Joaquín Schmidt - Valencia

Joaquín Schmidt, who owns and runs his own restaurant in Valencia by the same name, is passionate about providing high quality Spanish and Mediterranean style food with a flair and a focus on the spectacle and sensation of food.

The Restaurant

By far the most interesting part of the Joaquín Schmidt restaurant in Valencia is the chef himself. Joaquín Schmidt is very proud of his artistic flair with food and his passion for providing his clientele with the best the Mediterranean can offer. Despite spending a lot of time cooking in the kitchen, Joaquín Schmidt often takes the time to meet his clients in person.

Joaquín Schmidt set up his restaurant in the 1990s after spending a long time travelling around the world. These travels, according to Schmidt, would help define him as a person and would influence his way of cooking for the rest of his life. However the biggest influence in his style of cooking would be when he settled in Zaidia in Valencia, where he met a group of experimental chefs. These chefs were beginning to change the way people thought about cooking and the kitchen in Valencia. Schmidt would become one of this group, adding his own personal style to the culinary vision.

Recently, Joaquín Schmidt has been moving away from his original cooking style, changing and reforming himself. However, elements of his past can still be seen in the eccentric dishes that his restaurant has to offer.

The restaurant itself also resembles its founder in the fact that it is also fantastically different and full of charisma. The restaurant just would not be the same if it was not filled with pictures, vinyls and music. Many have described the restaurant as being full of life and character.

The restaurant is located in the Old Jewish quarter of the city of Valencia, near to the Turia River and the Royal Gardens. The building is an old house that was designed in a Romantic style. For many years, this house was a symbol of vanguard and abstract art, however today it houses a restaurant that specialises in abstract food.

The restaurant will seat thirty people and always feels lively. Joaquín Schmidt says that everyday he feels like he is just cooking for thirty friends, which has come to be somewhat of a motto for his restaurant. You might make at least one new friend at this restaurant when you visit Spain, even if it is an eccentric chef.

The Menu

Joaquín Schmidt has designed and created an extensive range of menus with a wide range of dishes to suit every purpose, ranging from the Gourmet Menu down to the Children's Menu as well. All of these menus show off Schmidt's skills in abstract cooking and his creative flair. The Joaquín Schmidt Menu is a tour of this Spanish chef's culinary vision, consisting in seven dishes, cheese and a pudding.

Some of the dishes that you could sample at this Spanish restaurant include 'Calamar de playa guisado con cebolla' (Squid cooked with onion) and 'Los langostinos de Vinaroz con cus-cus, mango y berenjena' (Languistines from Vinaroz with couscous, mango and aubergine). Yet the menus are totally dependable upon the mood of the chef and the season in which you visit.

Other specialities that are worth highlighting at this restaurant in Valencia include 'Carpacio de ibérico con vinagre' (Iberian Carpaccio with vinegar), 'Escalivada con pasta fresca y gambas de Denia' (Escalivada with fresh pasta and Denia prawns), and 'Morro en salsa de almendras' (Snout in almond sauce).

The Spanish food available at the Joaquín Schmidt restaurant is without doubt fantastic and it contains all the key characteristics of gourmet cuisine. Unfortunately that also includes the high prices. Nonetheless, a visit to this Spanish restaurant is definitely worth pencilling in within your Valencia guide book.