It is the cathedral of Murcian gastronomy where both the most traditional palates and those who want to try the most typical local cuisine come. There are hundreds of diners who choose the Torremolinos restaurant every day as the best option for breakfast, lunch, lunch and dinner, as well as meetings with family and friends. This success has been repeated for 50 years. «We are still not aware of what we are doing; we go little by little. For us, the beautiful thing is that we are getting better and better,” confesses Carlos Gracia, second generation of the family business with his brothers Inma and José, with humility. On the occasion of this anniversary, the company plans to hold gastronomic days between October and November with guest chefs who will merge their kitchens with that of the Torremolinos restaurant.
On its own merits, the establishment has become one of the reference spaces on the culinary map for society in the Region and tourism, since it respects the original recipes, prioritizes quality in its preparations, offers a professional service, has Very comfortable facilities and prices adapted to all budgets.
Torremolinos Restaurant remains in the same location where Francisco Gracia and Concha Ibáñez opened it in 1973, when Gracia returned to Spain after emigrating to Germany for a decade. Located in the Murcian district of Churra, the original business occupied a part of the family house where a small bar was set up that served the typical dishes that the wife cooked, a grocery store to ship the pork slaughter products that they produced traditional and a bowling alley area. The clientele always responded, which encouraged the couple and their three children – who joined the team as they grew up – to expand their services and facilities. Currently, the place retains all its essence intact but with a renewed vision to adapt to new times.
Attraction points
The sausages are one of their great hallmarks, mainly because they are authentically artisanal. Customers have to choose from a wide selection of pieces: sausage, sausage, chorizo, blood sausage, chiquillo… which are made four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday). Hence quality and freshness are guaranteed. “We control the entire process,” Gracia emphasizes. To do this, the company not only has its own workshop, but also the figures of the livestock broker, who selects the best pigs, and the slaughterer, who continues to measure by eye – as was done in the past – the quantities of spices, freshly cooked onion and pine nuts (these last two for the blood sausages) that each specialty requires. “Making the sausage also means being a good cook, because the preparation is quite complex,” adds Gracia.
Their stews deserve a special mention. So much so that there are those who make their visit to Torremolinos coincide with the spoon dish of the day: pork pot -using the freshly cut bones from the slaughter-, on Mondays and Thursdays; short ribs and lean paella, on Wednesdays; and cod meatball stew, on Fridays. What happens every Tuesday is a mystery. These recipes are prepared respecting the step by step that Mrs. Concha Ibáñez followed: «My mother was a very good cook; “We wanted to maintain her gastronomic culture, based on local products,” boasts her son Carlos Gracia, accentuating the “a lot of love” that they add to all of her typical proposals. Among them, lamb or beef tripe, broth with ball, tongue in sauce, pig’s trotters, zarangollo, ratatouille and many more also stand out.
Another of the fundamental pillars are the embers, which sparkle throughout the day and are a true spectacle. They give off an intoxicating aroma that reaches the surrounding area. The braziers light the fire from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. so that the embers are red hot at lunch, lunch and dinner times, and here they pass everything from sausages, skins, bacon, mask… to their wide selection of meats (marinated chicken, pork tenderloin, Segureño lamb, goat ribs, old cow, etc.).
For its part, the fish menu is short, with only four options: skewered hake and grilled Galician turbot, and gilthead sea bream and sea bass, but suitable to conquer the palates that prefer seafood bites.
150 paparajotes daily
And to crown a gastronomic tribute, nothing better than a selection of homemade desserts: fresh baked cheesecake, grandma’s and three chocolates, heavenly bacon, fried milk with artisan ice cream… and, of course, paparajotes. Of course, freshly made and with a good sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon. Remember Gracia that on a strong day they can serve about 150 units of the most typical dessert in the Murcian recipe book, almost nothing.
About 600 liters of Estrella de Levante beer are also produced in just four days, which is why the restaurant has three tanks, with a capacity of 1,800 liters in total and located inside, which guarantees that the beers are poured very cold.
The charm of the Torremolinos restaurant is complemented by its facilities, distributed in several well-differentiated environments: the entrance, the inn, the pink room, the patio, the cellar, the private room and the Concha terrace. In general, the rustic and original style of the family house predominates, of which the logs of wood on the roof are still preserved. Even so, the establishment is completely renovated to guarantee the comfort and well-being of diners. Its more than 50 employees also ensure that your stay is as pleasant as possible, an attention that is already reflected in its reservation service, which has two telephone lines: 968 247 481 (to reserve a table and place takeaway orders) and 615 810 992 (book via ‘WhatsApp’). It is recommended to reserve in advance. It opens from Monday to Sunday, and only closes on Tuesday afternoons.
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