Visiting the Ebro Lands is always a pleasure!
If there is a landscape that captivates, reassures and attracts in equal parts, it is that of the Terres de l'Ebre. We immediately think of the Delta and the formidable personality that makes it unique. However, today we travel to the interior of this area of southern Catalonia, specifically to Baix Ebre and Montsià counties. Here we find a mosaic of contrasts created by the river, the sea and the mountains; not to mention magnificent gastronomic attractions.
We cannot understand the culinary wealth of the Terres de l'Ebre without taking into account its abundance of agricultural, livestock and fishing products. To name but a few: we have honey, mantis prawns, oysters, sea anemones, eels, olive oil, bluefin tuna, duck, etc. Seen by some as a second-class land, it is, without doubt, a first-class region. This opinion is shared by the gourmets who visit us whenever they want to eat well. Apart from the three award-winning restaurants we highlight below, there are many more innovative and/or traditional establishments that serve exceptional, authentic cuisine.
Virginia Woolf said, “You cannot think well, love well and sleep well if you have not eaten well”. So why don’t you join us to discover some of the best restaurants in the area?
Let's start at Ulldecona, a town in the Montsià region crowned by a castle that has no less than two triple award-winning restaurants: L'Antic Molí, awarded a Michelin Star, a Green Star and a Repsol Sun, and Les Moles, with a Michelin Star, a Green Star and two Repsol Suns.
With Vicent Guimerà at its helm, the Antic Molí d'Ulldecona was highlighted in 2023 as one of the ten best vegetarian restaurants in Spain. Vicent is also known as the “mantis prawn chef” as he enthusiastically promotes this crustacean as a haute cuisine ingredient wherever he goes. He defines his restaurant as having the “cosiness of a home” thanks to the feeling of warmth, humanity and proximity that characterises it. Don't miss this feeling or the cuisine based on the latest techniques and trends combined with the know-how of tradition and respect for the product and its territory.
L'Antic Molí shares the concept of conscious, responsible gastronomy with Les Moles d'Ulldecona. As its chef Jeroni Castell says, "we are radicals of local products". This is proven by the fact that in the last two years they have transformed their vegetable garden into biodynamic cultivation. Jeroni is the creative mind of a restaurant where local products, technique and fun are the pillars around which everything that comes out of his kitchen revolves. Les Moles is the life project of an entire family that is working to turn gastronomy into a way of life.
We leave Ulldecona with our bellies and hearts full to complete this first-class gastronomic triangle and make a detour to Xerta, where Fran López's Villa Retiro Restaurant is located. Awarded a Michelin Star every year since 2009, it offers traditional, creative market cuisine that rethinks the habitual flavours of the Terres de l'Ebre.
Born in L'Aldea in 1983 and with more than 22 years of experience, this young chef has the hospitality tradition in his genes. He is the fourth generation of restaurateurs who have placed the Terres de l'Ebre on the map with Villa Retiro and the Restaurant Xerta, a second establishment in Barcelona located in the Hotel Ohla Eixample.
These are just some of the fine restaurants in the Terres de l'Ebre. You will find many more in the AEHT Gourmet Guide. In fact, there is an ideal choice for every moment and every person. Choose yours and visit the Terres de l'Ebre to enjoy the magnificent pleasures many before you have found!
Consult the AEHT Federation Gourmet Guide here
Laia Benaiges Monné
Head of Communications
AEHT Federation