Gourman: Marrecife

Marrecife is a very interesting restaurant. Upon entering, one does not know if it is a hollow or a restaurant. When eating, it is not clear if it is food based on tradition or innovation, and when talking to its Chef and owner, he is even more confused, because he is full of ideas, plans, recipes, and projects.

Probably Marrecife is all that, Hueca, restaurant, tradition and Innovation. The roots of their food are undeniably Ecuadorian. It has technique and innovates on tradition, with an extensive menu. In the last installment of 2022 I wrote “Marrecife, in another category, more attached to the roots of Ecuadorian cuisine, is a restaurant that has achieved a high level, similar to the case of Balandra.”

I see it a few steps away from exploiting its potential, as Martinique has developed it in Manta.

This time we ate some dishes from the menu, and others that will be on their new menu. The Catch of the day has a sofrito with achiote, really a Velouté, a sauce that is made up of a protein broth and amalgamated by a roux, in the French style. In this case, the velouté is with crab. The background tastes of crab and Spanish paprika. It has shrimp sautéed with garlic on top, with a smoked Sea Bass with rosemary in the tank. Smoke handling is excellent. The fish did not lose its consistency or its texture.

We then tried an octopus salad. And that is the product that stands out.

The Marrecife octopus in all its dishes, as well as those of the previously mentioned restaurant, Balandra, were perfect, with texture and the cooking point it should have. Use the sous vide for this and then the grill or a stir-fry.

This salad, extremely fresh, with pepper, pickled fish stock, obviously onion with bell pepper, and very finely sliced ​​green pepper, with tomato and lettuce, had the good sense of not being extremely acidic or citric, which is achieved by balancing it with oil made of olives.

Then we tried a smoked dorado loin in mashed corn. The puree has a sweet aftertaste. The dorado was also smoked in the tank, being first sealed with olive oil, crowned with octopus cut into thin slices, with garlic.

We finished with some croquettes made of quinoa with pork, with octopus and parsley oil. We liked the work of the croquette. without bechamel sauce, which allowed you to savor its ingredients more. The parsley oil was an ideal sauce for the dish, albeit a little lacking. This is a very good restaurant. The plate has evolved a lot since the last time I was there, whose environment does not match the level of its cuisine and potential. Highly recommended. (EITHER)