If you’ve spotted a small seal on a menu or shopfront around Singapore lately, you’re not imagining things. It marks somewhere serving, or selling, the real deal: Restaurants from Spain and Colmados from Spain, the official seals awarded by ICEX and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, part of the Spain Food Nation initiative.
Getting certified isn’t a rubber stamp. Restaurants need a genuinely Spanish-led kitchen, a menu that’s at least 60% Spanish dishes and recipes, PDO and PGI ingredients sourced straight from Spain, and a team who can talk you through the food and wine like a local. It’s a guarantee that what’s on your plate is as authentic as it gets.
This year, the certification extends beyond restaurants too. A handful of Singapore’s specialty grocers have earned the Colmados from Spain seal – your cue for genuine Spanish pantry staples, from jamón ibérico to tinned seafood and PDO wines, without needing a plane ticket to stock up.
Right now, 15 certified restaurants and 2 certified colmados carry the seal across Singapore, and over the coming weeks, we’ll be spotlighting them one by one, from where to find the best jamón to which wine list is worth the detour.
