La Salita de Begoña Rodrigo — Restaurant in Valencia

I booked every single Michelin starred restaurant in the Valencia area that was open in August during the week of my wedding anniversary, and La Salita was the 5th Michelin starred restaurant my wife and I visited back to back.

Unfortunately, the service was extremely awkward. The waitress started the evening by telling us that they have three different tasting menus, and that we had chosen “the cheapest one” among the three when making our reservation. My wife and I looked at each other in awkward silence for a few moments since we had thought that eight courses would have been plenty of food. In response, we decided to ask for the second option, which technically is the “second cheapest” tasting menu in the restaurant since they only have a total of three available - my tongue is firmly placed in my cheek as I write this sentence. More seriously, the restaurant should simply remove any tasting menu options the restaurant is uncomfortable serving.

The waitresses were completely disinterested in their job. In every other Michelin starred restaurant in Valencia, the waiters and waitresses exuded a sense of deep pride in their work. In this restaurant, the waitresses robotically listed the ingredients and mechanically served the food. An exception was the waiter with a metal front tooth who served our second dessert. The young man was extremely enthusiastic about the dish and his phenomenal demeanor was comparable to the best waiters and waitresses at the other Michelin starred restaurants we visited. Other than this young man, the staff in this restaurant appeared to be disinterested and unhappy.

The food was perfectly ordinary for a Michelin starred restaurant. None of the dishes were particularly terrible compared to other Michelin starred restaurants, and none of the dishes were particularly outstanding compared to other Michelin starred restaurants. While some of the other Michelin starred restaurants we visited had particularly weak dishes, they also had phenomenal dishes that we talked about for days. In this restaurant, the nadirs and peaks were very mild. That being said, we had minor digestive issues and bloating after dinner, which surprised us since the flavors and ingredients were on the safe side.

Finally, I absolutely hated the table we were seated at in the restaurant. The table was in the upstairs dining room, which has two sections, an inner section that resembles a traditional dining room and an outer section that is surrounded by walls on all sides. The layout of my table is hard to explain in words, but I felt like I was being attacked by walls during the entirety of my dining experience. It was extremely claustrophobic to the point where I felt like the walls were closing in on me with every bite. My wife, on the other hand, was seated in a manner that directly faced the two diners at the next table, which effectively meant that she was forced to watch other people eat during the entirety of our anniversary dinner.

A highlight of our dinner was the acknowledgement of our wedding anniversary at the very end. Some of the Michelin starred restaurants we visited did not acknowledge our wedding anniversary at all, and the acknowledgement at La Salita was a very pleasant surprise. A very cute dessert arrived at our table in a very cute bowl with a candle on top. At that point, however, I was actually upset with such a wonderful gesture because I was looking forward to giving this restaurant a one star review for my overall experience, which admittedly would not have been very tactful after such a kind gesture.

At the end of the day, considering the fact that the dishes were relatively safe and uncontroversial, I would come back here for a business lunch or a dinner with a group of friends. The garden of the restaurant, which has a bar and some tables, is the single best bar and casual dining space I have seen in all of Valencia. However, I would avoid this restaurant for...

After reading about La Salita’s history and the chef’s impressive background, I arrived with understandably high expectations. In hindsight, perhaps too high—because I left feeling underwhelmed in several key areas. Our evening began outdoors with cocktails. While the aroma was promising, the drink itself was lukewarm and lacked flavour—anything but refreshing, which is the one thing a cocktail should always be. The guests next to us even sent theirs back, and I suspect for the same reasons.

The first appetizers arrived—visually stunning, no doubt, and had pleasant flavour, but overall, they lacked excitement. The rice paper “leaves” with pesto looked beautiful but were overwhelmingly salty, which ruined the experience of that particular bite.

Moving inside to the main dining room, we were presented with a wine list. I described our usual preferences to the sommelier, and I must say—his recommendation, 200 Monges 2011, was spot on. Elegant, complex, and beautifully balanced. As the dishes followed, I felt they were often over-thought and at times over-flavoured, lacking the harmony that makes truly great cuisine memorable. The real disappointment, however, was the absence of warmth and engagement from the staff. Not once were we asked if we enjoyed the food. In top-level restaurants, where dishes can be conceptual and experimental, feedback should be welcomed, not avoided. Here, the service felt distant and uninterested, with ingredients recited in a monotone—no sense of storytelling or passion. This lack of emotion in the service unfortunately translated into the food, which, while technically competent, often felt soulless.

That said, one dish truly stood out—the strawberry and pea creation. It was brilliant: balanced, surprising, beautifully textured, and visually stunning. A perfect example of what the entire experience could have been.

In the end, I take La Salita for what it was: an experience that adds to the broader journey of exploring gastronomy. I’m not disappointed—just aware that there are more inspiring and emotionally engaging dining experiences in Valencia and within approximately...

First - if you are used to starred food in places like London, Paris, NYC, etc. please do your research outside of Google before booking here. This review is going to cast a high bar but it should for 500€. (I kid you not, the r/finedining subreddit is a gold mine and cautioned against this place while also leading me to Noor in Cordoba which was a gem.)

This started off on the wrong foot from the beginning. My wife received the wrong cocktail (16€) while they somehow told me that an old fashioned was not something they could make (fully stocked bar staring me in the face). We accepted the wrong drink amongst the two of us and moved on (because no one ever came to ask us how our drinks were).

On to the food - everything about this screams “a chef trying desperately to earn a second star” - chef clearly has not eaten their menu from start to finish. It is an assault on your palate - not in a good way. Once you’re past the intro courses, savory after savory after savory with nothing to give your mouth a break - there was no break to the richness of the dishes. It is forced-technique to prove that they can do it.

There were multiple instances where the wrong cutlery was put down, only to be picked up without a word. On the final time, I asked and was told we were done with the menu only for another waiter to let us know coffee desserts were on the way. Utter confusion. When we raised this (and the cocktail issue) with the waitress, a simple apology was issued - mgmt never appeared.

We had the longest menu and it took a whopping 3 hrs 40 minutes. I’ve had 20+ courses at 2* and 3* run just as long. Spacing was off - this was around 10 courses.

This is intended to come off as a review demanding a high bar as dinner for two was almost 500 euro despite ordering cheaper alcohol options (food is 190 per person).

Especially in Spain, outside of Barcelona and Madrid, you can do much better for that amount of money.

Pics: just 4 of the savory back to back courses...