The two-Michelin-star restaurant known until now as El Poblet in Valencia begins a new chapter under the name Flores Raras, with Carolina Álvarez as head chef.

Flores Raras Restaurante opens its doors on Wednesday 28 January, beginning a new chapter as the natural evolution of the gastronomic concept developed until now under the name El Poblet (two Michelin stars), keeping intact the values, standards and culinary identity that have defined it since 2012.

The change of name reflects the restaurant’s current moment: a consolidated, constantly evolving project that looks to the future from the solidity of what has been built.

Located in the same space, at number 8 on central Calle de Correos, the restaurant remains owned and directed by Quique Dacosta, guaranteeing the continuity of the gastronomic criteria, the standards of quality and excellence, and the vision that has guided the project since its opening.

In this new chapter, Carolina Álvarez becomes head chef: “Cooking in València is a responsibility that fills me with excitement. I came to this city almost two decades ago and fell in love with it and its people.” After six years as head chef at Quique Dacosta Restaurante in Dénia and several more as part of the creative team, Carolina is deeply rooted in the house’s culinary philosophy.

Her appointment is the result of an organic and coherent process, aligned with the path travelled, and ensures continuity in the way of understanding cooking, produce and the guest experience. She is accompanied by a solid and sensitive dining room team led by Delia Claure and a carefully curated cellar under the direction of Hernán Menno. Together they consolidate this restaurant as one of the most interesting and relevant fine-dining spaces in València.

Flores Raras Restaurante thus reaffirms its commitment to precise, contemporary cooking with identity. For Quique Dacosta, this stage represents “an affirmation of the project, which evolves from experience and maturity. Flores Raras continues to develop a cuisine that defines our DNA, focused on knowledge of produce, surroundings and technique, understood as a tool at the service of flavour and emotion,” said the chef.

About Carolina Álvarez

Carolina Álvarez (Mexico, 1988) was one of the head chefs at Quique Dacosta Restaurante for six years, part of the creative team of the only three-Michelin-star restaurant in the Region of Valencia. Her work has helped position the restaurant among the best in the world. She has been named Best Head Chef of the Year by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of the Region of Valencia.

She has been working in the Quique Dacosta group for more than 15 years, and her talent, dedication, effort and executive ability have made her a cornerstone of one of the most influential and consolidated gastronomic projects in the world.

About Quique Dacosta

Quique Dacosta is a Spanish chef with three Michelin stars, recognised as one of the best cooks in the world. His artistic approach to cooking and the beauty of his dishes have earned him the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts.

His latest work at Quique Dacosta Restaurante, called OCTAVO, is a gastronomic piece that explores cooking as a language with its own identity, embraced by the arts and transcending the gastronomic sector itself. It has been internationally recognised as The Best Food Art by The Best Chef Awards.

The Michelin Guide also named him Mentor Chef 2026 for his work training teams, his extensive outreach and his singular vision of gastronomy.

Dacosta has positioned his restaurant as Best Restaurant in Europe for two consecutive years and features every year on the most prestigious international lists.

He has twelve restaurants in Spain, the UK and Morocco holding seven Michelin stars in total, and has been named Best Spanish Restaurant Entrepreneur by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy.