Cortijo Santa María 1962, a cuisine where Andalusian and North African fusion is real

The restaurant, which only serves dinner, focuses its culinary offerings on Andalusian cuisine fused to a large extent with Moroccan forms of cooking, using mostly Andalusian products, if possible from local producers. Nicolás' cuisine, by his own admission, is a journey into the past and the Mediterranean influences of his father and the traditional French gastronomic influences learned from his mother.

Along with Andalusian cheeses, Iberian cured meats and tuna from the Barbate tuna traps, and a wide variety of Andalusian wines, there are also a series of more classic dishes from the Maghreb cuisine, but with a distinctly Andalusian touch. What is most surprising on a first visit to this restaurant is precisely the very Andalusian touch of a menu designed and prepared for the restaurant of a five-star hotel.

Along with the menu of Cortijo Santa María 1962, this season there are three menus, a short one called Bistronomy with three courses, Experience with five and Gourmet with seven courses. Without a doubt, the last two are the most advisable when visiting this place for the first time and getting an idea of what the cuisine is like and what to expect from it, as despite being presented under the umbrella of 'Andalusian cuisine', many palates may be misled. Starting with the appetiser itself, where the Moroccan bread is accompanied by butter with vegetable ash, olive oil and olives.

Up to this point, everything was perfectly fine, but where things go off track is with the three dishes meant for sharing: mussels in an orange escabeche, salted tuna belly with a citrus foam and zaalouk wrapped in confit aubergine and labneh cheese. There is far too much of a citrus touch, which ends up overpowering the briny flavors of the mussels and the saltiness of the tuna. Were it not for the labneh cheese, the final dish would be nothing more than aubergine on aubergine.

Ample space, views, and an area where Andalusian wines, cheeses, and cured meats form part of the dining room's ambiance and decor complement what this restaurant is, and what is expected of an establishment of its kind.