Casa Marcial: Two-Michelin Star in the Asturias Region, Spain

LenaPon Eylül 09, 2022

La Salgar, 33549 Arriondas, Spain; tel. +34 985 840991
https://www.casamarcial.com/en/casa-marcial/

By J.P.

From our first stop at the Echaurren hotel, where we could enjoy dinner at El Portal restaurant, we drove northwest towards the Asturias region, where we stayed at the Palacio de Luces hotel. From a gastronomic point of view, the highlight of our stay in Asturias was a visit to Casa Marcial. This two-Michelin-star restaurant is located on Sierra del Sueve, about 3 miles from the village of Arriondas. Sierra del Sueve is a northern foothill of the Cantabrian Mountains. We had reservations for 2:30 pm on a Tuesday in May 2019, and driving uphill to get to the restaurant was already a pleasant experience. Although the restaurant is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, GPS brought us there without any problem.

Casa Marcial

As El Portal in the Echaurren hotel, Casa Marcial has roots that go back quite a long way within the same family. Chef Nacho Manzano took over the restaurant in 1993, together with his sisters Esther, Olga and Sandra Manzano. Last year, they celebrated in style the 25th anniversary of the restaurant (see). Casa Marcial earned his second Michelin star in 2009 and became a member of the Relais & Chateaux collection in 2015. Chef Nacho Manzano was basically trained at home and, except for some time spent at a traditional Gijón restaurant (Casa Victor, now closed), he learned to cook mostly from experimenting with his mother’s recipes (see).

Dining room

Bar

Casa Marcial offered two menus degustation: "corto" (short) at €100 and "completo" (full) at €150. We both chose the short version.

In a veranda at the entrance, we were served:

Caldo de la Salgar (Salgar Soup), a chick pea soup.

Crujiente de Bacalao (Crispy Cod)

Veranda

Chick pea soup and crispy cod

Both were very good, especially the cod that was delicious. They were accompanied by a glass of sidra (Sidra de Asturias, Denominación de Origen Protegida, Valle, Ballina y Fernandez, Brut Nature). Sidra, a fermented apple alcoholic drink, is very popular in northern Spain, especially in Asturias and Basque Country (see). The sidra we drank had 7.5% alcoholic content (relatively low compared to the usual 13.5% of a wine) and was made of the apple varieties: Teórica, Raxao, and Perico or Regona. For more on sidra apple varieties (see).

Sidra Valle, Ballina y Fernandez

We then passed to the table, where we were started with three items:

Llámpares a la Sidra y Salmonetes (Limpets in Cider Sauce and Red Mullet); limpets are aquatic snails with a shell that is broadly conical in shape and a strong, muscular foot.

Fabada Frita (Fried Beans); fabada is a classic Spanish stew of butter beans with chorizo, blood sausage, cabbage, shoulder ham and fresh bacon – this was a simplified version served as an appetizer.

Croqueta de Jamón (Ham Croquette)

Limpets and red mullet

Fabada frita

Ham croquettes

These three starters were all very good, with high marks for the limpets and red mullet.

Then, a new phase of tapas began:

Caviar, Guisantes, Pulpo y Perejil (Caviar, Teardrop Peas, Octopus and Parsley). This came in a beautiful presentation and, once again, we could enjoy teardrop peas, which we had liked so much at El Portal - teardrop pea (“guisante lágrima” in Spanish) is a sweet and delicate type of pea that, harvested early, has the shape of a teardrop.

Cebolla Tierna, Caldo Requemado, Crujiente de Calamar (Spring Onion, Burnt Broth and Crunchy Squid). The accompanying burnt broth was great and the crunchy squid was outstanding. The three elements of this tapa combined perfectly.

Caviar, teardrop peas and octopus

Spring onion and burnt broth

Crunchy squid

Ostra a la Brasa, Yema Yodada, Vieira con Velo Marino (Oyster, Iodized Yolk and Scallop with Sea Veil). This tapa was very good. Velo marino is a thin-layered seaweed and it was excellent.

Ortiguilla, Ortigas, Sesos de Lechal en Escabeche (Sea Urching, Lamb Brains).

Oyster, scallop, sea veil

Sea urchin and lamb brains

Lomo de Merluza en su Esencia (Hake with Juice of its Bone). This was a very delicate piece of hake. A.M. loved it.

Fabes Roxes, Vaca Vieja y Kalamata (Red Beans, Crispy Beef, Kalamata Olives). "Vaca Vieja" is a beef from older, "mature" cows. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, old beef is the new trend in steaks (see). The Kalamata olives were actually fake olives and were delicious.

Hake

Red beans and crispy beef

Escalibada Helada con Crema de Anchoas (Frosted "Escalibada" with Anchovies Cream). Escalibada is a traditional dish from Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Aragón of smoky grilled vegetables. Very good, delicious anchovy cream.

Milhojas de la Huerta - Milhojas de Puerro con Cebolla Caramelizada (Millefeuilles from the Garden - Leek Millefeuilles with Caramelized Onion).

Ajo Blanco. Ajo Negro (White Garlic, Black garlic). These two items were served together. They were tasty and had beautiful presentations.

Escalibada

Leek millefeulles

White garlic, black garlic

It was now time for dessert, which included two items:

Fresas y sus Versiones (Strawberries in Different Versions).

Leche y Pasto...Paisaje (Milk and Pasture … Landscape)

Strawberry variations

"Milk and Pasture" dessert

The first was carefully prepared at the table, while the second had an inspiring name and nice presentation. However, neither of the desserts rose to the level of the tapas that preceded them.

Strawberry dessert preparation

After that, we were taken back to the veranda at the entrance where coffee and gourmandizes were served.

To accompany the meal we chose a Spanish wine from Denominación de Origen Toro. Toro is one of five designated wine regions of Castilla y Leon. The wine was the Pintia, 2014. Pintia is a winery belonging to the famous Vega Sicilia, which produces many of the top ranked Spanish wines. Pintia was acquired by Vega Sicilia in 1997. This wine is 100% Tinta de Toro, which is a variety of Tempranillo, almost identical to it. The two most recent years with ratings for Pintia by the Wine Spectator were 2013 (90) and 2012 (91). The wine was very good and at the level of a top one from the neighboring and more famous Ribera del Duero.

In summary, we had a very rewarding experience at Casa Marcial. We could enjoy excellent tapas and extremely friendly service. The beautiful scenery driving on the way there is also a plus. The two Michelin stars are very well deserved.