Next Wednesday, November 5, the El Cabanyal neighborhood will celebrate its maritime essence with the opening of ‘Casa Pescadores’, a gastronomic project born from the collaboration between Grupo Mercabanyal and Jugando con Fuego. The restaurant will also boast a kitchen led by the team from Flama, with Edu Espejo as culinary advisor and Marcos Moreno overseeing daily service. Located in a former fisherman’s house and shipyard at C/ José Ballester Gozalvo (51), directly overlooking Cabanyal Beach, the restaurant pays homage to maritime tradition, home cooking, and life by the sea.

“We wanted the soul of the neighborhood to remain alive in every corner,” explain Hugo Cerverón and José Miralles, the project’s founders. “We grew up smelling damp wood and listening to the sea. This house is a tribute to that memory,” they recall. Oars, anchors, and original tools decorate a space where time seems to stand still.

The cuisine of old-fashioned fishermen’s eateries

‘Casa Pescadores’ is, above all, a restaurant that champions honest cuisine, based on seafood and traditional recipes. The fact that Espejo and Moreno are behind the stove is already a guarantee of quality, as both are known for their skillful handling of fish, shellfish, and other local produce. Now, at lunchtime, the space is divided into three distinct areas with different culinary offerings: the traditional bar, the grill, and the restaurant.

In the first, a large central bar dominates the space, serving classic tapas such as potato salad with flame-grilled salted cod, patatas bravas, cuttlefish with mayonnaise, squid stuffed with blanquet (a type of sausage) and tender garlic, or tellinas (small clams) with tomato. These dishes are served alongside the freshest fish from the market, displayed daily, as the menu depends heavily on what the fishing boats have brought in that day. “Whoever arrives early gets to choose,” emphasizes José Miralles, highlighting his commitment to the freshness of the product. This decision is also a tribute to his roots, as it evokes memories of the beachside eateries of his childhood, scattered along the Valencian beaches in the 1970s, “where you ate whatever was available each day.” The specialty, of course, was fish in all its forms.

The bar’s menu is rounded out with a selection of traditional stews, such as cap i pota (a tripe and pig’s head stew), oxtail ‘Victoria’, and braised beef tongue, not forgetting the range of Iberian cured meats, preserves, and salted fish, reflecting the most authentic maritime culture. Let’s move to the adjacent space: in the restaurant’s grill, known as ‘La Jefa’ (The Boss), the atmosphere becomes more understated and elegant. Here, they work with a limited menu featuring seasonal produce, cooked to order over the embers. In the words of chef Edu Espejo, “We’ll have rabbit, quail, lamb chops, and, of course, fresh fish from the market, from monkfish to sea bass and red mullet, including grilled sole meunière,” he explains. They’ll buy fresh daily, mark the weights and prices on the blackboard, “and when it’s gone, it’s gone.” His colleague Marcos Moreno emphasizes the restaurant’s commitment to ensuring that each dish “retains the spirit of old-fashioned taverns and eateries, where simple, straightforward, unpretentious cuisine was served, with the flavours of the fire and the sea.”

The restaurant’s offering is complemented by a set menu, without a à la carte menu, where diners can enjoy three starters and a main course, choosing between rice, grilled meat, or fish. The dessert maintains the overall theme: a classic “pijama” (a type of Spanish pastry), subtly reinterpreted, brings the experience to a close with a touch of nostalgia. “We want to take care of our guests, so they don’t feel rushed. We’re in a space designed for lingering after a meal. Here, there’s no such thing as hurry,” says Hugo Cerverón. Finally, the drinks menu reflects the personality of each space: beer and a selection of wines at the bar; Valencian wines and champagnes by the glass at the grill, along with cocktails inspired by local spirits. For example, a very special Bloody Mary, which will become a signature drink of this area, or a reinterpretation with cazalla in the style of a Gin Fizz. The restaurant, for its part, will offer a smaller selection of cocktails—only two or three creations—with a solid and classic wine cellar, featuring special touches, such as Fondillón wines from Alicante.

At ‘Casa Pescadores’, you can enjoy a meal, but it’s also a beautiful space with a unique location and interior design. The decor and the distinct spaces reflect the unique spirit of the ‘Mercabanyal’ group, always committed to preserving the true character of the neighborhood’s buildings, combining in this case nautical charm with industrial aesthetics. This is no coincidence: the bar and grill are located in what was once a shipyard, a space where pleasure boats and fishing vessels were crafted.

Visitors can discover paintings of model ships built on-site, while one of the shipyard’s main engines has been transformed into a table. Tools, oars, and handcrafted shelves made from beams salvaged from a renovated house in the neighborhood complete the ambiance. The lamps, also handcrafted, contribute to this appreciation of cultural heritage, which is combined with elegance and design: all the furniture in the grill area is by Francesc Rifé, winner of the Best National Designer award at the 2025 Interior Design Awards.

Meanwhile, the restaurant area, located in the former home of Ricardo Palau of Astilleros Palau (Palau Shipyards), required meticulous soundproofing and a faithful recreation of the original building. “In the restaurant, you should feel like you’re eating in a real home, with the family; in the bar, you’re in a shipyard,” the group emphasizes. Thus, the restaurant will only be open for lunch, with dinner service exclusively at the bar, as the aim is to extend the dining time until the diners wish to stay. Above all, this is a place to be happy.

In short, ‘Casa Pescadores’ champions lingering after a meal as a cultural treasure. “Our opening is also a statement: to reclaim that lifestyle that exists by the sea, in opposition to the rush, the shifts, and soulless food,” the team affirms, concluding: “Relaxing after a meal is more than a habit: it’s a way of understanding life.” So, it’s a restaurant, yes, but also a project that returns the spotlight to the old fishermen’s houses, where people shared, celebrated, and enjoyed life.

Information for diners: Casa Pescadores opens its doors on November 5th. Its hours will be Wednesday through Friday, starting at 12:00 PM, and on weekends, from 11:00 AM. It will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The restaurant and grill require reservations, while the bar is open to the public without a reservation. The restaurant does not offer dinner, only lunch with a leisurely after-dinner chat, although both lunch and dinner are available at the grill. Reservations are now available through their website: www.casapescadorescabanyal.com

Opening: Wednesday, November 5, 2025!

Calle José Ballester Gozalvo 51,

Cabanyal

46011

(Valencia)

Website and reservations: www.casapescadorescabanyal.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casapescadorescabanyal