A 13-course menu and high-end French cuisine: this is René, the new restaurant by chef Diego René, which is already a strong candidate for a Michelin Star in Málaga.

René is a solid new contender to become a future Michelin Star in Málaga. That is the impression left by the experience of just over two hours offered by Diego René's new restaurant, the Alicante-born chef behind other renowned restaurants in the capital such as Beluga – another recurring candidate to be 'starred'. His tasting menu, René, of 13 courses, is a journey through the gastronomic ideas of its chef, through his roots but also through everything learned to date, in a plea for French technique, polished and elegant, accompanied by a wine selection that conquers from start to finish, a predominantly French wine cellar.

The experience at René begins as soon as you enter the premises, located on the increasingly gastronomic Carretería street (36). The first bites, a trio of appetizers highlighted by the flavor and intensity of its lobster fritter, are enjoyed in the restaurant's wine cellar, an intimate space with around 500 references that, according to its sommelier, Jesús Rioboo from Teba, will reach 700 in the coming weeks. It features a wide representation of the French countryside but also touches of Málaga, where Yo Solo, a wine exclusively from striped Melonera grapes, from La Melonera winery (Serranía de Ronda), stands out.

The wine cellar and wine references at René. / GOMA

After this initial contact, the experience at René continues in its dining room, a warm space, perfectly designed – by Lago Interioriza studio –, which begins to reflect the chef's identity. On the walls, we find carefully carved the first reference to the Alicante-born Island of Tabarca, Diego René's birthplace, with its important Marine Reserve.

Take your seat as the journey begins. The first course of the René menu (€160) is a strong introduction to what Diego René proposes with this ambitious restaurant. A seafood salad with high doses of reinterpretation, where the sea and its seaweeds (from Tabarca) are present with elegance and technique, with delicacy, but above all flavor, flavor of the sea. The perfect marriage in Málaga, in gastronomic terms, is born from two of its icons, the skewered fish or the anchovy along with gazpachuelo. In this premise, the Alicante-born chef delves for his second course, with Málaga as the root. A red mullet skewered over a consommé and anchovy in garum vinegar that colors the ajoblanco. A course that shows love for the land, for its history, but above all connection.

Third and first course of René's tasting menu. / GOMA

The third and fourth course explore two products, tomato and pea. The first is squeezed and versioned, with multiple preparations and forms that are accompanied by salted fish such as capellán, bonito or salmorreta. The second elevates this often demonized green element – especially by the youngest – to excellence, a dish that surprises with its execution and that perfectly rounded tempura pod.

As time passes at René, the level rises, the details are even more refined, not only in its proposals, in its dishes, but also in a service executed with surgical precision with Andrea Martos as head of the dining room and Adolfo Avilés as maître d', one of the great signings of Diego René, until recently, head of the dining room at restaurant Arzak (three Michelin stars). The project and its ambition are also reflected in other names of the team, also with the Ronda-born Baltasar Díaz as head chef, for years learning from Martín Berasategui.

The fifth course arrives at the table. A natural escabeche, with mussels and sea urchin, a resounding 10 that offers freshness and gives way to the sixth dish. The details at René, the elegance and above all the taste, are constants throughout the experience, tangible in each dish, plausible after each last bite. The sixth course, 'encebollado', is abstract art on a plate, delicacy and taste. This is achieved with cuttlefish and its ink, two bites and a flavor explosion that fully responds to one of their premises, that "will to offer truth in each dish".

Seventh and sixth course of the menu. / GOMA

Those who know Diego René's cooking had no doubt that he would dare to include in his tasting menu a course with the Alicante-style arroz a banda. It is the seventh, at the midpoint of this journey, accompanied by dried octopus, although not the only reference to his specialty. In the eighth, we find a bisque with crayfish, false chickpea, and cabbage; a different dish that surprises in the mouth, somewhat earthy but that pairs exceptionally well. The ninth course, 'valenciana', is an ode to paella, a reinterpretation without rice, with chicken and rabbit, but incorporating a paella sauce with caviar, the crown of the savory courses if not for what comes next.

"This dish I have wanted to include for a long time, in fact, I wanted to include it in Beluga, but I never did," acknowledges Diego René about 'wellington', the tenth course and closure of his savory proposal. "I am always criticized with my tasting menu that I don't finish with meat," hence he opts for a 'beef wellington' but with fish, not with meat, with a versatile element like monkfish, used to the millimeter with two sauces: Café de Paris sauce with its collagen, and another with its heads, an exquisite demi-glace.

The last three courses, the sweet part of this ambitious experience at René, are the work of pastry chef Julieta Cañavate. The first, a salad of flowers, mint, and orange marmalade, finished with lime that cleanses the palate as well as offers freshness for what comes next. 'Azulejo' is the twelfth course, a sublime presentation that represents the classic Andalusian tiles, with four different apple preparations and goat cheese as predominant as it is essential. The closing, a tribute to the Malaga-born Pablo Picasso, is an almond, coffee, and lemon ice cream, a dance of textures with a quote from the most important character in our history. And finally, the 'petit four', five bites with which this experience that René aspires to everything in Málaga is concluded.

Penultimate and antepenultimate course of René's tasting menu, both sweet. / GOMA

"René is the evolution of that child who has leaned more towards haute cuisine, the French touch, the elegance," tells us chef Diego René about his restaurant and his commitment to raising the already established level in Beluga, an experience in which he considers that "there is a lot of Málaga". "In the end, we seek that high French cuisine, but with a soul from the south, frank cuisine with a soul from the south," highlights the Alicante-born, who finds in the present the right time to take this step towards a restaurant that represents him, that "I like", with which he has "long been in my mind".

"Elegance" is the word with which he defines René, a restaurant with which they aspire to everything (without expecting it) through work, in which they have "made a qualitative leap in execution, in plating and more", but in which the essence of Diego René chef is present: "I do not want to lose what represents us. These are dishes that are very identifiable of mine, of my kitchen, of the sea, and we could have done a thousand things, but we did not want to do anything that does not represent René that, in the end, René is me, and above all that, René is elegance and sea cuisine".