Wined, dined and rested.

We went back to this busy, buzzy little restaurant on the Avenida Fontanilla today because the food is good and the atmosphere is sparkling.

It’s hard to find good food in Marbella, and the lovely Palato (reviewed here a couple of years ago) sadly closed after it was sold. For those with a bottomless purse there is always decent food to be had, but even then you have to seek it out carefully in this town. There is a lot of “international cuisine”, presumably where the restaurant is trying to offer something to everyone, but one learns quickly never to go anywhere near those.

There is always a lot of whatever cuisine is fashionable at any given moment, for example at the moment the Marbella area seems to have a “Thai” restaurant on every corner; the few I have been able to afford have not been up to scratch, and let’s leave it at that. (A friend has told me of one that he says really is good, so if and when I go there I’ll report back…)
Lekune, however, is quirky and fun. It works on a principle similar to that of Yo Sushi, but without the sushi and without the conveyor belt. Ok, so that makes sense (not).

You go in, sit down if you can find room – it’s always full – and a waitress will quickly take a drinks order. Then you just look out for the waitresses coming out of the kitchen bearing trays of “pintxos” (often also called “montaditos”), a small portion of food perched on a slice of baguette. Or in the case of the Spanish omelette, a large-ish portion of food with a slice of baguette perched on top of it.

She tells you what it is and you either take it or not, and she moves on. Each portion has either a toothpick or a kebab stick pushed into it; you collect the sticks in a glass on your table and at the end the waitress adds up the number of each of the two sizes of sticks and charges you accordingly.
The waitresses work incredibly hard, and they are always cheerful – they buzz round the restaurant like little food angels, smiling and chatting and pausing only briefly before they move on.
The food is excellent – simple, very fresh Spanish tapas, but in the small portions necessary to balance on a slice of baguette. For example, today we had small stuffed pepper battered and deep fried, and spinach gratin….

… then they came round with some of that lovely Spanish morcilla, which is basically black pudding but when made in the style of Burgos and the surrounding area it contains rice which lightens the whole thing. And then how could I resist the mushroom and cheese on a slice of focaccia?

Currently the small pintxos are €1.80 and the larger ones are €2.40, which is reasonable for fresh, well-made food of these portions. The main danger is, not to put too fine a point on it, stuffing oneself so full that one can hardly drag oneself back to the car afterwards.

It is so easy to pretend you are in that old Ferrero Rocher advertisement with the flunkys floating round with huge trays of golden goodies that you just help yourself to; “Mr Ambassador, you spoil us” I mutter under my breath to the food angels as they pass with yet another tray of deliciousness. To their credit, rather than giving me a very wide berth since I am clearly deranged, they just smile again and offer yet more baguette-riding delights.