Restaurant in València, Spain
Creative Mediterranean with a counter seat payoff.
Riff holds a Michelin star and ranks in Opinionated About Dining's top 300 in Europe, but it's less formal than its credentials suggest. Chef Bernd Knöller's open kitchen and counter seating make it the strongest choice in Valencia for a special occasion that wants serious cooking without stiffness. Book 4–8 weeks ahead — it's a hard reservation.
The common misconception about Riff is that it sits in the same stiff, ceremonial bracket as Valencia's most formal Michelin addresses. It doesn't. Chef Bernd Knöller has spent years deliberately pulling his restaurant in the opposite direction: the kitchen is open to the dining room, a counter wraps around it so you can watch dishes being assembled in front of you, and the format gives you real choices — fixed-price à la carte, a lunch menu, or a full tasting option at dinner. If you're planning a special occasion and want serious cooking without a rigid, hushed atmosphere, Riff makes a stronger case than most.
Riff holds a Michelin star (2024) and ranked #243 in Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in Europe in 2024, climbing to #256 in 2025 , a sign of sustained consistency rather than a single strong year. That combination of Michelin recognition and independent critic endorsement matters when you're deciding whether a €€€€ dinner is the right call for a birthday, anniversary, or significant business meal.
The counter seating around the open kitchen is the practical detail that changes the experience most. For two people on a date or celebrating something, it puts you closer to the action than a conventional table , you watch the preparation, you understand the pacing, and the meal has a natural arc that feels more engaged than simply waiting for courses to arrive. For groups, the main dining room accommodates the full party without that counter energy, though it loses some of the intimacy. If your party is small (two to three people) and the occasion calls for something to talk about beyond the food itself, request the counter when you book.
Knöller's sourcing is direct , fish and seafood come from the local fish market , and the menu leans into what Valencia does well: rice dishes, local seafood, and occasionally more unusual combinations like beef sweetbreads with roasted onion jus and pickled onion petals. There's also a dedicated vegetarian menu, which has earned specific recognition (four Michelin Green radishes) , a practical advantage if your group has mixed dietary needs. That's not a minor footnote at €€€€; finding a Michelin-starred tasting menu that treats plant-based cooking with equal seriousness is still rarer than it should be.
Riff is a hard book. With a Michelin star, a Google rating of 4.5 across 910 reviews, and two sittings per service (lunch runs 1:30–5 PM, dinner 8–11:45 PM), tables across the week fill quickly. The restaurant is closed Monday and Sunday, which compresses availability into five days. For a weekday dinner, aim to book three to four weeks in advance. For a Friday or Saturday , especially if you need a specific date for an anniversary or birthday , six to eight weeks is the safer window. Walk-in prospects are low; this is not a venue where turning up and hoping for a cancellation is a sensible strategy.
Lunch is the smarter entry point if your schedule is flexible. The lunchtime menu is a separate, more accessible format than the full evening tasting option, and midweek lunch tables tend to open up with shorter lead times than weekend dinner slots.
The database does not confirm a dedicated private dining room at Riff, so don't book expecting a fully separated space for a large group event. What the restaurant does offer is meaningful: counter seating that creates a semi-private, immersive experience for smaller parties, and a dining room format that works for groups that want to celebrate together without the formality of a buyout. For a business dinner where the setting needs to signal seriousness without tipping into stiffness, Riff's format , Michelin-credentialed, open kitchen, chef-driven without being chef-ego-driven , reads well. For large private events requiring a closed room, look elsewhere in Valencia or check directly with the restaurant.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riff | German chef Bernd Knöller considers himself Valencian at heart and is at the helm of this restaurant where he constantly reinvents what he offers, which has led to a more contemporary and fun ambience that includes a kitchen that overlooks the dining room and is surrounded by a counter where you can watch dishes being prepared in front of you as you eat. Globe-trotting chef Bernd Knöller has moved onto an important stage in his career which sees him interacting with his natural surroundings. This has led to him making a name for himself on the local food scene through his occasionally anarchic and always liberated vision of creative Mediterranean cuisine, which is available via a fixed price à la carte and two menus – one available at lunchtime, the other a tasting option. On these, you can enjoy rice dishes that showcase his love for his adopted region, fish and seafood that he sources at the local fish market, and unique dishes such as sweetbreads and onion (the lightly textured beef sweetbreads are served with a sweet roasted onion jus and a petal of pickled onion).; More and more restaurants in Valencia are coming out with a vegetarian menu, including Riff. Chef-owner Bernd H. Knöller is a great lover of the riches of the Mediterranean, but knows how to surprise with plant-based creations with just as much passion. Every creation is thought through and the respect for the product is always high. A splendid restaurant that will certainly receive more of our attention in the future. Already 4 radishes for the vegetable menu!; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #256 (2025); German chef Bernd Knöller considers himself Valencian at heart and is at the helm of this restaurant where he constantly reinvents what he offers, which has led to a more contemporary and fun ambience that includes a kitchen that overlooks the dining room and is surrounded by a counter where you can watch dishes being prepared in front of you as you eat. Globe-trotting chef Bernd Knöller has moved onto an important stage in his career which sees him interacting with his natural surroundings. This has led to him making a name for himself on the local food scene through his occasionally anarchic and always liberated vision of creative Mediterranean cuisine, which is available via a fixed price à la carte and two menus – one available at lunchtime, the other a tasting option. On these, you can enjoy rice dishes that showcase his love for his adopted region, fish and seafood that he sources at the local fish market, and unique dishes such as sweetbreads and onion (the lightly textured beef sweetbreads are served with a sweet roasted onion jus and a petal of pickled onion).; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #243 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€€ | — |
| Ricard Camarena | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Llisa Negra | €€€ | — | |
| Saiti | €€€ | — | |
| Toshi | €€€ | — | |
| Vuelve Carolina | €€ | — |
How Riff stacks up against the competition.
Riff sits at the €€€€ price point with a Michelin star, so the room carries a degree of occasion — but the kitchen-facing counter and the chef's deliberately contemporary, fun approach signal that this is not a jacket-required address. Clean, put-together clothes are the practical call. Turn up in beachwear and you'll look out of place; a suit would feel overdressed.
Yes, and it's arguably the best seat in the room. Riff has a counter that wraps around the open kitchen, so you can watch dishes being assembled in real time while you eat. If you're dining solo or as a pair, request the counter when booking — it's the most interactive way to experience what chef Bernd Knöller is putting out.
Riff runs three formats: a fixed-price à la carte, a lunch menu, and an evening tasting menu — so decide before you arrive which suits your appetite and budget. The kitchen draws on Valencia's fish market and leans into regional rice dishes, but Knöller's approach is genuinely creative rather than traditionally Valencian. Ranked #256 in Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in Europe (2025), this is a serious kitchen with a relaxed-enough format that it doesn't feel punishing.
At €€€€ with a Michelin star and a top-300 OAD ranking in Europe, Riff delivers more creative ambition than you'd get at a comparable spend in most of Valencia's dining scene. The lunch menu is the sharper value play if the tasting menu stretches the budget. If you're comparing against Ricard Camarena — Valencia's other major creative address — Riff is the more accessible room; Camarena is more technically austere and harder to book.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
