Where foodies are heading in Spain

GAIG (00 34 93 429 1017) Passeig de Maragall 402

What's cooking? Cannelloni of black truffle; baked eel with saffron.

Who's cooking? Carles Gaig, scion of the gastronomic Gaig dynasty. With original 1930s décor, this is Barcelona's temple of alta cocina in a distinctly baja part of town - a 20-minute cab ride from most central hotels. The wine list is magnificent - for example, a stunning Chivite "Colección 125" (1997) white from Navarra - and so are the glorious Deco ice buckets.

GIRONA

EL BULLI (00 34 972 15 04 57) Cala Montjol, Rosas

What's cooking? The ninecourse degustación menu, including ravioli of cuttlefish and coconut, and loin of lamb with cauliflower couscous.

Who's cooking? Ferrán Adriá, mad, bad, brilliant foodmagician/scientist. Adriá is the Dalí of the Spanish Foodie Classes, an alchemist with taste and texture who spends the winter months (when El Bulli is closed) developing new recipes in a city lab. Situated in a remote cove on the Costa Brava, El Bulli is best accessed by speedboat.

SAN SEBASTIAN

MARTIN BERASATEGUI (00 34 943 36 64 71) Loidi 4, Lasarte

What's cooking? "New Basque" cuisine, including roast pigeon with pig's ear and baked sole stuffed with smoked lentils.

Who's cooking? The eponymous Berasategui, Basque wonderboy and fitness fanatic. Best-selling cookery writer and TV personality, Berasategui is never happier than when doing what he does best - cooking in his own restaurant kitchen at Lasarte, seven kilometres from San Sebastián. He also fronts the restaurant at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

TONI VICENTE (00 34 981 59 41 00) Rosalía de Castro 24

What's cooking? Octopus à la gallega (with sweet paprika); baked grouper in a potato crust.

Who's cooking? Toñi Vicente, fiery, foxy Galician lady chef. In this medieval city full of pilgrims, her small dining room is a haven of relief from the sandals and wooden-staff brigade. Nor do you need to crawl here on bended knees, though after Vicente's aguardientes (grappalike digestivos) you could well leave that way.

MADRID

EL AMPARO (00 34 91 431 64 56) Puigcerdá 8

What's cooking? Scrambled egg with Beluga caviar, bacon and creamed leeks; rack of lamb on a ragout of snails.

Who's cooking? Celebrity chef Carlos Posadas. The newly-arrived Posadas brings his own style of Castilian gutsiness to this long-time upmarket Madrileño. His followers have followed him here and Amparo is currently the hottest ticket in town. The room is managed by consummate maîtresse d' Carmen Guasp.

CACERES

ATRIO (00 34 927 24 29 28) Avenida España 30

What's cooking? Extremeño specialities: baby squid with pancetta; Merino lamb with sweetbreads.

Who's cooking? Antonio Perez. The Roman city of Cáceres (pronounced CATH-heiress), the capital of the remote region of Extremadura, is nearer Lisbon than Madrid, but the cooking out this way is sublime - nowhere more so than at Atrio, bizarrely located in a shopping precinct.