My 25 most memorable dishes of 2015

400+ dishes. 200+ restaurants. 30 cities. And here are the top 25 dishes that I have enjoyed in 2015.

This list is specific to where I visited and what I ate during 2015 — it’s not a list of my favourite dishes and restaurants ever. Sadly that means there is no place for dishes and restaurants from Tokyo, San Sebastian and Paris, etc. this time.

The reason I publish this list is to share my thoughts with people like me who love to eat and understand what, how and why we love food.

I am sure most people who read this list may disagree with some of my opinions! That is the beauty of it: with food as with art, there is no right or wrong, everything is subjective and dependant on personal tastes!

Feel free to find me on Twitter and Instagram

#25

Fassone piamontese tartare.

Da Felicin

Monforte D’Alba, Piemonte. Italy

Set in an 18th-century mansion overlooking the Langhe hills, this Italian family owned restaurant serves one of the best steak tartares I’ve had. Its minimalistic in its presentation and deconstructed in a way you will be able to taste the different ingredients by themselves first and then mix it all together. The hand cut steak is not salted at all so that you get the saltiness from the anchovies.

#24

Suckling pig in buckwheat pancake.

The Clove Club

Shoreditch, London. United Kingdom

As simple as it gets. Perfect balance between the crunchy skin and the flavourful pork belly. Brought instant memories of “Cuy pekines” (Peking style guinea pig) from Astrid & Gaston Cantuarias in Lima. The Clove Club serves a tasting menu featuring British ingredients and produce.

#23

Taco de lengua.

Hija de Sánchez

Nørreport, Copenhagen. Denmark

Quintessential Mexican street food. The only difference is that this Mexican food stall is located in the heart of Copenhagen instead of in the streets of Mexico City. The author of this miracle is Rosio Sanchez, the former pastry chef of Rene Redzepi’s Noma (third best restaurant in the world according to 50 Best). Caramelized beef tongue, coriander, onion and jalapeno salsa rest over a made-on-the-moment corn tortilla. Real and authentic Mexican food in the heart of CPH.

#22

Chicken sasami with mentaiko.

Dos Palillos

Ciutat Vela, Barcelona. Spain

Free range chicken breast and fish roe served on a warm stone. The chicken is raw and subtle, while the fish roe is salty and rich. Perfect combination by the hands of Albert Raurich, the chef of Dos Palillos the temple of asian-cañí fusion in Barcelona.

#21

Yooke.

Takashi

Tribeca, Manhattan. New York

Takashi is the first restaurant I visited when I moved to NYC in 2013. It was recommended by my friends Gastón Acurio and Mitsuharu Tsumura. Takashi does the best yakiniku in NYC using primarily wagyu beef cuts. All cuts are great but my favourite item is actually the Yooke, a thinly-sliced chuck eye tartare with raw quail egg.

#20

Duck Egg Bhurji, Lobster, Malabar Paratha

Gymkhana

Mayfair, London. United Kingdom

Egg bhurji is a dish popular in the north and western parts of India. It is a slightly more complex version of scrambled eggs. At Gymkhana, they use duck egg and lobster. Best Indian food I have found in London so far.

#19

Bogavante

Suculent

El Raval, Barcelona. Spain

This was the dish I liked the most of the Suculent tasting menu. Simple yet perfect bogavante (French lobster) tartare served on its own shell.

#18

Prawn and bonito carpaccio

Barrafina

Covent Garden, London. United Kingdom

Fresh bonito and prawns, sea salt, extra virgin oil, lemon and cilantro. More similar to a tiradito than to a carpaccio actually. Barrafina is one the few places to eat good and authentic Spanish food in London.

#17

Hamachi Kama

Chotto

Marina District, San Francisco. California

If you know about fish then you know that one of the best parts of a fish is the collar. At Chotto, a Japanese Izakaya in the Marina district in San Francisco, they serve the same traditional dishes one would find in the streets of Shinjuku or Shibuya. My favourite one is this chargrilled yellowtail collar served with daikon ponzu. There is no other part of the yellowtail that has as much flavour than the kama.

