Jóvenes talentos en la gastronomía de Marbella (I)

Smoke rises from the grills of the fish restaurants tucked away beneath Marbella's seafront promenade. This marble walkway, a stark reminder of the machinations of one of the country's most televised mayors, borders the sea and is traversed daily by hundreds of people in this city where locals, tourists, Spanish residents, and, of course, foreigners mingle, the latter making up a considerable third of the population.

This mixture of origins and customs, which becomes diluted as you look towards the mountains and leave the sea behind, is the same one that is spread throughout the restaurants of a city that has always been on the maps of national gastronomy.

Amidst British and German bars and tables designed to lure uninterested tourists, the culinary scene has never lacked brilliance since El Corzo, at the Los Monteros hotel, earned its first Michelin star for a hotel restaurant in Spain. Many names continue to draw visitors to Marbella. Dani García, Marcos Granda, Mauricio Giovanini, Nobu Matsuhisa, Paco Pérez, David Olivas, Diego del Río, and Álvaro Arbeloa are just a few examples, not to mention the hallowed taverns, El Estrecho, La Niña del Pisto, La Sacristía, and Bodega San Bernabé, that have been defining the most affordable culinary route for years.

What's interesting now is that, both veering away from that trend and trying to follow it, the streets of this city offer innovative culinary experiences, some of them in the hands of young talents who aren't afraid to venture into a market characterized by a wealth of options and seasonality. Because the atmosphere in Marbella during the summer is not the same as that of the quieter, more intimate city it becomes in winter, when the beaches empty and the streets, even the marble ones, cease to be a tsunami of legs of every color searching for a miraculously empty spot to sit down and eat.

Jesús Muñoz de La Casita. Acera de la Marina, 42

One of those young chefs trained in haute cuisine who has chosen to bring a culinary concept to the more everyday side of Marbella is Jesús Muñoz, the heart and soul of La Casita. A tiny, pristine white fisherman's cottage, nestled amidst the haphazard buildings that define the Costa del Sol, now houses a simple kitchen where local produce is handled with care. His career, which began at a roadside inn on the A92 motorway, took him to Nhube in Seville, mentored by Ferran Adrià, to Berasategui's Lasarte, “that's where I did my apprenticeship” he remarks, and to Dani García's Calima. But when the opportunity arose to run this kitchen, he didn't hesitate: “I needed a break and to create unpretentious cuisine, using good, local ingredients.”

Breakfast has taken on a whole new dimension in the city thanks to a menu that's available all day long. A dazzling array of options includes the Malaga-style bread roll filled with marinated Iberian pork, egg, and olive smoke, presented in a playful dome, a generous portion of slow-cooked pastrami, and a succulent potato omelet, not to mention classic churros, toast with Iberian cured meats, and scrambled eggs.

As the sun rises, you'll find melt-in-your-mouth ham croquettes (a clear legacy from the Basque chef who trained him), a more than satisfactory Russian salad topped with a fried egg, or a serving of an exceptionally delicious tomato when in season, the "Isabel" tomato, from a personal supplier, which is undoubtedly among the best served in the city. At lunchtime, or during dinner on weekends, other dishes are also on offer, such as beef tenderloin in Café de Paris butter, meatballs, or fish prepared according to Paco Gallego's (the fishmonger at the central market) recommendations, all of which he has mastered. There are also off-menu specials where Muñoz tends to combine surf and turf. It's local cuisine with no greater ambition than to satisfy your appetite in a welcoming atmosphere.

Fernando Alcalá de Kava y Cotxino. Avenida Antonio Belón, 4

Just a few meters away, the young Fernando Alcalá has transformed two opposing corners into a gastronomic twinning. On the left, Cotxino, a tapas bar where tapas reign supreme, featuring, once again, a sumptuous and essential potato omelet, a legacy of his Basque roots, and a rich and unique selection of wines by the glass curated by his sommelier, Salvador Contreras; on the right, Kava, a small restaurant that Alcalá opened in 2017 at just 24 years old, which has matured alongside him and offers a unique concept in the heart of Marbella.

Alcalá, named Revelation Chef at Madrid Fusion 2019, practices an eloquent and delicate cuisine, rooted in seasonal Andalusian produce and also in his travels, something that has marked his life since adolescence. Thus, in the dishes of this self-taught chef, a lawyer by training who secured an internship at Arzak, one can find dishes such as pochas (white beans) with roe macerated in chamomile and kefir lime, sheep's milk curd from the Cordoban cheese factory Calaveruela in an Indian tomato rasam, or a Filipino ceviche (kinilaw) with sherry vinegar and cured sea bass.

Their ever-changing tasting menus typically feature Malaga-style chilled almond soup (ajoblanco) and goat, Huelva prawns, and pigeon, along with traditional sauces and expertly prepared marinades that serve as elegant punctuation marks. Their compositions are increasingly minimalist, yet still inviting a playful approach. The wine cellar perfectly complements the distinctive character of their cuisine, as does the restaurant's intimate and welcoming atmosphere.

Alcalá's cheesecake was the best in Spain in 2019 and can still be enjoyed today at Cotxino, while at Kava, where a very young and highly skilled Adrián Martín is head chef after stints at Skina and Nintai (Marcos Granda's restaurants), they've decided to reinvent the recipe after so many years. He has just opened a third restaurant in Manila, Bolero, where Andalusia has now taken root.

Tatiana Bautista de Vermú. Fontanilla Avenue, 7

There's also a clear global perspective in the offering from Tatiana Bautista, Mario Sanguino, and Jaume Puigdengolas at Vermú, a tavern where the former Skina chefs, according to Puigdengolas, wanted to "create a space where we enjoyed eating and had fun culinaryly, where we could do pretty much whatever we pleased." Their cuisine is designed for sharing, which can be enjoyed from aperitif time, hence the name, with high-end products like anchovies, cockles, cheeses, and cured meats (including Wagyu beef jerky), or at more substantial lunches and dinners.

It's in these dishes that the international culinary scene becomes most prominent, with options like bimi with Japanese spices, Korean saam with Iberian pork belly, a Jordanian-style roasted vegetable medley, or sea bass with sambal (an Indonesian sauce of crushed chilies) cooked in a banana leaf. They offer pinsas (the 'nduja, buffalo mozzarella, and honey, lemon, and rosemary vinaigrette is particularly good) and tacos, such as the roasted sweet potato with Moroccan aromas.

In this "playground," as they call it, they haven't forgotten more traditional dishes like croquettes, grilled pig's ear, or migas with San Simón wine foam for those who prefer to stay home. The daily specials, which always feature seasonal ingredients, can range from delicious pringá dumplings with pig's trotter broth, ham, and Ronda black pudding to a mushroom lasagna or simple yet perfectly cooked charcoal-grilled Navarrese asparagus.

One of Vermú's greatest strengths is its wine cellar, curated by Canichero, which blends Spanish, Italian, and French wines with selections rarely found in a Marbella bar. However, they lack a front-of-house staff who can truly showcase these offerings. They've announced the upcoming opening of Tabanco on the same street, which will further enhance this area of ​​Marbella, already home to options like David Olivas's fantastic Back.