Our soul
Malena is a renovator of Lleida’s country cuisine, of fruit,
vegetable garden, extra virgin olive oil and brasa. It’s a kitchen restaurant
tasty and creative, very rooted in the territory.
History and space
Malena was born in 1991 in La Bordeta in Lleida and, since 2008, we are in La Vaqueria, in Gimenells.
La Vaqueria is a space of curious architecture and witness to a historical period, an unmissable place to hear the clucking of storks’ beaks and to taste the delicious plain of Lleida in the 21st century. It is one of the central spaces of the Experimental Farm where IRTA thinks about the future of fruit growing, extensive crops and the efficient use of water.
In fact, Malena’s spirit is sustainable and experimental.
In Malena we renew the kitchen, the techniques and the technology, to such an extent that we have designed an oven that allows us absolute control of the embers and the aromas of the wood that characterize the popular kitchens of the Lleida plain.
Discover our spaces and lounges
team
Xixo Castaño Piñol, in the kitchen, and Elena Ruiz, in the dining room, recognized since 2001 with a Michelin star, which today shines next to a sun in the Repsol Guide.
The line-up is completed by the second generation: Pere Castaño, in the kitchen, and Elena Ruiz y Joan, in the room and sommelier.
Our gastronomy
The fact of living surrounded by orchards, orchards and olive trees influences us
way so decisive that it is our inspiration, changing for them
constant variations of the seasons.
In spring there are two of the most representative dishes: the celebrated patatas, beans and snails in mint aioli and the horse calçots.
In summer, fruit bonbons, peach gazpacho with herring, steamed Paraguayan shrimp with lobster and jugo de su cabeza or white pear butter with caviar.
In the fall, the sliced boletus, white pine garlic with robellones and pine smoke foam, partridge in vinaigrette or chocolate hare and pear chocolate.
Between autumn and winter, the new harvest of extra virgin olive oil arrives, which throughout the year anoints and dresses most of Malena's dishes.
In winter, free-range chicken velouté with truffle and foie gras, artichoke carpaccio with clams and lemon toffee, caviar with asparagus and calçots and potatoes and peas, which are in spring.
letter
Dishes of a lifetime reinvented with innovative methods and made with indigenous products that will not leave anyone indifferent.
Blackboard menu
A menu with a tasting of starters with snacks, dishes made with local fruits and hot dishes. Followed by seconds and desserts to choose from.
Menu Q
Our tasting menu of 29 courses that includes snacks, dishes made with local fruits, primeros calientes de la tierra, cuatro segundos and a selection of our sweet cuisine.
