Georgina Recommends – Baltazár Bar & Grill at the Kempinski Hotel Bahia
The Kempinski Hotel Bahía recently unveiled a new gastronomic concept called El Paseo del Mar. This is a foodie’s paradise made up of three restaurants and bars – Black Rose The Bar, Baltazár Bar and Grill and Spiler Beach Club. We have been lucky enough to try out all three places along with media and so today we wanted to review our favourite Baltazár.
Baltazár is a seriously cool restaurant, with a striking interior, delicious food and great service. It has an ambience unlike any other restaurant I’ve come across on the Costa del Sol and the chefs know how to produce great food that you really want to eat.
Read on for our review of this great steakhouse and grill…
The Location – Located by the pool in the Kempinski Hotel Bahía, with views down to the sea across the garden it’s a lovely setting. The Kempinski Hotel Bahía is a right next to Laguna Village and just outside of the town of Estepona. It’s about a 10 minute drive from Marbella, and is just off the motorway so it’s easy to get to and find. There is a lot of parking on offer, but it’s not immediately obvious, if the top areas are full, drive to the very end of the car park and down to the lower level. There is a barrier, but just press the call button and they will let you in.
The Décor/Atmosphere – This brasserie was created at the beginning of 2018, with a great design by Ákros Bara, which has transformed a previously underused space into an amazing restaurant. You could be in New York, as it has a really urban feel, yet you’re overlooking the beautiful blue pool and green palm trees, so it is unique. We love the striking green tiling and Moroccan inspired textiles and those views are to die for. Although this is a relatively new restaurant, it’s already got a real buzz about it, and the atmosphere is great. You can see the Chefs cooking in the open kitchen and there’s a very cool, yet friendly feel to the place.
The Food – The key to the menu is things you really want to eat! It’s not pretentious, it’s simple food, with great ingredients, treated with respect and it’s really delicious. They have a Tandoor Oven and a Josper Grill, which cooks meats and fish to perfection and imparts a smoky flavour which I really enjoy. The menu is so good, it’s hard to choose favourites, but we loved the octopus, the seabass ceviche and the tomato and burrata salad as started to share. For mains, the steaks are fantastic, with the Rib Eye being packed with flavour. If you want fish, try the tuna belly with melon – doesn’t sound like it would work, but it’s amazing. The burgers are real crowd pleasers and the kids’ mini burgers are perfect for the little ones. Sides need to be ordered separately, I can recommend the truffle fries for the steaks, the side salads are good too for a healthier choice.
The Service – As you’d expect from a 5* hotel, the service is excellent. The team are friendly and helpful, happy to explain the dishes and how they are cooked and recommend wines to pair it with for example. I like the fact that it’s a relaxed dining experience, yet the service is very attentive and someone is always around to offer advice.
The Price – This is a lovely restaurant, using excellent ingredients, so it is not cheap, but I think it’s fairly priced. The burger is under 20€, the sirloin steak is 28.50 and the tuna belly is 24.50€, sides are around 4€ each.
I love Baltazár, the environment, décor, food and service combine perfectly and we highly recommend it for lunch or dinner.
Key details
Address – Kempinski Hotel Bahía, Carretera de Cádiz KM 159, 29680 Estepona, Malaga
Opening hours – 1.00pm till 4.00pm and 7.00pm to midnight
Website – http://elpaseodelmar.es/
https://www.kempinski.com/estepona
Email – hello@baltazarmarbella.es
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ElPaseodelMar/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/elpaseodelmar/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/kempinski_spain