Ignasi Elías
Founder and co-chef of Pilar Akaneya, Madrid's first sumibiyaki (charcoal-grill) restaurant, alongside co-chef Chiho Murata.
- Repsol Soles
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Ignasi Elías is the founder of the Akaneya group and of Pilar Akaneya, Madrid's first sumibiyaki restaurant, which he runs with chef Chiho Murata. He came across the Akaneya Junshinken tavern in Kyoto in 2009 and opened Carlota Akaneya in Barcelona in 2011 as Europe's first sumibiyaki restaurant, later expanding the group to Madrid (2020) and Paris (2023). Under his lead, Akaneya secured a partnership with Japan's Ito Ranch and became the first restaurant outside Japan to serve Matsusaka Beef tenderloin. Pilar Akaneya is Michelin Guide Selected and holds a Repsol Sol.
Biography
Career
In 2009 Elías came across the Akaneya Junshinken tavern in Kyoto and set out to open his own sumibiyaki restaurant. He opened Carlota Akaneya in Barcelona in 2011, Europe's first sumibiyaki restaurant. Chiho Murata, whom he met in 2016, joined the group in 2018 and became its executive chef, and together they expanded to Madrid in 2020 with Pilar Akaneya, the first restaurant in Europe to serve Shizuoka Crown Melon, and to Paris in 2023 with Marie Akaneya. Elías led the group's partnership with Japan's Ito Ranch, making Akaneya the first restaurant outside Japan to serve Matsusaka Beef tenderloin.
Philosophy
Elías has said: "The day Akaneya loses romanticism, I don't think the ritual ends, but Akaneya itself does. What drives Akaneya is passion. When passion ends, Akaneya ends." He's said he's considered simplifying the restaurant's rituals to ease its operations, but rejects this because Akaneya's value lies in keeping a traditional sumibiyaki practice alive in Europe that is growing rare even in Japan.
Restaurants
Elsewhere
1Ignasi Elías in our guides
Editorial guides featuring Ignasi Elías’s restaurants.
Accolades
- ·Repsol Sol (Pilar Akaneya, Madrid)
- ·Michelin Guide Selected (Pilar Akaneya, Madrid)
- ·Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards 2023: Best Restaurant in Madrid and Best Japanese Restaurant in Spain (Pilar Akaneya)
- ·First restaurant outside Japan to serve Matsusaka Beef tenderloin from Ito Ranch (Akaneya group)
Frequently asked
Does Ignasi Elías have a Michelin star?
No. Pilar Akaneya, which he founded and runs with chef Chiho Murata, is Michelin Guide Selected and holds a Repsol Sol, but does not hold a Michelin star.
Where does Ignasi Elías cook?
He's the founder of Pilar Akaneya, in Madrid's Ríos Rosas neighbourhood, which he runs with chef Chiho Murata.
How did Ignasi Elías start Akaneya?
He came across the Akaneya Junshinken tavern in Kyoto in 2009 and opened Carlota Akaneya in Barcelona in 2011 as Europe's first sumibiyaki restaurant, later expanding to Madrid (2020) and Paris (2023) with Chiho Murata.
What is Pilar Akaneya known for?
It's Madrid's first sumibiyaki (charcoal-grill) restaurant, serving certified Kobe beef and, through the Akaneya group's partnership with Japan's Ito Ranch, Matsusaka Beef tenderloin unavailable elsewhere outside Japan.
Does Ignasi Elías run Carlota Akaneya in Barcelona?
He founded it in 2011 as the Akaneya group's first sumibiyaki restaurant; its kitchen today is run by chef Juan José Pernía.
What is Ignasi Elías's philosophy on Akaneya?
He's said passion is what drives Akaneya, and that its traditional sumibiyaki rituals, increasingly rare even in Japan, are worth preserving rather than simplifying.