Spanish chef Jos Pizarrotold Insider the red flags you should look out for when choosing a restaurant that purports to serve cuisine from his home country.Firstly, it should always have "high-quality Jamn ibrico," a type of cured meat, and shouldn't only serve paella and sangria.Its croquetas should be "golden and crispy outside with a silky bchamel" inside, while itsolive oil should have a strong aroma and "thick, intense color."Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.We've all seen themthose "Spanish" restaurants that entice you in with jugs of fruity sangria and giant pans of paella that may or may not have even been made that day.But in cities like London or New York where options are endless, how can you tell if you're eating somewhere truly authentic'Read more: I've lived in London for 6 yearshere are the 75 places where you should actually eatInsider spoke to Spanish chef Jos Pizarro, known for his self-titled UK restaurants and tapas bars, to find out how you can tell if your meal is going to be one to remember.Pizarro said that years ago in London, people didn't understand what Spanish cuisine really was."When I arrived in London I was doing completely different cuisine than I am now, more regular," he said. "I found my clientele was not ready for [anything else] because people didn't know about the ingredients of Spain."I always went with ibrico ham, and everyone wanted parma ham."He added that people have slowly come to understand Spanish cuisine, from basic tapas to high-quality restaurantsbut he still says there are a number of red flags to look out for when choosing a place to eat.It doesn't have high-quality jamn ibrico"It's important when I'm going to a Spanish restaurant that it has a very good jamn ibrico," he said, referring to the type of cured ham pictured above, bottom left."It's a good point to know the quality of the restaurant."He added: "First of all it is has to be jamon ibrico 100% acorn-fedand carved perfectly. When you put it into your mouth the jamon will melt and you can taste all the flavours from the acorns."The croquetas aren't premiumCroquetasor breaded and fried round fritters that are filled with a bchamel sauce and often hamare a staple of the Spanish dining experience, but you can tell when they're not good, according to Pizarro."Croquetas have to be golden and crispy outside with a silky bchamel," he said.The olive oil doesn't taste incredibleAnother way to tell the quality of the restaurant you're at is to taste the olive oil they have on the table."How good the olive oil is will tell you how good the restaurant is," Pizarro said, adding it should have a "lovely aroma as fresh-cut grass and a thick and intense color."They only sell paella and sangria"Many of my customers think that Spanish cuisine was all about paella, sangria, chorizo, so many people think that is the base of our cuisine," Pizarro said. "They are important, but we have more than that."He added that Spain is like "17 countries in one," so you'll find a "completely different paella in Valencia than in Cceres where I come from.""It's important that people understand the diversity that we have," he added. "Simplicity and high quality has always been our cuisine."It isn't a social placeAccording to Pizarro, the concept of "tapas" originated years ago in Spain as something to put on top of the glass when people ordered wine, to stop flies from getting in."That is what it was many years ago," he said. "A little piece of chorizo, cheese, something like that to cover the glass."Now, tapas is "all about going out and having several dishes.""Now you can see Indian tapas, it's more something to share, a way to socialize. That's what I love to see in my restauranthaving everything in the middle and talking about food."He added that it's "important for people to learn something when they go out.""It's all about having a conversation with food," he said.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Behind the scenes with Shepard Smith ' the Fox News star who just announced his resignation from the network
Click here to read full news..
