Feature · Class & Villas

International Mediterranean cuisine with French roots

On the Benitachell road, a restored rustic house brings Mediterranean cooking together with its chef's French training.

Masena occupies an old Mediterranean house of stone, brick and wood. Inside it keeps its exposed beams, solid wood furniture and natural fabrics; outside, a courtyard and a terrace shaded by palm trees. In the cooler months the indoor dining room and its glazed gallery take over.

Hamid's kitchen

The kitchen is run by chef Hamid Megrini Moujtahid, who describes his cooking as elaborate traditional French cuisine with touches of Spanish gastronomy. The menu changes with the seasons and relies on fresh market produce: nothing frozen is used at Masena.

What to order

The menu is divided into cold and hot starters, fish, meat, chef's suggestions and desserts. Some of the dishes that define it:

• Beef carpacciowith foie gras and truffle
• Turbotwith saffron cream
• Sea bass baked in saltfor two or more
• Confit suckling pigwith apple compote
• Beef tenderloinwith pepper sauce
• Garlic prawnshot starter

The set menu of the day costs €32, according to their current menu.

The dining room and the cellar

The dining room is run by Valentín Carrimio, a maître with more than thirty years in the trade and a wine specialist, who recommends a bottle for every dish from the house cellar.

Text by Class & Villas based on information from the restaurant.