Restaurante El Lago Marbella: Armonía, a new concept

Milos Zdravkovic is a native of Serbia although he has been working in different restaurants on the Costa del Sol for many years and, in 2020, he joined the kitchen team of this restaurant, becoming head chef in just a few years. One of his main objective is to produce a creative cuisine based on zero kilometre products, promoting small, local producers.

Their new menu Armonía is a clear example. This menu includes a selection of their own dishes starting with appetisers based on foie gras parfait with port, a bouquet of green leaves with smoked tuna belly and an original tartare of Malaga goat sausage. Then come the starters with ajoblanco [a cold white soup made mainly from ground almonds, breadcrumbs, oil and garlic] with cured tuna and seasonal fruits and roast leek with mornay sauce au gratin and Stilton cheese, one of the most original dishes on this menu and with the most contrasts of flavours in a single mouthful.

Where Milos takes the least risks in this menu is in the main courses, as the panko red mullet with Japanese cucumber salad is a dish in which the greatest difficulty lies in the level of heat to gently cook the fish, and the shoulder of Malaga goat with payoyo cheese [made from milk from the Payoya goat, indigenous to the province] sauce. It is one of those dishes that, by dint of being on the menus of many restaurants, has entered the 'classics' section.

However, if you are visiting for the first time since the change in the kitchen and dining room, it is the perfect option to get to know where Milos' cuisine is heading. A cuisine that is still very eclectic but which is pointing in the right direction to achieve the chef's goal of making El Lago's cuisine conceptually well-defined. The menu reflects and defines whether it is lunch or dinner, as it varies in the lunchtime or evening offerings, which are fresher and lighter or more substantial. The dining room is run by Hassan Hatouchi, who is also responsible for the wine cellar and for preparing wine pairings according to the client's tastes in terms of national and international wines, including wines from Malaga.

El Lago's new venture is a way of reaffirming the possibilities of this restaurant to remain among the greats of Malaga, and which currently has two Soles in the Repsol Guide.

Ajoblanco with cured tuna. An Andalusian dish that Milos restructures with figs, nori and a touch of katsuobushi or cured tuna that increases the salty touch of the ajoblanco itself and balances the sweetness of the figs. Very interesting.

Panko mullet. Overall, this red mullet would have been better if it had been cooked less on the stove. Despite the cucumber salad and a coral sauce it lacked juiciness, which detracted from the flavour of this tasty fish.

Roast leek. This is a very original combination when it comes to preparing a roast leek. The strong flavour of this lilaceous vegetable mingles with a mild mornay sauce and the strength of a cheese such as Stilton used for gratin.

Shoulder of goat. Milos promotes in this harmony menu Malaga flavours and achieves it with a shoulder of goat at the right point of roasting to which he adds a payoya goat cheese sauce and some roasted vegetables to complete the flavours.

Address: Avda Marco Polo, 8. Telephone: 952 832 371.

Web: www.restauranteellago.com

Closed: Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Prices: Roast leek: 27€; Red mullet panko: 41€; Shoulder of goat: 43€

Valuation: Cuisine: 7.5; Restaurant: 7; Wine list: 7; Rating: 7.5 / 10