Ten minutes from Valencia, tucked away among the unassuming streets of an industrial park in Manises, we find one of the breakout restaurants of the past year in the Valencian Community.
Opened just over half a year ago, Forja has already caught the attention of some of the region’s most renowned culinary guides, and this coming Friday, November 6, it will celebrate its initial success with a special event open to the public.
Located in the Sky Business Center in Manises, the restaurant offers ingredient-driven cuisine with a special focus on wood-fired rice dishes and grilled meats and fish. In addition, the menu evolves throughout the year, adding or removing dishes depending on the season and what nature has to offer at any given time.
'Tribute': 25 gourmet tasting menus for 50 euros
To showcase some of the dishes currently on its menu (and celebrate its brief but successful run), Forja has organized its first major culinary event in a cocktail-style format. Under the name “Homenaje,” the restaurant is offering a dinner featuring a total of 25 culinary courses and unlimited drinks for 50 euros per person. Tickets are now available on their website, and seating is very limited, so you’ll want to act fast.
The dishes and tapas to be served to attendees have been divided into four stations or themes:
- Seafood (8 courses): oysters, bluefin tuna, Cantabrian anchovies, salmon, and other seafood dishes.
- Tierra (7 courses): 5 Jotas 100% acorn-fed Iberian ham, garden vegetables, mushrooms, steak tartare, and duck rice.
- Fuego (6 courses): Wagyu cecina, charcoal-grilled dishes, pastrami, suckling pig, and aged beef tenderloin.
- Desserts (4 courses): truffles, lemon pie, flan, and chocolate tartlet.
This menu is closely tied to its fall offerings, which include a section dedicated to bluefin tuna featuring less common cuts such as the morrillo and carrillera; it highlights grilled vegetables and, gradually, will incorporate mushrooms, wild foraged ingredients, and game.
Among the dishes most highly praised by diners are the glazed beef short ribs with potato parmentier, dry-aged beef tenderloin, whole fish from the Mediterranean and Cantabrian fish markets, and wood-fired dry rice with Mediterranean shrimp and squid.
In addition, on Fridays and Saturdays there is live music from 10:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., featuring soul, swing, flamenco, jazz, and Latin rhythms, along with signature cocktails at the central bar and a free children’s play area for the little ones.
