Brief history of LaSort

The history of Restaurante LaSort goes back to the 70´s when it began its gastronomic journey as a typical tapas bar in Moraira where the mother of the Moll brothers cooked, among other things, her spoon dishes, spinach, anchovies and, of course, paellas.

It was 1974 and the first tourists and foreign residents began to appear, attracted by the beauty of the landscape and the tranquillity of Moraira, so it was decided to open the Restaurant LaSort as an economic complement to the activities of the father of the family, who was a musician (he played the Alto Saxophone) in symphony orchestras and circuses such as the Price and the California.

Around 1977, the first Topless were seen in the area and excursions were organised to places such as Cala del Andrago, Punta Estrella and Cala del Advocat where, under the protection of nature, the foreign women gave colour to the upper part of their bodies.

At that time, Josep Moll was taking a vacuum cooking course given by the famous Chef Joël Robuchon and, by chance, Robuchon had been a holidaymaker on the Alicante coast for ten years and was a regular customer at La Sort, although he had never introduced himself and they had a conversation that went something like this:

I have a modest restaurant in Moraira, Josep Moll told him shyly. What is it called? asked Robuchon. LaSort, Moll informed him. I am your client, confessed the gastronomic magician. And the chef from Moraira almost paled.
At the age of 8, Joan Moll was already preparing coffees at La Sort, climbing on top of two boxes, clever and a tireless worker. As Joan Moll admits, the daily contact with older people made him mature. Today he is in charge of the winery, manager and public relations.

He has studied at the Hotel Management School in Lausanne, Switzerland, and expanded his knowledge at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and the Savoy in London, and for the last few years he has been in charge of room service at all the Ateliers of the famous Chef Joël Robuchon around the world.

If you would like to know more about the 40 years of LaSort and how Moraira has changed, on one of your visits to Hotel LaSort or Sand Restaurant, the Moll brothers will be happy to tell you more stories.