The Inn Place Just Outside Valencia

Before the dual carriageway between Valencia and Madrid was finished, Venta L’Home stood at the roadside, and was a great place to stop off for a coffee. It was, as the name suggests, a 17^th century inn, where weary travellers could water or change their horses and themselves before continuing their journey and it still exudes history and tradition, with an amazing bazaar of ornaments that turn the dining room into a visual massage, and an impressive sense of presentation that makes you realise that you are in a special place.

In summer there is a swimming pool round the back with ice-cold mountain water, and in recent years they have collected a series of animals in pens that keep the children amused while the adults seriously debate who is in a fit state to drive home.

The main dining room is littered with artefacts and at the back to the side of the bar there is a little nook decorated in traditional Valencian style with its own chimney and bright ceramic tiles.

There are two special tasting menus, and either of them will give you a wide variety of hot or cold dishes full of flavour and imagination.

Venta L’Home is not cheap; it’s the kind of place you go to celebrate a birthday or the acquisition of your third Rolls, but it is special.

On the menu you’ll find dishes such as shellfish or partridge salad, oysters on a bed of wild mushrooms or fresh squid with spinach dedicated to the America’s Cup for some reason.

The restaurant, despite its bourgeois airs, has always been popular among the trendy radicals of Valencia (or at least those with a bit of dosh to spare), perhaps because its owner, Xemi Baviera, was sent to Africa to do his military service as a result of his political activity at Madrid University during the dictatorship.

The food is amazing, but it’s really the whole atmosphere of the place that will cause you to return every time you’re on your way back from Madrid and want to stare longingly at the tapas while you sip your coffee and try not to stare at the diners finishing their meals off silver plates.

The toilets are brilliant too, but be careful not to bump your head.

Siete Aguas (Valencia). Autovía A3, salida 306.

Teléfono: 962503515