This is my first 3 part review for any business but Calima deserves it.
So, continuing the 22 course tasting menu from yesterday:
14. Hake with Fried Aubergine Puree
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#8YEH_j0hiDk6f3guCzruzg
After all the previous trickery, I asked my waiter whether it was actually a piece of fish! Hake is a popular Spanish fish and this was cooked to perfection with the flesh flaking off perfectly
15. Steak Capers Tartare
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#dNpT8NjDAuVhSaOrHc-I7g
The steak tartare contained such good quality beef and it tasted so wonderful that the lack of cooking didn't matter. There was also the matter of the hollow potato crisp topping it to distract you - how did they do that?
16. Moorish Sweetbread
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#EPeUdK6Znc-gbhHen8uTpQ
Another dish to remind you that you're in Spain with its use of local ingredients with a nod to inluences from just across the Straits of Gibraltar. This little section of the menu is a reminder that alongside all the visual and palate trickery and artistry, the kicthen can produce good basic cooking as well
An optional cheese was offered but I was too full despite the tempting array of local cheese on the cheese trolley
17.Passion's Water Lilies & Tea
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#rBtXQVq22VGvHYeoHCq9fw
The first of the dessert courses had passionfruit as a palate cleanser and was a little transition back to the magic
18. Silkworm
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#D0ABoHsFORXIop70GfcEYw
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#9wBqopfURWecJvZ6zy-Gng
You know something's afoot when a shoebox bearing chef's name arrives on your table. Inside you'll find what appears to be a catterpillar cocoon but is in fact marshmallow containing a sweet fruity interior
19. Butterfly
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#EJ3L2XBrXdQB5kGVU3LjMw
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#T_8M-Ttli8Df7GciWsbtiQ
When you see a tree stump coming up next to the table, you wonder what they could possibly be bringing and when it arrives, you feel silly. What does a cocoon turn into? A butterfly of course! Except this one has a chocolate twig on which is lying a cherry body and mango wings. Another dish which looked too good to eat
20. Choco Lagavulin Coffee
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#A5Gr9K2EYBD1mvBfz0rYrg
A classic combination. The lagavulin was a liqueur
21. Checkmate
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#PKORuB-SoVWfN0xMgmoUWg
The chessboard with edible pieces could refer to how full you'll be filling at this stage
To aid digestion, a trolley with pots of fresh herbs was wheeled over. I had never seen melissa before, a herb with citrus notes but good for aiding digestion when taken as an infusion with my last course
22. The Wedding Cake
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#_VhEqpXURoNnh_GXMIihGg
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#kBXJltKS55_-4sZlUjUYiQ
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/acAngMsuCga6Ui5bbakE6Q?select=wKSQsTdUGAA7aeaAyzj0mA#yy-f8qv_d0gasRcMghb5gA
The final course arrives as a large tiered wedding cake. The tiers are opened out to reveal the petit fours within. A most agreeable end to an unforgettable meal
What a feast! My only slight negative of the evening would be the pacing of the meal, which was a little too fast. I was often still be digesting, both mentally as well as gastrically, the last amazing course when the next amazing surprise would be proferred. They didn't re-sell tables through the evening and so, this magical culinary journey could have been served and savoured more decadently and slowly
After the meal, I was lucky enough to meet chef, get him to sign my menu, shake his hand and thank him for such a fantastic meal. I did spend awhile just watching his brigade at work, assembling those amazing creations
As I stepped back out into the night air, the moonlight was just playing on Dani Garcia's name on the shiny sign at the entrance to the restaurant, which just served to re-emphasise the magical night I had just experienced
I'm still dreaming of that meal now read more