I'm going to tell you all about a new restaurant. Restó René is the newest restaurant in Villajoyosa it opened on the 30th march 2021.
This fantastic new restaurant uses only the freshest and where possible the most local ingredients. It is the only restaurant in the marina Baixa that has gastronomic and gustarÃan menu that is suitable for vegetarians and vegans including the wine pairings.
Restó René is located in the port of Villajoyosa, with on-site parking and overflow parking in the port itself. The restaurant has amazing sea views from both in side the dining area and outside on the chill out terrace.
Inside it has a stunningly beautiful and brightly decorated interior. Decorated to an incredibly high standard, with beautiful ironed table clothes, plush comfortable seating and gentle classical music covers playing. All of this combined makes Restó René a very peaceful, relaxing setting for any kind of celebration be it birthday or anniversary or even a day out with family, friends or a loved one and that is before we get to the staff of the food.
The staff are absolutely suberb and it is extremely clear that they have been chosen for there expertise and passion for their work. Impeccably dressed and well spoken in multiple languages, they serve you politely, poshly and to a sliver service standard. The waiting team and managers make you feel very important like a VIP and they explain every dish in detail to the extent they can tell you where the local ingredients actually come from.
Now on to the food, Restó René serves homemade gourmet/ gastronomic Mediterranean cuisine. The head chef Juanjo Fernández manages to create picturesque dishes with where possible local ingredients but at all times with the freshest and most unique ingredients. The aim is to combine the key elements of the alicant province which is of course it's mountains and seas (my two favourite places). All of this leads to a menu that is a suprise to all senses from they eyes to the taste buds. This is all because of they way it is presented, the way it tastes and the fact that only the best quality and freshest and where possible local ingredients are used.
There are 4 menus available in total 3 taster menus and the main carta menu where you can order main dishes;
1 The gastronomic menu - 5-6 dishes
2 The tasting menu - 4-5 dishes
3 The vegetarian/vegan menu - 4-6 dishes
4 the carta/letter/main menu.
Menus 1-3 come with optional wine pairings or juice and infusion parings.
I personally had the vegetarian menu 6 dishes and no wine. This is because the gastronomic and tasting menu are a mixture of meat, fish and vegetables and I do not eat fish I was also driving hence the no wine.
However all 3 menus do start with homemade bread, plain, seeded and a sundried tomato one. These are served with tofu truffle butter and two olive oils both from the Alicante province. Including one from Enrique Mendoza.
The bread itself was cooked to perfection with a crunchy crust and a soft center it was packed full of flavour - the one with sun-dried tomatoes had a wonderful pop of flavour. The bread is regularly brought around by the fantastic waiting team throughout your service.
The 1st of the vegetarian dishes I tried was the melon tartar, which is melon cut and pickled in a turmeric vinaigrette and seasoned with green apple citrus cream. The presentation and colours of this dish are absolutely suberb it looked absolutely beautiful on the plate and there was an explosion of flavour with a crunchy element and a slight peppery taste from the vingerette offset by the citrus cream.
The 2nd dish I tried was the portabello delight, a mushroom croquette, with Port marmalade and basil cream. This was delicious, had a creamy high quality mushroom taste with a slight peppery edge, the croquettes outside was crispy just the way you would want from a croquette but with so much more flavour than usually croquettes. I would highly recommend this dish to anyone but especially mushroom lovers like me.
The 3rd dish I tried was the kirmizi stuffed pepper. This is a pepper, stuffed with pumpkin cream on a bed of purple cauliflower couscous. The presentation of this dish blew me away it was amazing as was the taste. An explosion of flavour, colourful on the eyes and the tastebuds . The different textures between the pumpkin cream, the pepper and the cauliflower couscous just add to the experience. As I say in the video you don't just eat food here you experience it.
The 4th dish I tried was the tribute to artichoke. This dish is an artichoke baked slowly for 6 hours and accompanied by vegetables cooked in different ways. The artichoke was cooked perfectly soft in the center with crunch caramelised edges that made it suberb to the tastebuds due to the textures. As you can see in the video the highly trained staff explain each dish and how it is cooked.
The 5th dish I tried is called Drum, this is an aubergine and Ratatouille pyramid spices with beetroot cream. Now I'm not the biggest fan of aubergine but the plate was empty at the end. The differences in taste, textures and colours are a real treat to the senses.
The 6th and final dish was the fruit and colour dish. A mixture of textured fruits and artisanal ice-cream. WOW! What can I say about this dish - amazing - the artisanal ice-cream is the kind you have dreams about eating. Explosion of flavour and textures. There where fruits and textures I've never experienced before but exploded in your mouth but that ice-cream WOW!!
I ended my dining experience with a coffee and chocolate from the local valor factory here in Villajoyosa. This is a perfect way to end the dining room experience while you Gaze out over the Mediterranean sea and think about all the flavours and textures you have just experienced. You could also extend you experience further with something a little stronger like a cocktail or in my case a gin while you sit on the chill out terrace outside.
So all in all what I say absolutely amazing. From the interior decoration, to the professionalism of the staff to the presentation, taste and quality of the food. This is a 5* dining experience that is not to be missed.
Check out the website www.restórené.es and reserve your table now.