Media: El País.com
Original title: Dónde come en Valencia el experto en arte y cítricos Vicente Todolí
Author: Paz Álvarez
Date: 6th January 2025
All his recommendations have one thing in common: they are bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, from breakfast to dinner, all of them are right on the beach.
Born into a family dedicated to citriculture for more than five generations, one day, after travelling halfway around the world as a contemporary art curator, he decided to return to his homeland to evangelise about caring for the land, and where he has created the Todolí Citrus Foundation. Vicente Todolí (Palmera, 67 years old) combines this activity with others related to art: since 2012 he has been the artistic director of Pirelli HangarBicocca, an exhibition space managed by the Pirelli Foundation in Milan, as well as chairing the Fundación Botín. Plastic Arts Advisory Committee. He has been chief curator and artistic director of the IVAM (Valencia), founder of the Museu de Arte Contemporánea de Serralves (Porto) and director of the Tate Modern (London), among other positions.
Where to have breakfast
1. He likes to have breakfast on the beach. He avoids restaurants that use artificial light during the day and has even unscrewed the light bulb on a table when it has been on after hours. That said, he recommends starting the day at Mandala, next to the sea, on Oliva beach. As well as a pizzeria and restaurant, the place offers breakfasts and brunches, based on natural juices, toasted bread with different accompaniments, fruit salads and yoghurts. Address: Mare de Déu del Mar, 57, Oliva, Valencia. Telephone: 961 31 70 64.
A place to have an aperitif
2. He recommends another classic in Oliva, Soqueta Restaurant, just a few metres from the sea, where the speciality, Todolí points out, is red prawns and crayfish from the beach of Denia, boiled or salted. There is a bar where you can eat good seafood’, he explains of this restaurant, which opened its doors in 1984, where they also offer a selection of rice dishes, fish and the “empanadilla de La Mari”. Address: Vía de Ronda, 118, Oliva, Valencia. Telephone: 605 83 19 38.
Where to eat
3. He suggests going to Piles beach, to the Gloriamar restaurant, ‘with the best views in the whole area’. The restaurant was an old picnic area where Todolí used to go as a child with his parents. ‘On the menu you can find everything from classic rice dishes to more innovative proposals, even with oriental touches’. You can opt for some ‘tellinas’, prawns, Russian salad with tuna, tempura of vegetables from the restaurant’s own garden in Japanese style with kimchi mayonnaise, dry or sweet rice, fish or a Japanese-style hamburger with tuna tartar. Address: Av. de la Mar, 1, Platja de Piles, Valencia. Telephone: 962 83 13 53.
A snack
4. He offers an address that has become a classic in Gandia: Patisseria Tano, where you can enjoy both sweet and savoury pastries. ‘I love meringues and cakes made with almonds and oil’, says the pastry chef Pep Gomar, who opened the shop in 1962. Address: Avinguda de la Medicina, 9, Local 2, Gandia, Valencia. Telephone: 622 30 55 12.
Where to dine
5. Casa Manolo, on the beach in Daimús, is one of his favourite places to end the day. ‘It offers a local product from a modern point of view, and it’s right in front of the sea’, he points out. Citrus fruits, something that Todolí values, play an important role in the dishes of this restaurant run by the Alonso-Fominaya family. They offer seafood cuisine, with rice dishes, fish and tapas; and a daily menu for those who want to approach haute cuisine and try other, more creative dishes. Address: Passeig Marítim, 5, Daimús, Valencia. Telephone: 962 81 85 68.
A shop or market stall
6. If you are looking for an old-fashioned address where you can find good salted fish, this is El Salaurero, in Gandia. ‘This is where my grandfather and my father, both of whom were very fond of salted fish, used to shop. In the shop, which has a good selection of preserves, cheeses and cured meats, the owners give very good advice on the products, with a good quality-price ratio’, Todolí explains. Address: Av. de la República Argentina, 12, Gandia, Valencia. Telephone: 962 86 11 61.
A gastronomic souvenir
7. He decides on some salted fish, such as tuna roe, to be eaten with olive oil and almonds, and some good citrus fruits.
