Wined, dined and rested.

Let’s be clear, good food in Marbella is hard to find at an affordable price. In my opinion it’s also quite hard to find at an expensive price too, but that’s another story…….
And again, I have nothing against “chiringuitos”, the little informal snack bars that pop up all over the seaside in the south of Spain; I’ve had some really nice, simple fish and seafood dishes in some of them.
What is truly unusual is to find really interesting food in a little restaurant down by the water along the promenade in Marbella.
You stroll along the promenade, taking evasive action as children on small motorised vehicles hurtle towards you, you note the big sign “Waterfront”, you assume it’s like all the others…..but then you have a second look. Something about the décor isn’t the same as the fake fishing nets, plastic lobsters, all-day breakfasts and massive screens advertising the latest football match LIVE HERE TONIGHT.
There are clean, simple Scandinavian lines; the bar has been set sideways on; the chairs and tables are comfortable but straightforward; less really is more here, in the décor at least.

We had a look at the menu – mmmmm, ‘fusion’ again? Our hearts sank slightly but the place looked interesting enough – and different enough – to give it a try.
Well, that was a good decision.

Then when we looked at the wine list we saw that they had a Ronda red, and that is ALWAYS a good sign. Regular readers will know how much we appreciate this shockingly little-appreciated wine area, so this clearly indicated a place that had put some thought into the wine list. We ordered a bottle, of course. It was from Los Aguilares, whose wine we know well – this one was Pago El Espino 2015, a mix of Petit Verdot, Syrah and Tempranillo, a surprisingly complex mixture of a good nose followed by a long flavour. Another good choice. Things were going well so far….

There were several of us all choosing different things and all were good, but the stand-out starters were the ceviche of sea bass with mango and avocado (the sea bass cooked to perfection in not too much lemon/lime juice, and a good balance of fruit and avocado)….

…. and the absolutely excellent vegetable spring rolls which were nothing like any spring roll I’ve had before. They were wrapped in what seemed like blanched cabbage leaf but one of the owners told us it was a rice paste formed into sheets to wrap the beautifully crafted bunch of vegetables within.

The salmon and tuna tartares were also achingly fresh, full of flavour, and beautifully presented.

 

We started chatting with the two owners, who were both there that evening.

Tommi, originally from Sweden, has wide experience of setting up and running restaurants across Europe, and Jukka, originally from Finland, has wide experience of enjoying restaurants and now feels the time has come to co-own one! All this experience has informed what they offer and how they offer it.
Jukka insisted that we try the steak, which we had already spotted because it claimed to be from Galicia and that is arguably the very best quality beef produced in Spain. We asked for medium rare, hoping that the chef was not English (most English chefs seem to think that medium rare means well-cooked) and my goodness what delicious steak came out of the restaurant, and how perfectly cooked! I’m not a huge steak fan, but this was truly excellent – the quality of the meat was indeed superb and the cooking was just right. Oh, and the peppercorn sauce was excellent. €22 is still €22, but that’s a pretty good price for steak of that quality.

There is a ‘surf and turf’ option, also with excellent Galician fillet steak, and one of us had chicken quesadillas which were definitely TexMex rather than Mexican but as long as you accept that, they were beautifully done and very tasty.

Personally, I would have preferred more chile with them; Jukka explained that in Spain most people don’t want spicy food, and I know that he’s right but I think that perhaps they could offer a tiny saucer of chopped or pickled jalapeños on the side for those of us who like a little PACE in the food!
Tommi explained that the idea behind Waterfront was to create somewhere relaxed, a drop-in type of restaurant but with a high standard of food – the “fusion” framework means that anyone can just sit down, have a dish or two then move on. I suppose it’s a sophisticated version of the tapas principle….

Overall, the flavours were very good, and the presentation was superb – Jukka and Tommi are enormously proud of their chef, Abdul, who has worked in restaurants around the world. As he listed off the countries he’s worked in it was easy to see why he can produce such beautiful Japanese, French, Asian and American food, and the decision to offer “fusion” cuisine was clearly based around Abdul’s obvious talents.

The Waterfront does what it does extremely well, and at a reasonable price. It has actually slightly changed my entrenched opinion about “international cuisine”. I just wish every other “international restaurant” around the world would come here and see how it can be done simply and with quiet confidence.

So yes, OK, I admit it – I’ll be back to visit the Waterfront next time I’m in Marbella.