Summer in Southern Spain is lived outdoors, and La Zambra Resort, has curated al fresco experiences to celebrate the season. From flamenco nights on the terrace, sunset rituals at the bar, open-air cinema in the gardens and menus of local produce to relish during balmy evenings. Summer here opened with a traditional ronqueo, where a whole tuna is carved by hand, followed by a tasting menu that showcased this gastronomic resort.
To mark the beginning of summer, La Zambra hosted a kaitai, where a whole bluefin tuna was carved by hand on the terrace. Known as a ronqueo in Spain, the ritual marks the close of the almadraba season and the beginning of La Zambra’s summer season.
Tuna Kaitai
The tuna had been landed the day before off Barbate, in the province of Cádiz, caught by almadraba, the maze of nets strung across the migration route through the Strait of Gibraltar. This is the same method the Phoenicians were using here three thousand years ago. The carving was performed by Fuentes, the red-tuna experts founded in 1984, whose bluefin is among the most prized in the world. They worked with real ceremony. Dressed in black aprons and caps, they were equipped with a series of long knives, each cut named as it was made. The word ronqueo comes from roncar, a Spanish verb snore, echoing he the rasp of the blade dragging along the spine. Loin, belly, the prized ventresca, all of it was carved in turn and packed in ice, with nothing wasted. At the end they scraped the last of the meat from the bone with a spoon and served it as a tartare, the nakaochi, passed straight to the guests.
It was a beautiful evening. Cocktail tables were dressed with transvaal daisies and proteas in summer oranges and yellows, with the bar mixing Limoncello and Aperol spritzes while chefs offered precisely sliced tuna sashimi.
The tasting menu was served on the summer terrace at Palmito. The opener was a ravioli of caramelised onion and tuna in a clarified consommé of the bone, accompanied with a chilled glass of Manzanilla Papirusa from Lustau. After it came a clever turn on huevos rotos, that most homely of Spanish plates, here a quail’s egg over fine sweet potato with a truffled tuna tartare. Then tuna morrillo confited , with an Iberico ham demi-glace, and the ventresca over creamy rice with almonds, manteca colorá and miso, a dish that belongs to the resort’s Picasdor repertoire.
The pairings were the real pleasure, and they were unmistakably Andalusian: the Manzanilla from Sanlúcar, a Pedro Ximénez from Montilla-Moriles, and to finish, alongside a bergamot semifreddo and a Mediterranean pine ice cream, was an Ambrosia Moscatel from Jerez.
Summer Gastronomy
Condé Nast Traveller Spain has named La Zambra the best gastronomic resort in Spain and Portugal at its Hotel & Mantel awards, and the property presently holds a Michelin Key. Its kitchens are led by the young executive chef Juanjo Solano Fonseca, who was out on the terrace supervising the carving and came to our table during dinner. There are four restaurants across the resort including Palmito, and the Andalusian charm of Picador.
Picador
The ronqueo was the opening act, and the tuna thread runs right through the season. Picador is serving Marea de Atún, a limited-edition menu dedicated to almadraba bluefin: an oyster with ventresca tartare, a taco of tuna loin in escabeche, roasted parpatana, and morrillo with slow-cooked onions, joining house signatures like the charred avocado and the arroz a la llauna with red tuna. A fitting encore, handling one of Andalusia’s most prized incredients with the same respect the carvers showed on the terrace.
Movies and Music
On Saturday evenings Palmito stages its Noches Mediterráneas, the à la carte menu joined from 8.30pm by special dishes created for the night, with live flamenco against the backdrop of the Sierra de Mijas. While at Picador a Spanish guitar accompanied intimate Saturday night dining.
On Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, Bamboleo hosts Fresh Rituals from 6 to 8pm, with ceviches and tiraditos prepared at a raw-bar showcooking, together with signature cocktails and live music as the sun drops towards the coast. And on Friday nights through August the gardens become an open-air cinema for guests, popcorn and a drink included, with classics like Pulp Fiction screened under the stars.
Mediterranean sanctuary
The property has an illustrious history, as the iconic Byblos hotel. Completely remodelled, with spacious, light-filled rooms, it’s makes for a beautiful base to enjoy Andalusia.
The Luxury Editor attended as a guest of La Zambra. lazambrahotel.com
