Although, especially in large cities, there are an increasing number of examples that show that a hotel restaurant can be as interesting or more interesting than one that operates independently, the truth is that we still harbor some prejudices about these. dining rooms that, unfortunately, have caused so many disappointments in the recent past.
The trend seems to be changing, even in tourist destinations where until not long ago it was difficult to find differentiated offers, with special care for the product and the gastronomic format, it is now possible to enjoy restaurants of an enormous level, capable of reading their environment and offer it to a clientele from all over the world, something that the Canary Islands in particular seem to have particularly understood and assumed.
In this key we must understand the César restaurant, located in the hotel of the same name, in Lanzarote, belonging to Numa, a hotel group characterized by developing its projects in unique spaces and for giving the gastronomic offer a special relevance within them.
The hotel, of undeniable charm, is located in La Asomada, a strategic location away from overcrowding, but located a couple of kilometers from the coast and just 10 minutes by car from the airport in a traditional century-old house that was the residence from the father of the artist César Manrique.
The space, of absolute tranquility, is integrated into a landscape that also reaches the table through a product proposal, far from sensationalism and with the flavors of local gastronomic memory as a common thread.
Under the direction of Alejandro Martín, a chef trained at the Hoffman school who later worked at Pakta and Tickets, and the supervision of Juanjo López, from Madrid’s La Tasquita de Enfrente, the offer moves between an almost minimalist approach to the product and references. premises that the first provides in a very well measured balance.
With local producers, such as Finca de Uga or Finca Machinda as the backbone around which the menu is built, a visit to the César restaurant serves to discover the wealth of products from a small island, but with a surprisingly varied pantry and to do so, in addition, in an environment immersed in volcanic landscapes, with the sea pouring through the windows and from that tranquility that sometimes seems difficult to find in the most touristy Lanzarote and which, however, here becomes the protagonist.
Everything, from the first bite, follows that line: local raw materials as the driving force of a menu that, here and there, explores other products that complement it, as happens with Finca Machinda papaya with anchovy, the first appetizer. that is offered, followed by a salchichón tartare, a classic from the Madrid chef.
Next comes one of the most special products of the island, the La Santa prawn, smooth, slightly fatty, almost sweet, which is presented naked, “acevichada”, as Juanjo López explains, with a touch of lime and a drop of extra virgin olive oil. Nothing more is needed for it to shine as the exceptional product that it is.
Natural clam with red onion broth. The clam broth is served next to it, seasoned with a touch of lime. Very nice. Avocado from Finca Machinda with green mojo, fresh goat cheese from Finca de Uga and cilantro, a spoon salad that is also a tour of the orchard and farm in the interior of the island.
Caesar Salad, the famous salad from La Tasquita that here is complemented with some shrimp from La Santa that provide smoothness and an iodized touch. It doesn’t matter if you opt for a menu or order à la carte, in either case this salad should not be missing from your order. Nor should you miss the morena and sweet potato chips from Finca Machinda served on potatoes boiled in fish broth with green mojo.
The main dishes begin with a red horse mackerel, with a crispy skin, accompanied by a Saharan squid barely grilled and a touch of red mojo, perhaps the closest pass to traditional preparations, while the black suckling pig with demiglace and yellow sweet potato explores a more classic aspect of cooking for the island product and the quail Wellington is closer to an academic cuisine.
The last dish on the menu once again puts the emphasis on the product. A carabinero from La Santa, who shines on his own, but who almost fades into the background when the juices from his head are squeezed onto the candied potatoes that serve as a base, which thus become something difficult to forget.
The liquid accompaniment, very well selected by sommelier Cristina Pardo, focuses on wines from the islands, small projects that she personally selects and presents with a closeness that, like that of Moisés Santana, the waiter, is appreciated.
The menu ends with a nice creamy avocado with strawberries. But the proposal of the César restaurant does not end here, since beyond the à la carte and menu offering there is a brunch option that is the perfect complement for those who choose to extend their stay and spend the night at the hotel. Joselito ham broth with vegetables, glazed turnip in ham broth with Santoña anchovy, green beans from Finca Machinda and Iberian bacon. Dishes that move away from the procedural brunch, so often uninteresting, and explore another aspect of the product.
The same thing, from another perspective, is the rigatoni with two-cheese almogrote from Finca de Uga, powerful and tasty, made with quality pasta. Perhaps, the only thing that would fail is a cooking that, perhaps shortened by a minute, would be perfect. The proposal ends by returning to two of the great icons of brunches: the egg Benedict and the restaurant’s wonderful club sandwich, with a gofio ice cream served with caramelized walnuts and gofio crumble to finish off the experience, returning back to the territory.
In short, the Hotel César and its restaurant are an unusual experience on the island, an exceptional proposal in which accommodation and cuisine go hand in hand and they know how to understand that true luxury is in simplicity, in knowing how to stop on time. , in letting things shine on their own and in fleeing from an imposed baroque that is simply not necessary here.
Product, territory and landscape, terms often devalued by an interested use, join hands here to give shape to a proposal of simple cuisine – which does not facilitate – an exercise of contained revision of the local recipe book and, above all, a tribute to the product of a surprising and fascinating island that, at the hands of two different chefs, with very different backgrounds, develops in an unlikely meeting point in which, however, all the pieces fit together.
