6 Spanish Grills Place in the Top 50 of World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants

The World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants, a prestigious ranking of the top restaurants from around the world, has officially been released. To nobody’s surprise, several establishments from Spain have made the grade. In the top 50 alone, there are six from Spain.

Spanish Winners

The highest-ranking restaurant from Spain is Bodega El Capricho, located in Jiménez de Jamuz, León, and is described as a “carnivore’s paradise.” It serves steak from its own cattle and other breeds from the Iberian Peninsula, which is self dry-aged for up to 160 days. They use bespoke wood and open fire grills and embrace a farm-to-form philosophy. Highlights include ox steak, ox tongue, and ox cecina.

Laia Erretegia, in Hondarribia, in the Basque Country, comes in at number 7. Here they use a wood-fired grill and traditional Basque culinary techniques to cook local meat from the Iberian Peninsula, in particular dry-aged beef from local breeds.

In the 13^th spot is Casa Julián, in Tolosa, another “temple of Basque cuisine.” Here they use bespoke wood and charcoal grills to cook cuts like chuleta, which is sourced from mature Basque cattle.

Not far behind is Los 33, ranked 15^th. This Madrid-based restaurant has made a name for itself serving the very best cuts from Spain (and beyond), including Galician Rubia beef, which has been dry-aged for 60 days. They use an open-fire grill to prepare traditional Spanish dishes with a contemporary twist.

Amaren is right on its heels, coming in at 16. This restaurant in Bilbao offers traditional Basque cooking with a modern flair. The local Iberian Peninsula meat they serve is prepared on a bespoke open fire grill to perfection.

Lana is the next restaurant from Spain on the list, ranking 18^th. Also in Madrid, here they have mastered the art of Spanish grilling and the meat they serve is from old breeds from the Iberian Peninsula, most of it self dry-aged beef. Their most popular cuts include skirt steak and ribeye.

In the second half of the list, two additional restaurants appear: Piantao, at 59, and Taberna Pedraza, at 95, both in Madrid.

Protected Indications in Spain

Spain is home to several PGIs, perhaps the most well-known of which is Ternera Gallega PGI, which protects and recognizes the quality of veal mainly from the Galician Blond breed.

This meat offers the perfect balance between muscle and fat and, at the same time, it’s succulent, tender and also firm. These animals are bred on small, family-run farms using traditional methods in the pastureland of Galicia.

Other protected designations include Carne de Ávila PGI, Carne de Cantabria PGI, Ternasco de Aragón PGI, Ternera Asturiana PGI, Ternera de Extremadura PGI, Ternera de Navarra PGI, Carne de Vacuno del País Vasco PGI, Ternera de los Pirineos Catalanes PGI and Carne de La Sierra Guadarrama PGI.

The Popularity of Spanish Beef

Other restaurants around the world included in the ranking serve beef from Spain, which is unsurprising given its outstanding quality.

At Carcasse, in Belgium, (5^th on the list), they serve their customers Spanish beef, as is the case at Beast, in London (41^st).

Similarly, at Asador Bastian, in Chicago, (14^th) the entire concept is inspired by Spain as they use Spanish asador-style cooking and Basque grilling techniques. Although they serve cuts from around the world, that includes chuletón from the Galician Rubia breed.