Madrid’s rice surprise
An unassuming Madrid restaurant specializing in rice has landed on the World’s 50 Best Discovery list for its paella and arroz — a signal that Madrid’s rice culture is getting global recognition again Esquire Spain.
The restaurant is Casa Benigna, located at Calle de Benigno Soto, 9 in the Ciudad Jardín neighbourhood of Madrid. theworlds50best.com Casa Benigna was opened in 1990 by chef Norberto Jorge, who hails from Alicante and still runs the family-style venue. casabenigna.com Norberto [Jorge trained]theworlds50best.com under Juan Mari Arzak early in his career and has developed and patented his own cooking vessel — the "Patella" — to cook and serve his rice dishes. theworlds50best.com The Patella is described on the restaurant site as engineered for uniform heat, a large, even socarrat and to avoid any metallic flavour in the rice. casabenigna.com House specialities listed by 50 Best include traditional Valencian rice with rabbit, arroz negro with octopus and bomba rice with Ibérico pork rib, and the establishment’s profile cites an average price of about $61 per person. theworlds50best.com Inclusion on 50 Best Discovery means a venue has received a significant number of votes from the 50 Best academies rather than being a paid entry, and Discovery now functions as an unranked, expert-curated database that recently expanded by several hundred venues. theworlds50best.com Casa Benigna joins the roughly two dozen Madrid entries currently searchable on the 50 Best Discovery platform, while Tourism Madrid lists it among the city’s specialist rice restaurants that attract both locals and visitors. theworlds50best.com
