Napicol

Roca Cuiper is a strange place; to begin with they seem to have an identity crisis regarding what their name is. Is it Roca Cuiper, or Barrio Roca, or La Roca, or is it Meliana?

It certainly belongs to Meliana, although a serious number of fields separate them.

This village only has about 40 houses, but houses three good restaurants and at least one pleasant bar with a large garden, where you can also eat.

Napicol is the latest culinary delight tempting people to get off the train at this isolated place and have an exceptional meal in cordial surroundings.

Ever the keen etymologist, I looked it up and Nabicol means ‘kohlrabi’ and comes from the German word for turnip cabbage. Despite that we went and had one of the best meals in decades.

Right next to the station, this town house has been converted into a tasteful restaurant with zennish waters and ponds and rusticity, the best of which is the ample patio or corral out back, where you can enjoy sun, shade and a view of the herb and vegetable garden behind and listen to the clucking of the restaurant’s own hens.

It’s clearly popular at weekends and booking is advisable, and although there is only one train an hour, it’s a good way of eating out in the country without having to drive.

We tried two of the eight rice dishes and they were among the best I have eaten in many years of trying to imitate people who can talk your head off about the intricacies of rice. So we had the squid and artichoke and the traditional Valencian paella but with additional duck.

There are also interesting turf and surf dishes, such as pichón (a baby chicken) with pâté from its liver and stuffed cherries, or pig’s trotters with nuts and potato with truffles, and even goat, which not many restaurants dare to offer.

We had several starters, such as the Valencian tomato salad with dried cod and tuna belly and the just in-season rebollón, which apparently is known as saffron milk cap in English, or just plain old Lactarius deliciosus among friends, although we could have had oysters or potatoes stuffed with foie and truffles.

The wine list was also impressive and varied.

But it is the atmosphere that soaks you up, or possibly vice versa, and the perennial feeling that life could be better, but who really cares.

Highly recommended.

https://restaurantnapicol.com/index.html