Some dishes, like rustic paella straight from a large pan, are best enjoyed without too much fanfare or finesse. This is what chef Danny Lledó decided when he was recently plotting the route for his new restaurant: El Taller de XiquetOn the ground floor of Xiquet, his Michelin star Valencia dining room in Glover Park.

“When I founded Xiquet, I was really looking for a restaurant with a tasting menu,” says Lledó. “But it’s great to have a family-style dining experience. “Sometimes we miss this part.”

Opened in 2020, Xiquet is a rare experience and usually costs over $200 per person. After enjoying a 10-course tasting menu in the simple dining room on the third floor, diners head to a separate mezzanine for coffee and small dessert bites.

That won’t feel like dining at El Taller de Xiquet, which opens later this month in a renovated former private dining room. Lledó’s menu will be à la carte, and the intimate 14-seat venue aims for a more relaxed vibe. As for the menu; Lledó will still use Spanish ingredients and draw on Valencian cooking styles, but will move closer to tradition: Think fideuàs (Valencian noodle paellas) served tableside from the pans in which they were cooked.

There will be gravlax toast made with smoked llobarro sea bass from the Canary Islands, a fattier fish than its Mediterranean counterpart, and garnished with pearls of capers and lemon caviar. A fidueà-style house specialty in the coastal city of Gandia will be garnished with cuttlefish and red Carabineros shrimps, as well as cubes of monkfish and sea bass.

Valencia, where Lledó’s family is from hit Due to catastrophic flooding earlier this month. The disaster killed at least 200 people. It also disrupted traffic in the Mediterranean’s largest port and disrupted agricultural production in the region.

“I wanted to get on a plane and fly out there and help in any way I could, whether it was cooking or just digging up mud,” says Lledó. “Rice fields are flooded. We are not sure when this area will be completely liberated.”

He decided the best way to help was to support local farmers, continue purchasing their products, and raise awareness about flood relief in the United States. and sLooking to expand into other markets such as Miami and Texas, Lledó’s greatest passion is to spread the good news of Valencian cuisine.