The team behind Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Bolero introduces a new Spanish restaurant.
Building on the runaway success of Bolero, Andalusian chef Fernando Alcala aims to bring diners to the lesser known parts of Spain with his new restaurant Singular—a tasty journey that will enlighten and conjure Iberian dreams.
The restaurant sits on quite a large footprint and can potentially sit 60 people. It uses terracotta tiles on the floor and black walls to maintain a level of coziness; the while private rooms have large glass circular portals to give you the illusion of being next to a lush garden and evoke a Japanese sensibility. Located at the glitzy side of BGC at The Palace, Singular is an easy go-to for those on a night out.
When you think of Spanish cuisine, what comes to mind? Paella, callos, gambas al ajillo? According to Singular, they want to step “away from clichés and commercial Spanish food. We bring you the kind of experience people cross the world to find.”
Dinner starts how many Spanish meals start: with tapas. Three small plates are served that immediately whisk you off to Spain’s iconic tapas streets such as Calle Laurel or Lo Viejo in Logroño or El Tubo in Zaragoza. Bollo Preñao—Asturian chorizo bread rolls—gets a refined touch. Inside these empanada-like balls is a smoky, flavorful chorizo filling that will make you yearn for seconds or a bucket full. Pickled mussels are arranged in a tart shell and hide under a vibrant yellow gel form of the escabeche. The third tapa is a small open sandwich called Serranito de Pastrami—a colorful bite that brings with it a bit of a spicy kick.
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Chef Alcala wants to spotlight the different techniques of how some of these ingredients are harvested, caught and prepared. The Atún con Pipirrana y Ajoblanco uses bluefin tuna caught by the ancient technique in Cadiz called almadraba. It’s a traditional method using a maze of nets that guide the tuna in the Atlantic into a chamber where fishermen then catch the fish by hand.
Clean, raw tuna served in quenelles is paired with a pipirrana sauce (usually a summer salad made with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and green peppers). To round out the flavors, an ajoblanco (a white gazpacho made with almonds and bread) is poured table side on the dish.
Another course takes you inland to Castilla-La Mancha and highlights the ritual of hunting for pigeons in the fields of Tierra de Campos. Pichón Asado con Escabeche de Naranja is a beautiful dish that plays on contrasts and takes the gaminess of the pigeon meat and balances it out with the acidity of the orange escabeche.
The pork dish called Cerdo en Orza con Berza Gaditana takes the deep tradition of storing pork in orza (earthenware pots) when refrigeration wasn’t available yet and slow cooking the pork in its own fat. This results in tender pork morsels full of savory umami. Alcala serves this with cabbage and a broth that tastes like cocido (a rustic boiled stew usually with chickpeas and vegetables).
Singular’s tasting menu may come during a food scene that is saturated with restaurants offering degustation menus, but it offers something different. The storytelling and discovery play well with Alcala’s vision, stirring wanderlust in diners that allow themselves to get lost in it. For sure Spain has much to offer than what we are accustomed to, and Singular is just getting started at revealing more of Spain’s delicious flavors.
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