#16

Yam Makheua Yao

Pok Pok

In this cult Northern Thai restaurant in Brooklyn, this dish description reads as follows: “Smoky grilled long eggplant salad with spicy dressing of Thai chillies, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, topped with boiled egg, dry shrimp, pork, prawns, shallots and crispy garlic” Out of all the salads I’ve ever had this is my personal favourite.

#15

Hinadori no lemon miso yaki

Roka

Fritzovia, London. United Kingdom

The Japanese robata consulate in London. At Roka, cedar is used to grill a baby chicken that has been previously marinated with chilli and lemon. If you are a fan of smoke infused flavours Roka is the place to visit in London.

#14

Raya a la Mantequilla Negra

La Buena Vida

Malasana, Madrid. Spain

At La Buena Vida in Madrid, Carlos Torres only uses seasonal produce. Though the sweet and hot octopus was an outstanding dish, our personal favourite was the skate on brown butter.

#13

Octopus

Le Bernardin

Midtown, Manhattan. New York

Eric Ripert is a cuisine legend specially with it comes down to sea food. At Le Bernardin, he serves a warm octopus carpaccio with leek compote and Peruvian Anticucho sauce that is out of this planet.

#12

Arroz con camarones

La Mar Cebichería Peruana

Miraflores, Lima. Perú

A few months ago, Pepe Carpena added a grilling section and a wood oven on the back of La Mar dining room. Andresito Rodriguez has grilled a lot of fish ever since (Elkano style) but our personal favourite is the Arroz con Camarones (River shrimp rice). The paella style dish is finished on the wood oven which gives it a deep smoky flavour.

#11

Carnitas de Pato

Cosme

Gramercy, Manhattan. New York

Though not my favourite restaurant in NYC, I have to recognize that the Duck Carnitas that Enrique Olvera has developed is the best duck dish I’ve ever had on my life. Served with tacos, we just couldn’t help ourselves dovuring this dish very very fast.

#10

Jaladito

La Picanteria

Surquillo, Lima. Peru

“Jaladito” is the Northern of Peru take on tiradito which in turn is the Peruvian take of the Japanese sashimi and the Italian crudo. What makes Jaladito different from traditional tiraditos is that the fish is previously curated on salt and that it alsouses the skin. For this particular jaladito he used cabrilla (a type of grouper)

Hector Solis, Lambayeque’s prodigal son, opened La Picanteria a couple of years ago and started a revolution in Lima bringing with him dishes that you could only eat in the North of Peru.

#9

Fish Collar (that otherwise would have been wasted)

Blue Hill New York

Gramercy, Manhattan. New York

“Wasted” was one of the most insightful and delightful meals I’ve ever had. At this pop up event authored by Dan Barber and Alain Ducasse, all dishes were prepared from waste, that is food that otherwise would have been thrown away by the kitchen on a regular dining service.

The highlight of the night was this cod collar that in traditional New York Times 4 stars, 3 Michellin stars establishments would have been thrown into the trash.

#8

Pulpo en el desierto

Central

Miraflores, Lima. Peru

Airampo is a prickly purple pear found in the Andean region of Peru. Virgilio Martinez, the chef of Central the 4th best restaurant in the world according to 50 Best, uses it to make a salt that accompanies a cylinder-smoked octopus and a reduction of purple corn.

Working in conjuction with his R+D lab, Mater Iniciativa, Virgilio offers a tasting menu called Alturas Mater, an academic lesson of the marvels of Peru through its altitudinal floors and the products grown in those zones across the width, length and heigth of the country.

#7

Ravioli verdi di robiola e ricotta con salsa al tartufo nero

Osteria del Vignaiolio

La Morra, Cuneo. Italy

On the top of a hill in the middle of Piamonte, there is a small and unpretentious osteria where we basically had the best pasta dish of the season. A green ravioli is filled with ricotta and robiola, a soft-ripened cheese from the Langhe region in Italy and then finalized on a black truffle sauce that it is addictive to say the least. An Italian treasure in the land of Barolo wine and truffles.

#6

Butifarra Criolla

Isolina Taberna Peruana

Barranco, Lima. Peru

There was a time in Lima when social gatherings around a wood table filled with pisco and butifarras generated the most passionate conversations about life and destiny, and forged the best friendships. The Palermos, Carbones, Queirolos and Cordanos started disappearing with the coming of modern times. Isolina was created to pay tribute to those legendary taverns in Lima.

