It breaks my heart to announce that Ibiza Restaurant in New Haven,
in my opinion Connecticut’s best restaurant over the past decade, closed its doors last night. Hordes of faithful Ibiza fans turned out to bid their favorite restaurant goodbye. Even at 10:20 on a frigid Tuesday night, the restaurant looked like this.
Sadly, Ibiza’s business was still quite strong and was not the reason for the closure. For those speculating as to what happened, Ibiza had fallen behind in its rent during a separation between its primary owners, Ignacio and Sonia Blanco. Sonia had made up a significant portion of the arrearage, but the landlord ran out of patience and exercised his right to terminate the lease.
The line of tapas restaurants spun off from Ibiza, including the Ibiza Tapas & Wine Bar in Hamden,
in Danbury
and in Northampton MA,
remain open. Many of Ibiza’s past customers are also loyal supporters of Ibiza Tapas in Hamden, just 15 minutes away.
For those who mourn Ibiza as much as I, or for those who never visited it but wonder what they might have missed, I will exhibit some photographs of executive chef Manuel “Manolo” Romero’s incredible food from recent visits, still a very small slice of what he has created in recent years. A meal at Ibiza started with great Spanish wines.
Even the bread and olive oil were wonderful.
Ibiza usually led off with a complimentary amuse bouche that went beyond anything served by any other restaurant in Connecticut that I know of.
Soups or salads were amazingly fresh and delicious creations.
The appetizers
or occasional tapas
055
were never-ending sources of amazement to me.
Entrées (which may be shown in smaller portions due to enjoying some of them as part of larger tasting menus) were artistic studies in freshness, flavor and balance.
Desserts were irresistible.
Cappuccino and a glass of sherry always seemed an unbeatable way to conclude a meal at Ibiza.
Let’s remember two of the key faces of Ibiza, especially partner and gallant restaurant manager Juan Carlos González,
and brilliant chef Manolo (shown here with chef Noel Jones, formerly of ON20 and the Copper Beech Inn).
