Javier Rodríguez
El Carnicero is a few moments’ walk from the centre of Ibiza Town and this culinary oasis is the ideal destination for meat lovers. Perfectly barbecued Spanish and American steaks, Argentinian rib eyes, Black Angus USA T-bones, bottom sirloin, Tomahawks, mature cow cuts and fantastic entrecôte all feature on the longest meat menu on the island. And every dish is prepared under the guidance of Buenos Aires-born chef Emanuel Gentili who, like all good Argentinians, has grilling in his blood.
Food at El Carnicero is honest – what you see is what you get. It’s direct cooking that doesn’t beat around the bush and the stars are the magnificent cuts of meat selected for you to enjoy, just as it should be. In the words of Emanuel Gentili: “we’re a specialised grill house and we buy the finest meat from anywhere on the planet. There’s just one requirement: it has to be the best.”
Emanuel Gentili
The Ibiza lifestyle
You go to El Carnicero to experience Ibiza, to enjoy the White Isle’s famous nights where anything could happen, an excess of life and joy in a dreamlike atmosphere where you never know what will take place next around your table during dinner, an endless series of Ibizan “barruguets”, a midsummer night’s dream. Wildly varied characters, music, magic, fire and endless sparks and details create a truly special evening, an adventure that goes beyond food and becomes an experience for all the senses as you become part of a vast stage where diners are an essential part of the performance.
“We like things to happen around the tables, that carefree atmosphere, that jumble of sensations that borders on the chaos of a primitive universe in creation,” explains Javier Rodríguez, manager at El Carnicero who has many years of experience in the field. He came to the island at the beginning of the 1980s and was a pioneer of the shows put on at the legendary KU.
El Carnicero is an eclectic cosmos with a multitude of micro-worlds and micro-atmospheres where you can choose whether to eat casually, at a formal table with a tablecloth, at the highest table on the island or perhaps in a more private and romantic corner, hidden by plants and set apart from the hubbub. Putting the unquestionable quality of the food to one side, this is not just a place to have dinner – it’s well worth spending time here, whether that’s for pre-dinner drinks or by stretching out your meal with spectacular signature cocktails after eating.
Dishes
From Milan to Ibiza
El Carnicero is a project by Maximiliano D’Andrea, an Italian businessman who owns two successful restaurants in his native city of Milan, one of which is also called El Carnicero. D’Andrea fell in love with Ibiza and in 2015 decided to take the leap and launch a branch of his Italian business here, adapting it to the island.
El Carnicero’s huge success since opening is mainly due to the two people D’Andrea chose to be his lieutenants on the island: Emanuel Gentili (executive chef) and Javier Rodríguez (manager).
Gentili met D’Andrea when he finished his cooking studies in Argentina and moved to Europe, settling in Milan. He soon earned D’Andrea’s trust, and the Italian didn’t hesitate to choose him to run the kitchen of his new Ibizan project. Javier Rodríguez is a veteran of Ibiza’s shows and nights; he arrived on the island at the beginning of the 1980s “when the nightlife was something else” and legendary brands were established in the collective imagination of the ’80s, like KU and Pacha. He’s been linked to Ibiza, hospitality and image design ever since, and is in charge of the restaurant’s atmosphere each night, its eclectic, fun and absorbing vibe, the melange of ambiences, experiences and situations that make El Carnicero the only place in Ibiza where every night over 50 employees go out of their way to offer customers an unforgettable evening.
