Luis Bollo, a native of San Sebastián, Spain, is a highly acclaimed and respected chef who has been cooking in and around New York City for over a decade. Bollo honed his culinary skills at various prestigious restaurants with Michelin 1, 2 and 3 star ratings in Europe after receiving five years of training at San Sebastián Culinary School.
In 1999, he moved to New York City to open a contemporary Spanish restaurant, Meigas, where he received many accolades by food critics for his innovative cuisine. Jonathan Gold, then writing for Gourmet magazines, exalted Bollo’s talent as the following: “Bollo may do for new Spanish Cooking in America what Vongerichten and Boulud have done for modern French cuisine in this country.” The New York Times also recognized his work by awarding Meigas two stars, and many other publications, including USA Today, New York Post, New York Observer, Food & Wine and New York, named the restaurant as one of the best new restaurants in New York City.
Since Meigas’ relocation to Norwalk, CT in 2001, Bollo continued making his own path as a Spanish chef who interprets a breadth of traditional recipes with modern techniques for sophisticated American diners. With the opening of a new restaurant, Ibiza, in New Haven in 2003, Bollo was named as the Chef of the Year by Esquire magazine. In the same year, Wine Spectator hailed both restaurants as the best Spanish restaurants in the US. Under Bollo’s direction as executive chef, Ibiza received 28 points in 2007′s Zagat Survey, becoming the second best restaurant in Connecticut. Both Meigas and Ibiza received “Excellent” and “Excellent Plus” by The New York Times in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
Bollo’s expertise lies within European cuisines with an emphasis on the European Mediterranean (Italy, France, Greece and Spain) and contemporary Spanish gastronomy from different regions. He also holds extensive knowledge of Latin American cuisines and served as consulting chef at Suba restaurant (NYC; first restaurant of Yann de Roquefort of Boqueria) which specialized in new Latin cuisine.
In June 2011, Bollo went on to open Salinas, a sophisticated, yet welcoming restaurant that offers Spanish cuisine with a focus on the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands, in the heart of Chelsea. The name is inspired by the many salinas (areas where salt is harvested from the sea) along the Mediterranean coast of Spain and throughout the country’s surrounding islands.
At Salinas, Bollo designed a menu to provide guests with the complete Spanish dining experience, where diners can enjoy tapas, main courses, and delicious wine and cocktails. In 2011, Salinas was named one of Esquire’s “Best New Restaurants of 2011″ and was included in Time Out New York’s Best of 2011 list for their Rosejat Rápida. Most recently, the restaurant was awarded two stars from The New York Times, as well as “Best Suckling Pig” from New York magazine’s Best of Food and Drink 2012 awards.