If you enjoy good food made from choice produce, fine wines and a comfortable, cosy ambience, then Vovem is an experience to savour. Set on the Paseo Marítimo beach walk in the heart of Marbella, it offers flavour from start to finish.
On a winter’s night you long for something hearty and warming. Thoughts turn to stews and steaks, but venture out to a good restaurant and you also wish for the finesse and creativity of a skilled chef, the warm embrace of a stylish venue and the welcoming hospitality of sincere good service. On Marbella’s Paseo Marítimo, overlooking the long beaches and Mediterranean, Vovem stands out as a first-class dining venue that combines all the above.
Step inside and maître Daniel Sánchez makes you feel at home right away. He leads a team that blends efficiency with kindness, so that the dining experience begins before you’ve even sipped a glass of fino or looked at the menu. It’s all about feeling comfortable, and in the rounded leather booths that’s hard not to do. Speaking of the menu, chef Enzo Díaz has just given it a seasonal twist with a range of new creations to complement the classics Vovem is well known for.
The latter include above all a reputation for the finest quality steaks, with the meat specially sourced not just from the top suppliers in Spain, but all around the world. Wagyu delicacies join the choicest cuts of meat to produce a mouth-watering array of options that will have meat lovers’ toes curling. One of the features of Vovem is the impressive, specially made grill where the experienced chefs can be seen in action as you enjoy the first course.
New Experiences
While our steaks were being prepared, we sampled a selection of the new dishes the chef has created, starting with a confit of deep-sea cardinal prawn on a delicious chicken cracker. It may not sound like a natural match but it is, for the flavours just explode in your mouth. Raising the stakes even further was a blend of beef tongue and chanterelle mushrooms with a tartare of Galician beef; foie and pine nuts, topped with truffle foam.
Such dishes reveal the skill and creativity of the chef as they dance on your palate, accompanied by a glass of Ontañon Crianza 2016 – a premium Rioja red that is the maître’s personal favourite, and with good reason. It was an excellent choice and a new discovery for my companions and I, with excellent colour, fine bouquet and a full-bodied but pleasant finish. The restaurant has an extensive wine list specially aimed at accompanying its exemplary meat dishes.
Another seasonal delicacy we thoroughly enjoyed was a harmony of boletus and chanterelle mushrooms mixed on the spot with free range smoked egg yolk, to which is then added a fresh vegetable broth. The blend is heavenly, comfort food on another level, and just perfect for days by the fireplace. The final treat before the steak was a delicate vegetable taco topped with tuna tartare and ponzu sauce and kimchi mayonnaise – another sweet-savoury sensation.
Steak Heaven
Chef Enzo Díaz has added a range of taste sensations to the menu that perfectly embody the feeling of autumn and winter. They complement the classic meat dishes that Vovem has become famous for, and are recommended to be enjoyed as light, flavour-filled starters before embarking upon your personal choice of prime beef steak – in our case a wonderful chop of the Fleckvieh-Simmental variety specially brought in from Switzerland.
Suffice it to say that this premium quality meat so skilfully prepared and sprinkled with rock salt was quite understandably one of the highlights of a very enjoyable evening. Steak lovers will find their Valhalla here, so for people who enjoy quality meat dishes prepared by an excellent chef in a warm, welcoming and stylish environment, Vovem is a restaurant not to be missed. Some might even say it is steak heaven.
WORDS MICHEL CRUZ PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN HORN
Avda. Duque de Ahumado, 9, Marbella. Tel: 952 008 822.