Here comes GRESº, Pablo Montoro’s big bet in Valencia: a counter for 14 diners and the reinvention of the Valencian repertoire as a destination!  The chef from Alicante is conquering a new stage with a fully gastronomic proposal. The space will open its doors on January 7, but reservations are already open. Located on the upper floor of the Sky Business Center in Manises, which also houses Forja, the restaurant features a striking space with views of the airport runway. Alicante chef Pablo Montoro is preparing the opening of GRESº, his new fine dining restaurant located in the Sky Business Center in Manises, where he will take gastronomic innovation even further without losing sight of his solid Mediterranean roots. Ingredients, viewed through a contemporary lens, form the backbone of a surprising proposal built around a single counter for 14 guests. Diners will share one seating and move through the menu simultaneously, able to watch the kitchen at work in front of them while, beyond a large glass wall, the Manises airport runway serves as the backdrop. The space was designed by Paco Llopis.

With GRESº, the gastronomic offering of this multipurpose business center is expanded and elevated. On the ground floor is Forja, a restaurant of which Montoro is also a partner and gastronomic advisor. While the first concept, presented last March, centers on the charcoal grill, GRESº aims to bring an even more gastronomic focus and become the flagship of the building.
A retrospective of Valencian cuisine.

GRESº’s culinary proposal starts from a question: what would Valencian cuisine look like if it were reinterpreted today with an eye on the future? The answer is built through seasonal ingredients, with the market garden, the Mediterranean Sea and the Albufera serving as the settings for the proposal. The goal, however, is not to reproduce recipes of the past, but to explore their possibilities from the present.

GRESº’s spectacular dining room, with a large glass wall and views of the Manises Airport runway (Dining room render)
The tasting menu consists of four snacks, eight savory courses, bread made in-house, two desserts and three petit fours. In short, a sequence designed to explore different nuances of the territory and the local pantry. The beverage program accompanies this journey with a cellar of more than 400 references and a cocktail list that expands the possibilities for pairing.
But the dining experience begins well before the table. Visiting GRESº is like taking a trip to a still-unknown gastronomic Valencia. Reservations through the website are the first step in, and the restaurant offers private parking and an independent entrance leading to the dining room, located on the first floor of the Sky Business Center. Once inside, the open kitchen, the counter and the handcrafted tableware make up the guest’s first contact with the restaurant. The reduced format and the single seating per service allow the visit to GRESº to be concentrated and elevated.
“What I want is for GRESº to maintain the style and format of Espacio Montoro: seasonal ingredients and traditional dishes reinterpreted. To do so, we have built an incredible space, with its own access and spectacular views of the Manises Airport runway that fully immerse the guest in the proposal: traveling gastronomically to Valencia from a different perspective,” explains Pablo Montoro.

From Manises to Alicante and back to its origins
The name GRESº comes from a story tied to ceramics, since Manises is a town historically linked to this craft and to the raw material used in tableware. But it also travels to Alicante, where the ceramics workshop of Grupo Montoro handcrafts the pieces for the restaurant. Once finished, they return to Manises to become part of the GRESº experience.
The journey creates a bond between two disciplines that share the same relationship: ceramics and cooking. The name itself refers to gres, a ceramic material that acquires its properties through firing at high temperature (around 1,300 degrees). The degree symbol evokes this process. Thus, GRESº is summed up in three concepts: earth (ceramics and Valencian produce), fire (the firing of the stoneware, the cooking and the transformation) and destination (Manises, the airport and the guest’s journey).
GRESº will open its doors to the public on Thursday, January 7, 2027. The restaurant will serve lunch from Wednesday to Sunday, and dinner from Thursday to Saturday. Lunch service will begin at 2 p.m., with arrival expected at 1:30 p.m., while dinner will start at 8:30 p.m., with arrival at 8 p.m. Both services will operate with a single seating, as all guests will travel at the same cruising speed.

With GRESº, the Sky Business Center in Manises takes another step forward in gastronomy. Undoubtedly the most important to date, incorporating a high-quality proposal led by chef Pablo Montoro. The 14-seat counter is putting the finishing touches on the boarding of the guest toward a Valencian cuisine seen from a very different perspective.

Report by Will McCarthy

Article copyright ’24/7 Valencia’

MORE ABOUT GRESº
Website: https://gresrestaurante.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/gres_restaurante