Villa Indiano begins a new phase with Chabe Soler at the helm of gastronomic management. The renowned chef presents a menu inspired by the surroundings, which pays tribute to the suppliers and the recipes of the Comunitat de Valencia. As champion of the first World Paella Cup, Soler attaches great importance to rice, based on classic and signature recipes. Villa Indiano consolidates the gastronomic side of a unique project in Valencia, which combines restaurant, events and cultural leisure in the heart of the market garden. The chef Chabe Soler admits that she fell in love with the views of Villa Indiano.
If there is a unique place in Valencia, it is undoubtedly ‘Villa Indiano’, an enclave where the huerta is always throbbing. Located in the municipality of Burjassot, right on the outskirts of urban Valencia where the ‘huerta’ begins, Villa Indiano is a project that combines restaurants, events and cultural leisure in a century-old villa with a beautiful garden. Opened in June 2022, the restaurant begins a new culinary phase, led by renowned chef Chabe Soler. With a menu that pays tribute to the environment and values local producers, diners will be able to enjoy genuine dishes, ‘slow-cooked’ and with an honest discourse of sustainability, by focusing on seasonality and proximity, but also on the well-being of the team. And this is a story, above all, about people.
This new gastronomic direction consolidates what was already known: Villa Indiano is a unique space, and everyone can enjoy it in their own way. This is a place designed to connect with others and with the environment itself, but also to feel part of a community. Therefore, Chabe’s proposal is not only about a menu full of Valencian recipes and high quality rice dishes, whether classic or original, but also about a complete experience that is lived without rushing. “What happens around the dish is just as important,” says the chef, who talks about integrating the “absolutely privileged” setting into the experience, whether through the ingredients or the landscape that diners can see.
On the menu we will find ‘real cuisine’, a lot of local produce and some very recognisable dishes, prepared with the highest quality and the greatest care. Of course, there will be rice dishes, as Chabe Soler is a world paella champion – she was the first female chef in the world to be crowned. The kitchen shows its commitment to the garden by using seasonal produce. There will be orthodox recipes, but also signature rice dishes, which can be ordered every day, both at lunchtime and in the evening, and there will also be a place for inland products. There will also be a place for inland products, such as cured meats and cheeses, or even tinned vegetables, because the richness of our recipes is not only in the sea. “There is much more to enjoy”, Soler reminds us.
Apart from the restaurant, at Villa Indiano it is also possible to enjoy a more informal cuisine in the garden area based on classic tapas such as bravas or ensaladilla rusa, which are also going to be updated by the new chef. However, Villa Indiano is not a project that ends at the culinary level, even though it is an essential pillar: above all, it is a meeting point for people with all kinds of ideas who seek to socialise and celebrate the days. In this venue, life pulsates in all senses, encouraging creativity and fun, with the vegetable garden as the common thread of its three spaces: cultural garden, restaurant and events. All this is rounded off with an organisational model that attaches great importance to teamwork and conciliation.
A space with many lives
Villa Indiano has been open since June 2022 as a project that combines catering, cultural leisure and events (social and corporate) in the same space. In a century-old villa of great symbolic value and in the middle of an orchard, the refurbishment was not simple, but it was absolutely respectful. In fact, it has received awards from Hostelco in 2024 and Hostelería Valencia in 2023 for its interior design project, as well as a nomination for the CSCAE Architecture Award in 2022. Among the objectives of the group, which is also responsible for Convent Carmen in the city of Valencia, has always been the enhancement of heritage and its return to public use. This is why all the possibilities of such a special building, now in the peri-urban environment, are being promoted.
Thus, the new gastronomic proposal is one more step on a path that knows no horizons. Villa Indiano’s future plans include boosting the organisation of events, as they have already been doing, but with a higher culinary level. “We are working on updated menus that are in line with the restaurant’s proposal”, explains Chabe Soler. The space allows private rooms to be reserved, as well as making use of the interior and the outdoor pergolas, so it will be a place in great demand during Christmas celebrations.
The outdoor area of Villa Indiano, conceived as a gastronomic and cultural garden, is, in the words of the chef herself, “an area with enormous potential”. Whether for an aperitif at the weekend, to extend the meal, to enjoy a horchata or to try the Agua de Valencia from the Café de las Horas – the firm has established a collaboration with the house -, leisure is guaranteed. “Because Villa Indiano is not just for special occasions, but a place where people can enjoy cooking whenever they want,” says Chabe. In addition to the workshops, concerts and activities that make up the weekly programme, suitable for all ages, there are plans to add open-air gastronomic events, with the participation of friendly chefs.
This concept of an integrating space is what has led Chabe to create an open kitchen, which not only responds to gastronomic needs, but also blends in with its surroundings. “The kitchen cannot be isolated from the space. We are located in a unique landscape, there is nothing like l’Horta Nord Valenciana, and our proposal has to be in tune with it. At the same time, from here there are views of the mountains and the interior of the Comunitat, which we sometimes leave in the background thinking about the seafood. We want it to have its place and make use of its pantry”, says the chef. Without neglecting the human value that makes the profession great: “In the end, the important thing is not what is on the dish, but everything that happens around it”, she adds. And in this sense, Villa Indiano has taken the pulse of an entire Valencian generation that, more than a space, needed a refuge.
At the end of the day, the feeling of belonging is perhaps one of the most powerful that exists. We are social beings; we need to be part of something: a team, a family, and a group of friends or a social movement. As a symbol of openness, everyone is welcome at Villa Indiano, whether they are looking for gastronomy, leisure, culture or simply a place to share ideas. Although, of course, a good excuse is the new gastronomic proposal by Chabe Soler, as an ode to that orchard that means so much to Valencia.
Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’
Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’
VILLA INDIANO
More about Villa Indiano:
Web: https://villaindiano.com/
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