Bronze sculpture of Jules Verne on a giant squid near Vigo’s marina. Photo credit to María José Alcalde Abal (@alcaldejos on Instagram)
In the classic 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne dedicates a chapter to Vigo Bay. Captain Nemo guides the Nautilus up the coast from Portugal to Vigo to discover (and plunder!) sunken treasure. “”Did you know, sir,” he asked, smiling, “that the sea contained such riches?”” Verne’s character, Captain Nemo, may have been speaking of “ingots of gold and silver, cascades of piasters and jewels” when he referred to the sea’s riches, but those of us who visit Galicia in the present day get to enjoy riches from the sea in the form of exceptional shellfish and seafood.
Maruja Limón is located right in front of Vigo’s marina, very near the large bronze sculpture of Jules Verne (sitting on a giant squid, no less!), just on the other side of the Montero Ríos gardens. We were greeted by a booming classic rock soundtrack as we entered the Michelin-starred restaurant. Once seated in the main dining room we discussed the menu and wine list with our waiter.
Although the tasting menus were tempting, we opted to order several items from the left side, nuestra parte salada (our savory part), of the menu to share.
The first thing presented was a wooden box full of very good quality Galician bread.
Vigo is the largest fishing port not only in Galicia or Spain, but in the world! So it’s no wonder that the restaurant, located just across the street from the marina, would feature an innovative amuse bouche inspired by the sea. With instructions that it should be eaten by hand, we truly enjoyed this sweet and creamy cabracho (cold scorpion fish ‘cake’) on top of “roca de algas” (literally “algae rock”, but what was actually an extra light crispy biscuit) topped with locally sourced wakame (another type of seaweed).
Amuse bouche inspired by the sea!
We selected a pair of highly regarded lovely white wines to start with: 2015 Pousada, an Albariño-Treixadura blend from the Condado do Tea region of the Rias Baixas, and 2015 Rafael Palacios As Sortes Godello from Valdeorras.
Hueva frita de otra manera, béchamel suave de trufa blanca y setas de temporada (Egg fried in another way, soft white truffle béchamel and seasonal mushrooms). Our first dish was decadent and rich in the best ways possible. The egg was gently cooked sous vide style then fried like a croqueta and served over roasted mushrooms and a truffle béchamel sauce. I loved the runny yolk blending in with the truffle sauce … and was appreciative of the great Galician bread on hand to clean the plate. Due to the warmer than usual autumn and the forest fires that tore through many parts of Galicia the week that we were there, mushrooms were actually in short supply during this trip, so we appreciated any that we found on menus.
Hueva frita de otra manera, béchamel suave de trufa blanca y setas de temporada (Egg fried in another way, soft white truffle béchamel and seasonal mushrooms)
Ensalada de tomate marinado, queso del Cebreiro y maíz tostado (Marinated tomato salad, O Cebreiro cheese and toasted corn). Sweet marinated sun-dried tomatoes with chunks of O Cebreiro cheese, cornbread crumbs, and topped with frisee. O Cebreiro cheese is Galician from the mountain town of the same name located on Galicia’s eastern border with Asturias. This unique cow’s milk cheese was brought back from nearly being forgotten about many years ago by several families in that mountain village. What looks and tastes like goat cheese is actually made of cow’s milk. This perfectly tangy cheese paired beautifully with the sweet marinated tomatoes and not at all bitter frisee salad.
Ensalada de tomate marinado, queso del Cebreiro y maíz tostado (Marinated tomato salad, O Cebreiro cheese and toasted corn)
Vieira encebollada, shitake y trufa de verano (Scallop in onion sauce, shitake mushroom and summer truffle). Another rich decadent sauce accompanied the perfectly cooked scallops. The kitchen was wise to serve the refreshing tomato salad in between these two rich dishes. Check out those shaved summer truffles absolutely covering the scallops! While it looks like a lot of truffle, this summer variety didn’t overwhelm at all, but added a nice flavor to the sauce that pooled gently around the scallops. Crunchy fried onions and roasted mushrooms complimented nicely.
Vieira encebollada, shitake y trufa de verano (Scallop in onion sauce, shitake mushroom and summer truffle)
Switching to vino tinto (red wine) for the remainder of the courses, we enjoyed the 2014 Attis Espadeiro from the Rias Baixas wine region.
