Eat Like Chef José Andrés: A Food Lover’s Guide to Asturias, Spain

José Andrés—the Spanish Michelin-starred chef, restaurateur, and humanitarian—owns and operates over 30 restaurants worldwide. Since opening his first space named Jaleo in Washington, D.C. in 1993, he has garnered acclaim as a global ambassador of Spanish culture. By bringing a modern taste of Spain to America through local tapas—cue croquetas, patatas bravas, and Jamón Ibérico—he has expanded to center other cultures and cuisines in his restaurants, too, including Greek, Mexican, Chinese, and Peruvian, among others.

In addition to his work in the restaurant industry with his hospitality company, José Andrés Group, Andrés spearheads a non-profit organization he founded in 2010 named World Central Kitchen. The entity provides meals to people in crisis—particularly humanitarian, climate, and community emergencies. In the past 15 years, it has served more than 500 million meals to people in need, including those in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria; to communities in California after the wildfires; to those in need after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria; to survivors of conflict zones in Ukraine and Gaza; and more. 

Although Andrés seems to be everywhere all at once, he is most at peace when he is home in Spain. Between the rugged coast of the Cantabrian Sea and the lush Picos de Europa mountains in northern Spain is Asturias—the heartland that shaped him. Here, traditions run deep and every meal tells a story. In the most recent episode of “Chef’s Table: Legends” on Netflix, we gain a glimpse into this region as Andrés walks through some of his favorite kitchens, sidrerías, cheese caves, and fish ports.

“The land of my birth, Asturias, is a beautiful, ancient kingdom between the mountains and the sea,” he shared. “If you want the natural beauty of both mountains and oceans—and great food—you need to plan a vacation to this tiny corner of Spain.”

Earlier this summer, through his ongoing partnership with Capital One, Andrés toured a special group of cardholders through Asturias. Stops in the region, created in partnership with the travel company Prior, included some of his personal favorite sites and markets—like the Covadonga Sanctuary, the cheese market in Canges de Onís, the fishing port Rula de Avilés, and Palacio de Meres—as well as Michelin-starred restaurants, including Casa Marcial, Casa Gerardo, La Huertona, and El Molín de Mingo.

Whitewall spoke with Andrés about the rhythms of the region that instilled in him a deep love of food and service, and where he recommends you go as a first-time visitor to Asturias. 

In Asturias with José Andrés

WHITEWALL: Let’s talk about Asturias, where you grew up. Where do you recommend first-timers eat?

JOSÉ ANDRÉS: Asturias is a place pretty much anybody can go for amazing food without having to look very deep. I always recommend people to go off-season. Restaurants bury the city, from the coast all the way up to the mountains. In a very short drive, you can be in the city, you can be high up in beautiful mountains with lakes. In that fashion, obviously on the seaside, every single little town you’ll find a fishing village—and whatever the fish you’re having, the fresh catch of the day, it’s not going to be better anywhere else.

WW: What’s your favorite?

JA: I like places like Tazones, a tiny seafood port. It has a restaurant named Rompeolas that’s super good. It’s right by the water, super tiny. They have spider crabs that they get right in front of the beach in the morning. Sometimes you will see rapearrepeo, or pixíin, which is monkfish. You’ll see it hanging up from this wooden post with a nail; they hang it from the head for an hour or two to dry the skin out, and then they’ll fry lightly in flour and egg. That’s an amazing local, delicious, very simple specialty. You have the Cantabrian sea, so you’ll also have lobsters, clams, gooseneck barnacles… Spain has always had a big focus on grilling, especially meats, but fish grilling has also become very important in Spain. 

Not-Miss Eateries in Asturias

WW: Are there any other places nearby that you like? 

JA: About an hour away from there is another town called Ribadesella—and its places are not in middle of the town, they’re outside. One is called La Huertona, and it’s one of my natural stops. There, they have virrey—a fish that’s becoming the new kid on the block. Epecially in season, it’s probably the best fish in the world for grilling right now. La Huertona is an amazing place, it’s informal, and they only do 30 or 40 covers a day max. It’s a luxury that almost anybody can enjoy. 

Not too far away, there’s another place called Güeyu Mar, and that place is astonishing. They not only do grilling, but when he closes the restaurant, he uses the same grills to make these very unique cans of seafood, where everything he puts in a can is seafood that he’s grilled before. This chef has made a mark for himself in the restaurant, but now you can take the food with you anywhere in the world with these beautiful, expensive cans. They’re worth every penny. 

WW: This summer, you took a group of special Capital One cardholders to a few restaurants up in the mountains. What were those? Where else would you take them?

JA: Up in the mountains, Casa Marcial and El Molín de Mingo. There’s also a restaurant in Arriondas named El Corral del Indianu that’s very good, too, where the chef and his wife are the ones running the restaurant. “Indianu” are people that went to America, Latin America, mainly, but could be the states too. And the ones that came back with wealth, or no wealth, they were called “Indianus”—people that returned from the Indians. El Corral del Indianu is a great place.

There’s another place called Casa Consuelo, which is amazing. It’s in Luarca, and it used to be a place in the middle of the principal road, and now he’s still in the middle of nowhere, but it still is beloved and has great bean dishes with seafood and meats and game. That place is amazing, very unique.

Casa de Comidas is a place where when you arrive in the middle of the bar, there are lobsters. That’s very rare to find anywhere else. They will not have 100, they will have whatever they have that day, but it’s very unique. Any time you see some of the seafood in the counter of the bar, you order it, because you are up for a treat. Then, there are a lot of cider places. There are many great ciderrias, and one has a restaurant named Casa Trabanco. It’s one of the most unique ciders. Beside the ciders that you can take with you, there is a restaurant with traditional dishes that are very typical in the ciderrias.

It’s a very good treat, especially if you go in apple season when the trees are full of apples and the harvest begins. It’s a very unique moment because they harvest the apples, not to eat, but to make cider—in the same way you do in wine country. To do that in apple country, it’s very unique, especially with the smell of the fermentation of the cider all around you. If you like sea urchin, go in November, December, January. It’s astonishing. All the cider places will have them. It’s delicious and without a doubt, it’s very special. 

José Andrés’ Favorite Corners of Asturias

WW: What about local markets or cheese caves, like the ones we saw you venture through in the latest episode of “Chef’s Table: Legends” on Netflix?

JA: Yes, obviously, visit the markets in Gijón or Oviedo. The main markets are where tourists go, but it’s where locals still buy. Visit the cheese markets in Cangas. And look for celebrations. During the year, not only in summer, but through the year, you will always be near a town that is doing some type of gastronomic celebration. They’re celebrating the chestnut season, the hunting season, walnut season, or the pine season. Usually, food is involved, even if it’s a music festival. And I would say you need to join because you’ll have a blast in a very popular celebration of the locals. They don’t do it only to attract tourists. They do it because that’s centuries-old tradition. And if you are around one of those, it’s probably some of the most unexpected fun you will have anywhere because there is no gimmick. They are real. It’s very unique when you find some of those celebrations.

So, if you visit Asturias, open the local newspapers, like La Voz de Asturias or Nueva España and translate it with AI. It will tell you what’s happening tomorrow or next week. It’s a great way to be an insider, and you can obviously ask your hotel, too.