totally new and balances local products and Mediterranean flavor and while some of the dishes are steady staples, others are borderline audacious. The culinary evolution from the OCA days is evident.

A couple of examples, both with cantina-esque flair, are the beef tartar with egg yolk foam and mustard ice cream – which runs the risk of being overly sweet because of the caramelized onions but, it’s balanced by the cold spicy mustard – and the drunken chocolate clam with sangrita snow cone and sea salt – basically, a michelada turned cold appetizer.

The next course has the delectable mushrooms with pickled beef, egg yolk, and potatoes; a monochromatic brown and beige slap in the mouth of deep and fleshy flavors tempered by the yolk and roasted potato. We also loved the fire-grilled totoaba served with roasted onions and Japanese Pil Pil. This one is farmed fish perfection, tender flesh and crispy skin, perfectly paired with the scorched onion.

Four courses and dessert (apple crumble, anyone?) is all you need to make a perfect date night outing and the wine list is a perfect backup singer to the delicious morsels or if you prefer a front man, try the whisky sour.

If you’re part of a group outing, check out the private rooms on the second floor complete with kitchen views where you can scope out Chef Torres and kitchen manager Adrián López Bassi. These is the same duo that was at the helm when La Sucursal got its Michelin Star and it’s a delight watching them work together again.