Jurel a la llama, soja fermentada, cacahuete y chile (Flame grilled mackerel, fermented soy, peanut and chile). Mackerel is known for being an intensely flavored fish, so it wasn’t a surprise that this version, cooked over flame with some smokiness to further intensify the flavor of the mackerel itself, was no exception. The flavorful fish was nestled in a pleasant loose grain porridge and sprinkled with chopped peanuts. The chile was not really discernible, which was a shame since the strong flavor of the fish would have stood up to it nicely.
Jurel a la llama, soja fermentada, cacahuete y chile (Flame grilled mackerel, fermented soy, peanut and chile)
Pieza de ternera de Lugo, torrija de patata y un jugo de ajo tostado (Piece of tenderloin from Lugo, potato torrija and toasted garlic jus). For our final main course, this flavorful Galician beef was absolute perfection. Beautifully presented flavorful tenderloin cooked “a su punto” (a perfect medium rare) with this delicate, yet rich, jus just decorating the plate. For even more umami, several sautéed mushrooms played along as well. The marvelous potato “torrija” was something I hadn’t seen in Galicia before. Basically, this was a potato gratin (surely made with plenty of cream, hence the ‘torrija’ reference) cut into cubes then crisped again just before serving. Delicious!
Pieza de ternera de Lugo, torrija de patata y un jugo de ajo tostado (Piece of tenderloin from Lugo, potato torrija and toasted garlic jus)
From the Lo dulce (The sweet) portion of the menu, we selected the Chocolate, frambuesa y toffe (Chocolate, raspberry and toffee) dessert. Crispy tubes of toffee filled with a light cream atop a bed of darker chocolate cream, vanilla cream, raspberry coulis, and sprinkled with chocolate crumbles. We enjoyed this light dessert with such a variety of flavors and textures.
Chocolate, frambuesa y toffe (Chocolate, raspberry and toffee)
As is usual in restaurants in Galicia, another round of sweets accompany the post-dessert coffee service.
In addition to the dining room where we sat, the restaurant features two other spaces; Maruja Granuja is a casual bar area in the front of the restaurant for enjoying a wine accompanied by small tapas and a separate Cocina Vista dining space where a handful of guests actually sit at a bar in front of an open kitchen to watch the chefs create special tasting menus.
Reservations recommended.
Date of Visit: Saturday, October 21, 2017
Maruja Limón
Rúa Montero Ríos, 4, 36201 Vigo, Pontevedra (map)
+34 986 473 406
Website: www.marujalimon.es
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarujaLimon.Restaurante
English spoken: YES
We were staying at the swanky Gran Hotel Nagari Spa right in the heart of Vigo’s Valladares neighborhood along the wide boulevard lined with stately buildings and interesting sculptures. While asking about local sights and restaurants, the hotel staff mentioned that their own restaurant, Restaurante Alameda XXI, would be serving Cocido on Sunday. The restaurant had already been recommended to us by a chef friend in A Coruña, so the decision was easily made; we would relax and enjoy Sunday afternoon right in the hotel.
An enormous dish with enough to feed several people was placed on a small table brought over just to hold it. All of the usual suspects in a traditional Galician Cocido, sprinkled with savory paprika, were present:
Called simply la patata (the potato) on the menu, these fried potato batons were topped with “ketchup”, a tiny fried onion ring, and edible garlic flowers. Pretty and satisfying.
El pescado del día, esparrago blanco amargo y salsa rojo picante (Fish of the day, bitter white asparagus with spicy red sauce and macadamia nut). The fish of the day was a lovely local San Martiño (John Dory), from the ría (estuary) that I could see from my window seat.
Why is it that things prepared tableside seem to taste better? Perhaps even better yet when they are smoked tableside. Filloa-fajita de ‘raxo’ adobado y ahumado was takeoff of fajitas using the Galician filloa (crepe) as the tortilla dotted with sauces and edible flowers then topped with intensely flavored Galician style marinated pork that received a final bit of smoke tableside. This may have been my favorite plate of the day.
Three (yes, three) seasonal desserts. First (bottom) cleverly presented balls of pear “caviar” with lime zest served in this ‘imitation caviar’ tin, even served with a mother of pearl spoon for effect. The dish at the top right was simply called ‘mandarin’, an extremely light and fluffy mousse-like concoction with an lovely fresh orange flavor. The top right was my favorite, though. Lianzo de primavera (spring canvas) was a beautiful mélange of fresh spring fruits topped with ice cream quenelles and more edible flower petals served on an actual canvas. I loved the fresh, light ending to this beautiful meal.
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