BACK TO ITS ROOTS!

El Lago’s Terra menu is a sustainable tour of the very best produce the Costa del Sol can offer. Going back to its Slow Food Movement roots, the Marbella restaurant is working with over a dozen local producers from around Malaga.

The KM-zero local and seasonal concept is anything but new for the Michelin-starred joint… It was the first restaurant in Andalucia to be awarded the KM0 accolade.

Now, it is working with growers from the Axarquia, Guadalhorce Valley and Ronda region to put the ‘best of the best on your plate’ explains chef Fernando Villasclaras. “This region is blessed with many of the best ingredients in the world thanks to its climate,” the chef, from Nerja, told me. As well as radishes from Estepona, he uses artichokes from Alhaurin and aubergines from Coin in his amazing new menu degustacion.

Each is carefully cooked and served in a creative way, alongside a glass of local wine from Granada, Ronda or Jerez, if you opt for the ‘ maridaje ’ pairing.

The real highlight though is the ‘ Gargouillou ’ invented by French chef Michel Bras, an amazing melange of 27 different blanched vegetables served as a (sort of) soup.

At El Lago, which has held its Michelin star since 2005, Villasclaras serves it in a chilled lettuce broth, which is delicious.

Other highlights are the courgette cooked in Payoyo goats cheese with the ‘nector’ of onion and grilled rocket, while the sweet potato pudding with muscatel grapes and sugarcane honey from Frigiliana was to die for.