Within Hotel La Caminera Club de Campo, a luxury retreat overlooking the broad plains of Spain’s Central Meseta, sits a Michelin-starred restaurant that both honors and reimagines the culinary traditions of La Mancha.
Retama takes its name from the region’s native shrub, known for tiny yellow blooms that dot the landscape. Under chef Miguel Ángel Expósito, the restaurant earned a Michelin star; although still early in his career, Expósito’s technical skill and clear passion are evident in every course.
© Aoife O’Riordan
Retama offers three tasting menus—Tradición, Finca La Caminera and Retama—each designed to reflect a connection with the estate and its surrounding terrain. The menus change with the seasons, celebrating local produce and the region’s rhythms, while sommelier Vicenta Rojo pairs carefully selected Spanish wines with every course.
© Aoife O’Riordan
Plating and presentation are integral to the dining experience, as important as flavor in communicating the restaurant’s regional focus. A shared wooden board of dried chili peppers served with potato purée and a microgreen garnish, for example, contrasts the deep red of the flattened chiles against the pale dots of puree, creating both visual drama and textural balance.
© Aoife O’Riordan
Standout dishes include crisp duck fritters paired with pickled leek, and an indulgent millefeuille layered with duck foie gras and finished with a dusting of paprika sugar. Memorable highlights for me were handmade tomato tortellini in a rich game broth, squid-ink sea bass accompanied by an intriguing curry sphere presented on volcanic slate, and a pumpkin sponge cake served with pistachio ice cream and pumpkin sauce.
© Aoife O’Riordan
Chef Expósito’s technical mastery revealed itself most strikingly in a salad that initially looked like a playful mistake. Tiny, molecule-like spheres—each a different vegetable transformed into a delicate sphere—sat in a light dressing. When bitten, they released a liquid center, creating a surprising and addictive texture. The precision required to shape and preserve these fragile spheres is extraordinary; even the slightest disturbance could damage them, yet they arrived at the table perfect, intact and bursting with flavor.
© Aoife O’Riordan
The restaurant’s interior echoes its landscape. Large windows frame the endless plains, and a minimalist décor with warm wood accents creates a calm, focused atmosphere that lets each dish and glass of wine take center stage. Retama combines regional ingredients, precise technique and thoughtful design to offer a dining experience that feels both rooted in tradition and refreshingly modern.