FOOD
13 - 19 December 2012
EWN
www.euroweeklynews.com
A
T Restaurant El Mar La Mar, Villaricos, they care. Their excellent food is prepared using the highest-quality ingredients. Owner-chef Richard Shepherd only uses fully certified sustainable produce. He downright refuses to work with inferior food such as Panga (Vietnamese river cobbler). “There’s such a great selection of local produce here. Why buy fish from Vietnam?” El Mar La Mar swears by their policy of working with and supporting local suppliers. Richard Shepherd and his team simply do not cut corners when it comes to quality and customer service. Ever. Quite the opposite. They go just that little bit further to make sure you are happy and well-fed, while still managing to keep prices affordable. Richard knows that being hands-on and honest in all aspects, is key to business success. He’s proud of his team, and feels they are probably the best El Mar La Mar has ever had. Two previous team members have recently returned, too. They all work really hard together, to maintain the restaurant’s superior standards, creating a pleasant environment,
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Costa de Almería Advertising Feature
A restaurant that cares
ALFRESCO: El Mar La Mar staff (minus Richard, Jose & Carmen).
Richard Shepherd at his Villaricos restaurant.
clearly apparent to diners. No stranger to fine dining, Richard ran food operations at the BBC, the Opera House, and other top London institutions. He has worked alongside industry icons Gary Rhodes, at the Green House Restaurant, and Albert Roux at the Henley festival. He doesn’t pretend to offer Haute Cuisine at his friendly, tasteful sea-view
creamed leeks, prawn and scallop linguine… just a few options on the lunch and à la carte menus. Homemade desserts include vanilla panna cotta with summer berries, Mojito-poached peaches with lime sorbet, and favourites like chocolate brownie and chocolate mousse. Their new children’s menu is inexpensive, simple and good, with no age
restaurant in Villaricos. We all know times are hard. El Mar La Mar strives to serve the very best, lovingly-prepared meals on a sensible budget. There really is no other seafront restaurant in the area offering such an honestly good set menu for 12€. Goat’s cheese and almond salad with beetroot dressing, sea bass on lobster
restrictions. Customers say this is the very best place to eat in the Costa de Almeria, all things considered. “The Mar, in El Mar La Mar, is clearly an abbreviation for Marvellous. This is the only word that reflects the wonderful food, excellent service and value for money delivered by Richard, Louisa and the team. “Once again we have been made to feel like family to them,” commented one customer just a few days ago, on the TripAdvisor international website. Another diner said the restaurant is “still one of the best” and that it catered really well for their “awkward vegetarian.” The only advice customers give is to book ahead whenever possible, especially on Sundays. Richard says a huge thank you to Louisa, Jonny, Leanne, Christina, José, Carmen and Natasha and, of course, to you, his valued customers, without whom “none of us would have jobs.”