Nub, Tenerife

What you need to know: Tasting menu only (€155). Vegetarian tasting available. The meal starts outside on the terrace.

The Verdict: Restaurant Nub is situated in the five star Bahia Del Duque Hotel in Tenerife. The menu combines Italian, Latin, and Spanish approaches, as per the backgrounds of the chefs: a husband and wife team Andrea Bernardi and Fernanda Fuentes Cárdenas (they also own other restaurants) who opened Nub in 2016 and were awarded a star a year later.

The journey started on the terrace where the nibbles did not disappoint: savoury meringues with pork fat, little shots of chilled soup under pristine pastry, mini salads on a jelly of clear consommé, all brilliantly imagined and immaculately presented. Complimented by the beautiful view and well made cocktails, this is a special moment at the restaurant and the perfect way to open the menu. I have included so many photos of the petits fours as they were really such a treat. From the off, service was very polished with FOH managing the (many) tableside tasks with ease. Over the course of the 3 hour tasting, something about the fabric of my dress seemed to be repelling the napkin, and some 4 or 5 times no sooner had it dropped from my lap than it was quickly and discretely replaced by an attentive eye (that I wasn’t aware was even watching).

Heading into the dining room, my favourite course was “La Colazione” which translates as “Breakfast” in Italian. A Super Mario-esque mushroom of impossibly soft brioche tossed in onion sugar, designed to be torn with hands and dunked into a tempting cup of Parmesan espuma, finished with 50 year old aged balsamic. The ingredient sourcing in the menu I found to be very purposeful and the syrupy balsamic on the puff of salty cheese was absolutely irresistible. Throughout the meal seasoning is heavy – with salt, acid and fat making for an intensely flavourful tasting.

The Chefs at restaurant Nub are also doing creative things: fish with sweet potato millefeuille and “marine toffee” (has to be tasted to be believed), an elegant ball of raw tuna with cold pasta and bortaga, an open empanada with black pork and corn crème brûlée… This was a decadent tasting, which allowed you to fully enjoy ingredients in ways you may not have considered them. I thought the menu was brilliant and it exceeded my expectations.

Dessert is served in a fun, Alchemist-style space at the back where assisted by several dozen lucky cats, Chef finishes and presents sweet treats which are also inspired: black pepper and candied olive adding balance and sophistication, then head back to the dining room for some playful petits fours which delight the inner child. The petits fours were head and shoulders above those at most 2 star restaurants.

This represented the very top end of a 1 star experience: the quality and precision of the cooking combined with great service made for my favourite fine dining experience on the Island. In a different city, I felt this would be a far better known, far more celebrated restaurant. Nub is a very strong recommendation for me, and I would love to return.

S.G.