In the world of gastronomy, there is often talk about Soles Repsol. Do you know exactly what Soles Repsol are, who created them, how they are awarded, and when? We explain everything you need to know.
When we talk about restaurants, we often hear about Soles Repsol. It is possible that when visiting a restaurant you have even found the corresponding sticker on the door. What exactly are Soles Repsol? How are they awarded and who is in charge of doing it? We answer all these questions about one of the most important gastronomic distinctions in Spain.
What are Repsol suns?
Repsol Suns are the awards given by the Repsol Guide as a rating system for the best restaurants in Spain. A restaurant can receive up to 3 Repsol suns, which means “a unique experience.” Two suns reward “a place that stands out,” while one sun rewards a restaurant “that you would recommend to a friend and to which you are already thinking of returning many times.”
The “suns” were born with the first Traveler’s Guide published by Campsa in 1979, a precursor to the later Campsa Guide, now known as the Repsol Guide, although at that time up to four were initially issued.
The guide was forced to change the soles for pumps in 1983 after not being published for two years but would recover them in 1989. It was in 2009 when Repsol, the company that then owned Campsa, renamed the guide with its name and converted the soles into “Repsol soles”.
What do the Repsol suns mean?
The Repsol Suns evaluate the quality of a restaurant according to the criteria of the Repsol Guide. As we have seen, a restaurant can have between one and three suns:
- 3 Repsol Suns: This is the highest distinction that a restaurant can have in the guide. Currently, 42 restaurants have the three suns, which the guide considers to be “the final destination of the trip. Where you can tell from the moment you enter that it will be a unique experience.” The guide rewards cuisine that seeks to bring new knowledge, that works closely with local producers, that offers outstanding wineries and a service at the top level.
- 2 Soles Repsol: up to 155 restaurants in 2022 will have the double distinction. With it, Repsol highlights “A place that stands out for developing a concept in which the cuisine shows maturity, potential and ambition to continue evolving”, also focusing on raw materials, techniques, service, or wine cellar. “It is worth the many kilometers travelled”.
- 1 Repsol Sun: 469 restaurants have a sun in the guide, restaurants where “the premise is the quality of the product and the intention of creating honest and coherent cuisine that will continue to grow.” Wine cellar and service also play a role in the evaluation. “It justifies travelling the miles or stopping to visit it in the middle of a trip.”
How Repsol Suns are awarded
Currently, the Repsol Suns are awarded by a pooled opinion of a team of 62 inspectors (compared to 53 last year), professionals from different fields with no direct link to the world of hospitality but with great knowledge of the gastronomy of their regions, covering all the autonomous communities: “lawyers, designers, journalists, professors, engineers, musicians, economists, psychologists, gallery owners, doctors…”. The Michelin guide inspectors are people with a great deal of knowledge in the world of gastronomy who are between 20 and 70 years old and whose common passion is discovering new restaurants to visit, which in the words of Repsol is “the antipodes of the stereotypical elitist inspector.”
They are in charge of visiting the restaurants and applying a rating system developed in 2018 with the advice of the Basque Culinary Center in order to faithfully reflect the diner’s experience. The evaluation is based on the gastronomic part but also takes into account other factors that end up being decisive when recommending a restaurant: the space, the wine cellar, the dining room service or the relationship of the restaurant with local producers and its contribution to the local economy are also some of the aspects valued.
What is a Repsol Guide Recommended?
These are restaurants that do not earn a single sol, but which the guide wants to highlight for offering cuisine and service worthy of mention. In general, these are restaurants where the clientele values honest, quality cuisine. With this recognition, Repsol seeks to keep its readers up to date on recommended restaurants that could potentially earn a sol by providing their expert opinion. The figure of the recommended restaurant has existed since the first edition of the guide in 1979.
What is the Repsol Guide
The Repsol Guide is a travel guide published by the Repsol company that has become one of the most important gastronomic guides over the years. Although cartography and restaurants have coexisted since its appearance in 1979 as Guia del viajero Campsa, the truth is that the role of the guide as a gastronomic guide to restaurants in Spain has become its main business. The Cofradía de la Buena Mesa de Madrid and the Academia de Gastronomía advised on that first edition.
The guide was born with a touristic intention in Spain that was opening up to democracy. After a pause in 1981 and 1982, it continued to be published uninterruptedly from 1983 onwards, becoming the Campsa Guide, a name it kept until 2009 when Repsol, which had integrated Campsa in the 1990s, put its signature on the covers.