Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
THEY say location is everything and Malva Beach is hard to beat.
Sitting on Estepona’a La Rada beach its views stretch to Gibraltar and Africa one way and to the charming wooded Punta de los Marmoles headland to the east.
Now, mix in the key ingredients: the best fish, seafood and meat money can buy and a chef, Txema Palacio, who knows how to use them.
Bilbao-born Txema spent many years at the epicentre of global cuisine in the Basque region, around San Sebastian and just across the border in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in France.
Having trained at Michelin-starred Goizeko-Kabi, he knows about his caviar, oysters and wagyu beef, a trio of delights that pop up frequently on Malva’s new menu.
Our waiter described it as ‘Marisqueria Siglo 21’ (or 21st century seafood) which doesn’t actually do justice to much of it… the amazing acorn-fed jamon Iberico plate, or the wafer-thin Wagyu cured beef ‘jerky’, to name two dishes.
The latter came out looking amazing, with extra virgin olive oil and was health personified with the fat marbled equally throughout.
The so-called ‘Raw and Natural’ section of the menu had a ‘trilogy of bluefin tuna’ – amazing quality tender red tuna from Barbate, as good as it gets. It classically melted in the mouth and was served at the exact right temperature with a small bowl of soya.
The langoustines from nearby Sanlucar de Barrameda meanwhile, were absolutely amazing, perfectly cooked in the very thinnest rice flour tempura batter.
A plate of prawn croquettes then came out with compliments from the chef. I knew it was worth writing nice things about him.
We’d quickly settled onto our corner table, where everything is geared to maximising both the beach and sea and an overbearing sense of nature.
This is Ibizan-style Boho chic, with lots of crochet and fringed materials, rattan chairs and lots of wood and earth tones. There are African decorations and a stripped down wooden veranda, which simply oozed a sense of glamour.
The wine list reflects this, with its share of French, American and Italian bottles, but I was more than happy with the choice of six Galician Albarinos, the always reliable Blas Muñoz chardonnay from Toledo at €38, although, after discussion with the sommelier, we were guided to a crisp, flinty Verdejo, La Misión de Menada, from Rueda.
Onto the conundrum of mains, we had debated going for a lovely-looking line-caught Pargo, from nearby Cadiz, or my favourite, a fillet of turbot, but I decided to try the ‘pil pil’ bacalao cod, which worked pretty well.
On another day I’d have gone for the Riofrio caviar blinis, which kicked off at €120 a pop, or the amazing ‘Cowboy’ steak of Gallega Blanca beef that my son wolfed down without hardly touching the sides.
When I did manage to finally grab a bite, I could understand why. It was one of the tenderest cuts of steak I’ve ever tried.
My wife went for the incredible Lobster roll on a toasted brioche with hollandaise sauce, while my daughter went for Gnocchi, an original dish for these parts, which came with a truffle sauce and, slightly oddly, a few splashes of caviar on top.
As if by magic the sun suddenly set and on came some jazz, as the moonlight shimmered on the sea. Gibraltar could still be made out in the distance, while a few fishing boats were conspicuous by their flickering lights.
The perfect accompaniment was the lemon pie served on a biscuit buttery base, with space dusty, while the warm cheesecake is an absolute must.
What else to mention, well the amazing home-cooked bread is served with some of the world’s best extra virgin olive oil, a Picuda/Hojiblanca mix, care of Serie Oro, from Priego de Cordoba.
Oh, there was a special cocktail menu and a section just for the oysters, as well as the caviar.
What’s clear is that Malva is all about the quality and it’s at its very best when they keep it simple.
When I questioned our waiter whether Estepona was ready for such an ambitious, upscale, luxury menu, his reply was simple: “Do you know the Tyrian development will soon be built with homes starting at €3 million a piece just across the road?”
I guess you’d call this an even better location then.
Av. España, 2, 29680 Estepona, Málaga
Phone: 952 11 35 56
