Restaurant of the week: Muna, the gastronomic surprise in the heart of Bierzo
The gastronomic progression of Castilla y León has been unstoppable in recent years. The seed sown by already mythical venues such as the disappeared Vivaldi was collected and expanded, over the last decade, by venues such as Cocinandos (León), Antonio's Corner (Zamora), the House of the Abbot of Ampudia (Palencia) or El Ermitaño (Benavente) to which, slowly but steadily, names have been added in an unstoppable trickle that, discreetly, have turned the community into a reference in terms of contemporary cuisine.
Trigo, Victor Gutiérrez, Lera, Tapas 2.0, Llantén or La Botica de Matapozuelos are just some of the names that have ensured that when we think of the cuisine of this land we do not only think of grills, eating houses and traditional cuisine. Those are still there, fortunately, preserving an immense recipe book, but together with them a new generation of chefs has reformulated the gastronomic imaginary of Castilla y León.
Restaurant of the week: Muna, the gastronomic surprise in the heart of Bierzo
One of the counties in which, despite this trend, there was not yet a benchmark restaurant in this culinary avant-garde was El Bierzo . And this is something that has changed in recent times thanks to the Muna restaurant , an ambitious yet down-to-earth proposal that has given much to talk about since the opening of its doors and has established itself as the spearhead of a new generation of chefs. Samuel Navaira , which passed through kitchens such as those of Sergi Arola, A'Barra, Álbora, Kena, La Candela (all of them in Madrid), El Ermitaño (Benavente) or K'ORI (St. Tropez), along with Genesis Cardona, in front of the room, they have congealed in this house in front of the castle a cozy restaurant that, from its commitment to the contemporary, makes the local tradition and the product of proximity one of its hallmarks.
One of the signs, but not the only one. Because the elegance of this proposal goes beyond labels or plot lines that are easy to define. Is Muna's cuisine a Bercian cuisine? Definitely, but it is much more . It is a technical and personal kitchen , capable of collecting the baggage of his chef in the different proposals of his menu without falling into the obvious.
On the menu of my visit there were some iconic Leonese products as the goat cecina (in croquette) , but always taken by the cook to his land: crayfish served alongside gnocchi , red curry and almonds; a beurre blanc de godello that married the local with the classic culinary vocabulary; a pain au chocolat of rabbit interiors or one Veigadarte goat cheese cake , a small cheese factory in Ambasmestas.
But there was also a recovery exercise , a dive into memory to reformulate local classics such as the vintage broth, based on pork bones, to which the chef adds new nuances with the use of green chickpeas or the texture of fried chard.
There is technique, but it is never artificial . It fulfills its function in dishes with understated elegance . The focus is intelligently placed on the most immediate kitchen and product repertoire and on how those references, probably familiar to a good part of the diners who come to this house, are reformulated from the personal culinary identity of Samuel and his team.
It is unusual to find such interesting kitchens , capable of proposing a reflection on the flavors of memory and on the products of the environment without falling into clichés and doing so, moreover, with the delicacy of a chef with an important culinary background behind him.
But it is even rarer to find something like this in the hands of a chef barely 30 years old who dares with a new place, like Ponferrada , and he manages not only to convince the local public but also to collect, at the same time, important recognitions such as participation in the contest final Revelation Chef in Madrid Fusión last year or the award for Leonés Restaurant 2020, from the Leonese Academy of Gastronomy, awarded this November.
If it was already worth going to Ponferrada to get to know its center, go up to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and stroll from there to the Virgen de La Encina; if you had to come here to get closer to magical places like Las Médulas, to climb up to the incredible Peñalba de Santiago or enter the Ancares , now mune it becomes one more reason, a gateway to the flavors of the region and a window to the future of a kitchen, that of the province of León, which is going through a brilliant moment.
Address: Calle Gil y Carrasco, 25, 24401 Ponferrada, León See map
Telephone: 693 76 23 70
Schedule: From Wednesday to Saturday, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sundays, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, closed.
Half price: €50-55