Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Until very recently, mentioning El Bejeque in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria meant talking about a house devoted to meat and fire. Yet living projects are those that listen to the pulse of their clientele and the beat of the market: diners hungry for novelties where smoke and embers remain the backbone, but with broader horizons such as those of the ocean — all the more so given that we find ourselves in the very heart of Playa de Las Canteras, on Calle Portugal, just diagonally opposite the restaurant Tabaiba, the only Michelin Star on the island that is not inside a large hotel or resort.
And so the house of Ayoze Valido in the kitchen and Kiara León in the dining room has decided to take a step forward by adding — never replacing — the sea as an absolute co-star of its offering. And let no one be alarmed: everything that has made its diners happy for years around its meat cuts remains and will remain intact. The sea has not arrived to displace the land; it has arrived to coexist with it and to prove that, when craft rules, fire, ocean and summit form an unbeatable alliance.
I visited their table for the first time with curiosity alight and the firm determination to dive headlong into this brand-new maritime romance. A menu conceived almost exclusively from the coastline, with a single earthly concession to start: their grilled Media Flor de Guía cheese on an almond mojo. A bite that cries out for a small rethink in service or plating; the punch of the mojo ends up eclipsing the noble, bitter nuances of the cheese, something that would be easily resolved by serving them separately so the diner can balance them to taste. A minor detail that did not overshadow what was to come.
A festival of embers by the Atlantic
From there on, the festival of embers gave no respite. We began with grilled queen scallops cooked to a pinpoint, exalted by a homemade majado that was truly outstanding. There followed papas arrieras with octopus and prawns, caressed by a few drops of a black garlic alioli that would well deserve to be sold in kilo jars; a robust, balanced starter with that magic touch that by itself justifies a trip to a restaurant.
But the maritime summit still held greater cards. The jewel in the crown was some simply majestic carabineros from La Santa. Rarely have I seen such wise, respectful and finely tuned handling on the grill to extract the essence of this crustacean, a “newcomer” to our coasts whose culinary trail we began to follow back in 2018 (I still keep in my memory those I enjoyed at the much-missed El Risco de Famara). What El Bejeque does with this piece is pure goldsmithing in smoke.
The same mastery was demonstrated with the chopa, a Canarian rock fish, in a piece of almost a kilo pampered over the fire with such delicacy that not even the bones were left on the table. To round off the savoury work, the main course was one of their rice dishes: the black one with squid and cuttlefish. I state it without hesitation: probably the best black rice I have put in my mouth in the Canaries in recent years. Everything demanded of rice excellence converges here: the impeccable grain of Molino Roca, the oceanic depth of a superb fumet, the masterly integration of the ink and, once again crowning the work, that blessed homemade black garlic alioli. Another dish that, by its own right, is worth a visit.
A sweet ending and a service worthy of top marks
The sweet epilogue could not have been more identitarian: some thoroughly Canarian huevos moles, escorted by gofio from the Molino de Telde. The traditional and comforting golden finishing touch for a high-flying meal.
The dining room deserves a chapter of its own. Maintaining the rhythm, warmth and precision for more than twenty diners scattered around the premises at the hands of a single person seems like a pipe dream, but Kiara delivers a service worthy of top marks. Absolute command of the menu, impeccable advice on timings and quantities, a measured wine list but with sure judgement — with gems among the vermouths and sweet dessert wines — and a perpetual smile that manages to make you feel at home with every course. Her work is not a complement: it is another weighty reason to walk through their door.
They have spent barely two weeks taming the sea among their embers, but if this is only the beginning, I predict that El Bejeque will very soon become a place of obligatory pilgrimage for those of us who understand gastronomy as the perfect union of fire, produce and memory. There is a road still to travel, as with any debut, but the course could not be more promising.
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