You might think that Ibiza and Albacete wouldn’t have much in common. However, once one enters the Can Domo agrotourism, a old peasant village converted into a luxury rural hotel, in the vicinity of Cala Llonga, and checks the environment that surrounds it to the sound of the Mediterranean mountain, sees that the similarities multiply.
Nature, local products and a quiet environment have the singing voice in the hands of the restaurant group from Albacete Cañitas Maite, culinary explosion of 2021 —Madrid Fusión through croqueta, escabeche and revelation chefs—, and that this 2022 expands its tentacles throughout the rest of the peninsula.
After the overwhelming success of Cañitas Maite, the starting point (Casas Ibáñez, Albacete) and the replica of Oba, a landing in Ibiza arrives with this agrotourism and the soon opening in Madrid on the ground floor of the Urban hotel.
A kitchen where the bites are given by diners and cooks, in this case Javier Sanz Y Juan Sahuquillo, the pair of ‘centennials’ at the helm of this adventure in which they are not alone. The group Cañitas Maite exceeds 30 workers, that responds in chorus to the same way of understanding cooking since youth.
Next station: Can Domo Ibiza
You don’t have to stick to the geography or the idiosyncrasy of a place to try look for similarities between Casas Ibáñez and Albacete compared to Cala Llonga and the island of Ibiza. The essential, in this case, is not on the surface, but in the background.
Product and market cuisine, proximity, search for small suppliers that provide differential value, good treatment in the room, minimal interventionism in raw materials, a quiet environment…
The wickers that have made the Cañitas Maite group strong They are the same foundations that will be found in Agroturismo Can Domo. Yes, there are more dishes with a seafaring imprint, far from La Manchuela in Albacete, but the culinary language that is spoken is the same.
All of this suggested in a small hotel, an old farm and country house, which offers luxury accommodation in just a dozen rooms. Surrounded by hectares of fields and pine forests, Can Domo is a wooded haven of peace where calm is the general trend.
The awakening of Ibiza
Itinerants, Javi Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo assure that Can Domo is not a mere gastronomic consultancy in which they have limited themselves to leaving a letter and leaving.
Weekly, one of the two project leaders come to Ibiza to see how the concept is evolving. There, leaving several of the members of the Cañitas Maite group, such as the chef Gonzalo Oliver, who acts as head chef, and part of the room team, headed by Elizabeth and Caroline, the desire and commitment of the group through its own team are noticeable.
The challenge, therefore, although desired, doesn’t seem to overwhelm a team accustomed to movement. Orive summarizes it like this: “in a strong Cañitas service we could give 120 meals. In Can Domo, for space, we will give about 30 diners per service”.
More interesting is the gastronomic awakening of Ibiza, which begins to leave the plane of the simple party, to see how there is a client who is looking for a profile of differential restaurants.
The Cañitas Maite seal
Under two prisms, that of the lunch menu and that of a dinner service with menu and tasting, Can Domo’s cuisine is understood with simplicity and acclimatized to the environment.
During midday, rice dishes on request, some quick and fresh dishes (many of them at the expense of local products) and some fast good open the season for the customer, continued after breakfast —another of the strong assets, where there is always time for a brunch where eggs, muffins or artisan bakery have a place— .
To this is added the omnipresence of the Joselito ham croquette which in 2021 deserved the award at Madrid Fusión and which has become one of the hallmarks of the house.
By his side, a large display of Iberian sausages —also from Joselito—, which allow chorizos to start up, coppaloin, ham and fresh products that even go into a powerful meat rice.
To the conquest of a disputed island
The nightly repertoire gains in complexity, also aware of ‘inheriting’ a position that comes from having mentions in the Michelin Guide and Repsol soles, won by the local chef Pau Barba.
A somewhat broader menu than at noon, crowned by grilled fish and chops, it gives rise to the culinary conception of Sanz and Sahuquillo, who rely on local produce and a growing presence of organic vegetables from the farm’s own garden.
Ibizan lamb, country chicken, a vegetable offer at the expense of the season with asparagus and peas… The beginning of Can Domo under the baton of Cañitas Maite does not differ from the way of understanding the kitchen that has raised them, even at their young age, to a culinary podium where they feel like a fish in water.
In between, the conquest of an island that is home to demanding public, both Spanish and foreign, and whose accents are already beginning to mix in Can Domo, open on a small terrace and also in a charming country-style dining room, tinted white and blue.
“In the end we know there is a very international client and we also explain a little about who we are, where we come from and what we do”, says Isabel, who acts as the head of the room in this adventure.
To this didactic task is also added a extensive and growing wine list, endowed with many Spanish references and with which it is also intended to take the foreign public out of the comfort zone, although the French and New World labels are the ones that come out the most.
Cooking in Ibiza as if you were in Albacete
In the words of Gonzalo Orive, his Ibizan ‘link’: “They are ingredients that we have worked on in Albacete, in one way or another, and that are part of how we understand cooking”. From there, the sky is the limit, especially when it comes to the coast.
The intention of create an Ode to Caviar It is completed with carabineros, lobster (on rice), espardeñas —accompanied by tear pea— or the catch of the day, which elevates the touch of haute cuisine with its points and sauces.
In between, a accessible tasting menu for quantity and price, perfect gateway to what Cañitas Maite cuisine means, where La Mancha heritage is appreciated at the expense of some great successes of the parent company such as appetizers (croquette, foie cut or cheese fritter) and in the continuous and successful contrasts of sea and mountains that are so successful.
To highlight, the carabinero with sabayón de sobrasada; the artichokes with cockles and Joselito ham marrow velouté, and the splendid espardeñas with peas. The closure, just as fresh and natural, at the expense of pine ice cream and pine nut cream.
What to ask for: It depends on the time of day and if you already know Cañitas Maite’s cuisine, but the white prawn rice or the Joselito meat rice are essential in the morning, in addition to the croquette. At night, the tasting is a good option to discover its cuisine, but the menu —especially the sea and mountain or the more vegetable dishes— are well worth it.
practical data
Where: Cala Llonga road, Km 7.6, Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza.
Half price: €75.
Bookings: 971 33 10 59 and on their website.
Schedules: It opens from Tuesday to Sunday, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Closed Monday.
Images | Straws Maite
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