Kabuki Raw is nothing more or less than one of the very finest dining experiences in one of the most refined environments on the Costa del Sol.

Finca Cortesin feels like a landed country estate set within the rolling hills between Estepona and Casares. Look up and you see the mighty mountain ranges of the Andalusian interior; look downwards and your gaze cascades towards the broad blue of the Mediterranean Sea, which not so far from here merges with the sea-green of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a wonderfully natural and panoramic setting between mountains and sea, where you feel like a special guest the minute you enter the estate.

The Kabuki Raw Experience

More than a restaurant, Kabuki Raw is an experience in the truest fine dining sense. It takes Japanese cuisine to a whole new level and in places merges it with the best that the Mediterranean has to offer, combined with an open-kitchen concept and first-class service. This is food for people who enjoy the better things in life, and while you can order á la carte, why deprive yourself of the sensory journey offered by its tasting menus.

We did, and found it to be a unique encounter that followed several themes inspired by Japan’s classical Kabuki Theatre. Full of fire and flavour, the opening act is centred upon Aka (red), which kicks off in style with two exquisitely presented dishes: a delicately flavoured oyster in Ponzu sauce and Scallops Usuzukuri in a gorgeous Miso sauce. Both are served in a shell and send your taste buds on a flavoursome journey of discovery.

This entrée is followed by Squid Tempura and a Millefeuille of Eel, Pear and Avocado that is a perfect example of exciting, sophisticated dining. The opening part of the tasting menu is concluded with an amuse bouche of green apple sorbet infused with Palo Cortado sherry. The second part of the menu is called Ao, for azure blue, and it takes one from fiery passion to the ‘elevation of the inner spirit’ with dishes such as an Espeto of Usuzukuri and thinly sliced white Adobo Gaditano fish from Cádiz topped with fried flour.

Having started the evening with a dry fino and a glass of Raventós i Blanc 2016 cava, followed by a wonderfully fragrant and soft Taittinger Rose Champagne, we continued on the Jerez theme and accompanied the first part of the menu with a natural wine by Encrucijado Cota 45. Made according to traditional, organic methods, it is a unique wine betwixt a white and a sherry, and in terms of the latter lays midway between an oloroso and an amontillado. The sommelier, of course, got it just right, and he did so again with the next white wine, a Verdejo called La Banda del Argilico.

There was one more treat left within the ‘Ao’ section of the menu of discovery, namely finely sliced Gyutataki beef with Ponzu sauce – which melts in your mouth.

Cha and Hanamichi

Next we progressed into Cha, for woodland brown, a delicious interlude consisting of Toro Tartar of belly of tuna with spring onions, free-range quail’s egg yolk and baby eel. It’s hard to describe just how such a dish fills your mouth with taste sensations, and it was followed shortly afterwards by a sushi selection of altogether superior standards. The transition from Cha to Hanamichi led us to the ‘path of the flowers’, which saw succulent 24-hour slow-cooked Wagyu ribs with a Teriyaki sauce accompanied by a limited production Abadia de Gomariz 2012 from Ourense in Galicia.

We concluded a very special journey with a pumpkin and Jamaica pepper sorbet with English cream and a cream chocolate with delicious Yuzu jelly. The perfect way to end this culinary sensation was with a Kabuki tea – specially blended for the restaurant – whose lavender, orange peel and toasted rice aid digestion and go very well with the lime jelly, Wakami biscuit and tea chocolate truffle petit fours that accompanied it.

For a superior dining experience there is little that can rival Kabuki Raw at the equally exquisite Finca Cortesin, so give in and treat yourself!

WORDS MICHEL CRUZ PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN HORN

Kabuki Raw Finca Cortesin, Carretera de Casares, Km 2, Casares Tel: 952 937 800.

www.restaurantekabuki.com