Located a few meters away from Puente de los Suspiros in the bohemian district of Barranco in Lima, Isolina serves the best butifarra of the city. Jose del Castillo uses a whole pig that it is slowly roasted, then rest to cool to be finally served with criolla sauce. Class act.

#5

Yakitori Seseri and Soriresu

Torishin

Midtown, Manhattan. New York

Torishin is the only Michelin-star yakitori restaurant outside Japan. The first time I visited Torishin I had the luck to be attended in the bar by Atsushi Kono the chef. Kono-san only uses Kishu binchotan charcoal from the Wakayama Prefecture. One case costs around $250 and Tori Shin uses one everynight. He explained to me that this type of charcoal helps to get the chicken meats crispy on the outside while leaving the center perfectly moist.

All cuts are amazing by two personal highlights were the oyster -a rare part of the thigh and the neck meat.

#4

Pan con chicharron de pejesapo

Maido

Miraflores, Lima. Peru

Nobuyuki Matsuhisa learnt how to mix Peruvian ingredients with Japanese techniques in Lima, Peru back in the 80's with Toshiro Konishi and the Matsufuji family in Matsuei. He then internationalized nikkei cusine worldwide by serving tiraditos and cebiches in the major capitals of the world.

Right now, the best nikkei restaurant in the world is called Maido and is led by Mitsuharu Tsumura. The tasting menu is both a work of culinary art and a tribute to the fusion between Japan and Peru. One of the highlights of the the menu is a simple yet perfect fish sandwich on a bun. Pejesapo is a distant cousin of the monkfish. He cooks it as a tempura and serves it on a bun sandwich with salsa criolla. Heaven on earth.

#3 (tie)

Pichon asado

Can Ravell

Eixample, Barcelona. Spain

Can Ravell is a legendary 12 seat dining room hidden on the back room of a wine and delicatessen store in the heart of Barcelona. Josep Ravell, notorious epicure, serves food that is both simple and deep in flavours. The first time I visited he recommended me to have this roasted pigeon which after 6 months have been impossible to forget.

https://goo.gl/maps/RzhwUn5JWHv

#3 (tie)

Huevo poche con foie y trufa negra

Can Pineda

El Clot, Barcelona. Spain

Free range egg, foie gras and back truffle. Do I need to say more?

#2 (tie)

Becada

La Tasquita de Enfrente

Malasana, Madrid. Spain

Among serious food connoisseurs, Le Becasse (woodcock) “the queen of the forest” must be one of the most seek out products in the planet. Not for every palate because of its wild gaminess, this is one of the many outstanding dishes Juanjo Lopez serves at La Tasquita de Enfrente. La Tasquita is a temple for those of us who look for the maximum level of respect when treating top quality ingredients.

#2 (tie)

Falsa lasagna de erizos

Sacha

Chamartin, Madrid. Spain

Sacha is a legend in Madrid. I have met very few people with the level of passion that Sacha Hormaechea, owner and chef of this food temple, has about food and life. We went on late November right after a historic game between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (0–4) at Santiago Bernabeu which is just a few blocks away.

A “false” lasagna of sea urchin topped with a light béchamel and a single handkerchief of pasta was only one of the many dishes we had that night. We deliberately chose to focus the dinner on seafood and it was an out of this world experience. We will be back soon to try a more meat focused meal.

#1

Cebiche de mero a la brasa

Fiesta

Miraflores, Lima. Peru

If I had to choose the most revolutionary dish in Peruvian cuisine during the last 10 years I would choose this braised cebiche from Fiesta. Arguably, the most recognized Peruvian food item globally, cebiche is traditionally served raw. Hector Solis, moche cuisine alchemist, wraped raw mero (the king of the groupers) marinated in lemon and chilies into banana leaves and put in on the grill for a minute. The result: a warm cebiche that is still almost raw but that has a distinct punch of smoky flavour in it. In my opinion, one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life and definitely the single dish I enjoyed the most during 2015.

** All photographs were taken by myself using non-professional camera devices. I promise to get a better camera in the future.