Miguel González: the chef who returned to Ourense to discover the culinary value of its hot springs.

Ourense, the least populated of the Galician provinces, has seen this phenomenon place it at the top of the pyramid of Galician cities, if we use the Michelin Guide as a benchmark. Until González's star was relocated, the provincial capital was the only Galician city with three Michelin stars.

Rules are rules. One could argue that, in cases like this restaurant, with the same chef at the helm, he's relocating to improve the experience, to have more resources and give greater depth to his offering, and that, therefore, it's unfair for the guide to strip it of a star, which would undoubtedly help in a time of change, projects that take longer than expected, and diners who, for months, grow accustomed to alternatives. But it's their game and their rules, so while we wait for what may happen in the future, we must talk about the restaurant without judging it by its presence in guides.

Having said all that, what's clear is that if anyone wins with the move, it's the customer. The restaurant is now located in a bright space on the ground floor of a listed regionalist building from around 1910. Light pours through the enormous windows—also in the kitchen, where work is done with unusual natural light—of what was once one of the city's historic pharmacies and envelops tables whose spacing has been increased to provide more privacy for those sitting at them.

Communications are also now much more convenient. With a parking lot just twenty steps from its door, the restaurant occupies its new location at kilometer zero of the city, at the entrance to the historic center, on one of the main arteries, just a 15-minute walk—across the Roman bridge—from a train station that, with the arrival of the AVE (High Speed ​​Train) a couple of years ago, places Ourense just over half an hour from Santiago de Compostela, an hour from Zamora, Vigo, or A Coruña, and not much more than two from Madrid.

But it's not just the customer who wins. With the market just 50 meters away, Miguel González's cuisine becomes more immediate, more changing, and more spontaneous. At the same time, its proximity to As Burgas, the hot spring that is a symbol of the city and located on the same block, makes this chef's work on the thermal waters—of which the province, with more than 60 springs, is one of the main destinations in Europe—even more meaningful.

González has been collaborating for years with a research group at the University of Vigo to analyze the use of the various thermal waters in his area in cooking. Setting colors, modifying textures and fermentation processes, and enhancing flavors are just some of the areas where the results are as surprising as they are interesting, a window into possibilities that, although still incipient, are already appearing on the menu.

As for the cuisine, the general lines remain the same: a commitment to the environment, a changing, market-based cuisine, in which the local culture blends with what he has learned during his years outside of Galicia, an unbiased use of techniques, beyond fads or new developments, and, above all, a sense of renewed enthusiasm that is appreciated by a seasoned chef taking on his most ambitious project here.

The menu begins, in fact, with two bites that exemplify what we've said: horse mackerel cured in thermal water, with a firm texture and pearly flesh, with allada (a reference to the local cuisine) and a touch of soy and fermented lemon, on the one hand. Gilda, a cocoa butter olive—delicate and light, with a very light coating. The downside of these techniques is the crude imitations—contains within itself the flavors of a traditional gilda, with which the chef brings his time in the Basque Country to the table.

The cockle, enormous and encapsulated in a seawater gel, is served in its soup, intense, reminding us that although we are inland Galicia, the Atlantic is just over 70 kilometers away and that the fish distribution routes to the interior traditionally passed through here, which is why Ourense has always had great seafood restaurants.

Razor clams in a paprika crust. An example of Miguel González's immediate cooking, who shortly before the service began obtained a handful of splendid razor clams and decided to include them on the menu on the spot, as another snack, a bite to eat with your hands, a play of textures reminiscent of an aperitif at a bar counter, breaking the rigidities that a restaurant like this might lead one to expect. And back to delicacy with the scallop stewed with its coral, a bite-sized treat.

Then come the breads, also made with thermal water in an artisan bakery in the city, to accompany the wonderful crayfish and foie gras tartare accompanied by a stew of crayfish heads. Intense, with the best of a seafood stew and, at the same time, with the smooth texture of the meat from its carcass, which maintains all its freshness and finds in the fatty contribution of the foie gras a support that balances the dish. A touch of lime—citrus fruits are always present in González's cooking—provides the aperitif touch.

Lobster, omelet made from its brains, teardrop peas—the last of the season—and cauliflower. A fantastic dish in which seafood and vegetables are balanced. Sea bream with a firm meat sauce that flakes open under the pressure of a fork. With a sauce like a hollandaise with mandarin oranges from the chef's garden—again, citrus fruits, once again a trip to the south of France—a touch of caviar and herbal oil.

Sweetbread—previously blanched in thermal water—braised with raspberry and collard greens, a dish the chef explains is born from memory, from the family farm, from leftovers. Tender meat, tangy accompaniment, and bitter notes refresh and revive at this point in the menu.

Back to the fish dishes with the grouper, splendid, juicy with a creamy cabbage broth and a powdered allada sauce. Once again, the flavors of memory. Galician beef sirloin, to finish, with its jus, shallots, and tubers—carrot and parsnip—from the garden.

For dessert, two classics from the previous era remain. The punch, a dessert the chef creates from his childhood memories: egg yolk, fermented apple, caramelized pineapple, and punch meringue. Finally, the torrija, which the chef can't remove from the menu, is a classic that his regular customers refuse to remove from the menu and which he accompanies with thermal ice cream, flavored with flowers from the springs.

By the end of the meal, one feels that the restaurant has not only become more comfortable with the change, but that the chef also works more calmly, more freely, and has found the space he was looking for. The work of Laura Nóvoa, his partner and associate, is also essential in giving the restaurant that tranquil charm and rhythm that are now the restaurant's trademark. And alongside them is sommelier Marcos Eiré, who knows how to read the tables, discreetly understanding each customer's expectations, and adapting to each table.

The new Miguel González restaurant retains much of the previous restaurant, that commitment to the traditional way of eating in the province, to a Galician pantry that here—due to its proximity to the market—gains depth, to a technical yet immediate cuisine. But there's also a new drive. It's, in a way, a new restaurant without ceasing to be the same old one. The metamorphosis has been good for it. You can see it in Laura and Miguel's smiles as they approach the table; you can feel it, throughout the meal, in the tranquility, spaciousness, and light.

Upon leaving, one feels as though one has entered a new era for the restaurant, but also a place that is, at the same time, a timeless classic; a mature cuisine that ignores trends and works day to day, almost on impulse, letting the product lead the way. And one leaves with the feeling that there is yet another reason for Ourense to establish itself as the great gastronomic destination it already is, to return, sit at Miguel and Laura's table, and let the market guide you.