Two weeks ago Rik and I spontaneously decided to book a last minute getaway to Valencia. We had both been quite busy and were in much need of some quality time with just the two of us. Though I only had one week left, I never leave unprepared since I hate wasting time and money on low quality food so I did the necessary research and found out about Canalla Bistro by Ricard Camarena in the trendy Ruzafa district.
Canalla Bistro is Michelin Star chef Ricard Camarena's most affordable and most "varied" restaurant. At this place you'll get to enjoy tapas with a modern twist and with flavors from all over the world. Craving a pastrami sandwich as if you were in New York? Or feel like going on a trip to Japan or Mexico? Sounds like the perfect mix to me :)
Anyway, we got the menu and started with a bottle of red wine. We weren't too sure which one to pick so asked the waiter for a recommendation. At first I wasn't really into red wine but over the years I really started to appreciate it and I prefer it to white wine or rosé nowadays. I asked for a "soft" one and he brought us the Vizcarra Senda de Oro from 2015, which is a Tempranillo. Now I'm not a wine connoisseur whatsoever but this one was really good!
According to the waiter, the best way to get the full experience at Canalla Bistro is by ordering 6 or 7 dishes to share. As I mentioned, basically every cuisine is covered and the menu is divided in several sections. There's meat such as American pork ribs or Korean entrecote, Mexican taco's, Japanese pizza, battered squid with feta as if you were in Greece, salads to keep it all in balance and the essential section aka dessert. We had quite a hard time choosing what to order as it all sounded similarly delicious so we decided to just randomly pick and get a mix of everything.
The tapas get served with some time in between. I love that since you get to fully focus on one dish and its flavors without having to rush things. The first thing we got was the salmon's crunchy cone with avocado and wasabi and it hit the spot right away. The crunchy cone, the slightly seared salmon, the soft avocado and the spicy wasabi were so good together. I would really recommend this one!
Next, they served the courgette ribbon salad with green mango and parmesan cheese. Now usually I'm not really into courgetti and I never really understood the hype as I think it tastes too bland but the combination of the sweet mango with the soft courgetti, the crunchy, sweet sesame seeds and the salty parmigiano was just PER-FECT. We both couldn't get enough of it and I still dream about this dish. I should try to recreate this at home but it probably wouldn't do any justice to the real deal.
Next up: the garlic and rosemary french fries. Both herbs added a nice touch to the fries but I prefer them a bit more crunchy. It was good but nothing too special. Or maybe us Belgians are just more critical since we are experts when it comes to fries :)
Rik really likes chicken wings so he ordered these ones which come with a sesame citric sauce and according to him they were really good.
Then we had the Mexican taco with tuna belly, coriander mery sauce and parmesan. I usually try to avoid fish but there aren't many vegetarian dishes on the menu so I cheated a little. The fish was really soft and of great quality and the sauce was the perfect addition to it together with the crunchy taco. I think, by now, it's pretty clear that chef Ricard Camarena knows how to do good food.
Lastly, we got the stuffed mozzarella. I can't really remember the details but it was good.
Rik is a hardcore dessert lover so he always has to have one when we go out for dinner. He decided to go for the chocolate textures and loved it! I had a small bite and was quite surprised cause it was a bit too bitter for me. Rik doesn't like dark chocolate and I normally do (85% is my fav) so I don't really get it haha. I'm not too sure what was inside of the chocolate bomb and getting a detailed description from Rik is basically impossible but I guess it was chocolate mousse and some sort of cream.
I'm super happy I found out about this place cause it's the best one we've been during our stay in Valencia. It's totally worth the hype! Canalla Bistro is very popular and gets really crowded on the weekend so I'd recommend making a reservation in advance. Also, when we got the check, both our jaws dropped. We only had to pay € 59,70. How is that even possible considering the quality and the amount of food you get?! Including a bottle of good quality wine?? Cheap, delicious ànd a gastronomic trip around the world. What's not to love?
Carrer del Mestre Josep Serrano 5
46005 València
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