02 Mar Casa Osmunda, from 'casa pintona' to a temple of fine dining

In the vicinity of Breña AltaJosé Carlos Fonte Viña is the person in charge of guiding those who come to Osmunda House (1 Sol Repsol Guide) through a gustatory journey through La Palma. Salads accompanied by local seafood, lamb reared just a few kilometres away or tropical fruit from nearby crops are the great representatives of a way of showing the island's microclimates through the palate. A combination that is paired with some of the best wines from Palma and other areas of the Canary Islands and the mainland.

The year was 2005. José Carlos Fonte Viña, a resident of Las Ledas (in the municipality of Breña Baja), at the time ran the successful 'San José' café. The young entrepreneur had prospered at the helm of several bars in this area of La PalmaBut he always looked sideways at the family house where the oil and vinegar shop - the traditional grocery shop - was set up, which was Doña Osmunda's family business.

He was so seduced by that architectural stamp that the current owner and head waiter of the restaurant located in the Subida al Mirador de la Concepción, in Breña Alta, ended up acquiring it. That is how he got it between his eyebrows. With Doña Consuelo, Osmunda's mother at the time, he shared some old stories and tasty anecdotes while he was renovating the enclave that was to house his great gastronomic project. "It was a very picturesque house, next to the Camino Real, and the same lady told how on the ground floor, where the tables for diners are arranged today, the beds were arranged as an inn and the shelter for the animals".

Two intense years of repairs and a thousand details after the takeover, the inauguration of one of the most solid references in La Palma in terms of updated traditional cuisine, or "which has been turned upside down", as Fonte points out.

Renewing the commitment

"In 2007 it was the time when we began to bet on a culinary proposal somewhat different from the classic and popular rabbit with potatoes, grilled meats, grilled sole, and meunière or the choco (cuttlefish) with mojo palmero; all very tasty, but which we decided, not without a bit of daring, to shelve and adapt it to more contemporary trends. So we decided to leave behind those eighties menus and present diners with something different that convinced both local and foreign customers", says the restaurateur.

Since its inception, Osmunda House acquired the inertia of continuous evolution from the search for ever more seductive recipes, paying more attention to local and organic produce and taking care of the design of the dishes. But the passage of time - 15 years on 15 May 2022 - has never been able to destroy the emblematic dishes of the beginnings: the foie pan-fried with sweet potato bread, apple compote and cane syrup, for example. Or the potatoes stuffed with rabbit, on the menu for a decade and, fortunately, "pardoned" to the delight of the clientele.

In any case, José Carlos Fonte emphasises that there always comes a time to give up one speciality to make way for another: it is the law of life -and of the restaurant. In addition to the indisputable cravings of 'Casa Osmunda' -that cheek of Iberian pork the menu invites you to experiment with tasty culinary formats -from eat, eat- how the veal shank ravioli are on parmentier with truffled potato and Pedro Ximénez reduction, or avocado tartar with prawns and mango dressed with passion fruit juice.

A space as eclectic as La Palma

The restaurant started with five people in the kitchen and five other professionals in the dining room from the "starting whistle". At that time, Fonte, as is logical, considered several names for the restaurant, but ended up opting for the one he still has today. He invested all his time and dedication in it, and recalls that "the general arrangement of a space that has been transformed into different and warm atmospheres, even for lunch or dinner, was not at all easy". So there are several atmospheres, or "microclimates", as could be alluded to with the simile of the very different climatological phenomena that occur in the mountainous islands of the Canary Islands, in places located just a few kilometres apart.

The bar, where you can open with a good aperitif, vermouth, a glass of beer or a white wine from La Palma and a board of excellent cheeses from La Palma or acorn-fed Iberian ham. Other customers choose the dining room on the ground floor, with its special charm, elegant decoration and exposed stone, or in the leafy garden, next to the fountain or the cistern. Each situation changes the feeling, the experience, whether you want a little more privacy or the ideal setting for a romantic rendezvous.

The pleasure of table and tablecloth does take up space. The interior architecture is very much in keeping with the culinary proposal in which the salads are, without a doubt, ambassadors of the local produce. The lobster salad on carpaccio pineapple and iced avocado juice, or the island tomatoes, pickles, sprouts and mustard vinaigrette, are the fresh spearhead of what awaits later in the sections of hot and cold soups, fish, the categorical meat references and a gentle sweet line.

The chefs' house on the island

Everything here is transferred to an already established dynamic of constant evolution, as Fonte himself emphasises, and it should be noted that 'Casa Osmunda' has historically welcomed chefs such as Fernando Ximénez-Cruz, an expert in rice dishes from the well-remembered 'La Milpa' in Tacoronte (Tenerife), or Germán Blanco, one of the bastions of the island's avant-garde cuisine, who is also a member of the Lanzarote.

Precisely, the man who was the ideologist of the restaurant 'La Tegala', met José Carlos Fonte when he was invited to organise a gastronomic conference. For almost five years he has been joining the team to revise or renew dishes. "Lanzarote has a lot to tell with its products, but these of La Palma are fabulous. All this vegetation, which looks like you're in the mountains of Asturias, and where you find magnificent vegetables; those avocados what can I say; loquats and incredible seasonal fruit...".

"We have taken advantage of the difficult times of the pandemic or the eruption of the volcano in Cumbre Vieja to make progress in this collaboration, which increases the quality of what our diners are going to taste," says the owner. "Atlantic fish, such as amberjack or wahoo; those lambs from the north, from Garafía, or the mushrooms that can be found in the mountains of Isla Bonita, boletusThe "chanterelles", "cantarelas"..., invite us to resize an essential traditional cuisine, although avoiding unnecessary frills", underlines Blanco.

Genres that are reflected with good taste in the braised cod with prawn sauce and sweet potato; the tuna ingot with passion fruit, pumpkin (from José Carlos' organic vegetable garden) and teriyakiOn the meat side, of course, the roast lamb of the Palmerai breed or the steak tartar veal, prepared at the table in front of the customer.

The return of customers

Wine is another of the fundamental elements of 'Casa Osmunda', thanks also to influences such as the one cultivated at the time by the prestigious sommelier Albert Amat, as well as Fontes' own restlessness. I like this world very much", he stresses, "and in this aspect, the whole team has made trips to wineries on the peninsula (Rioja, Ribera del Duero...); we also have almost all the references from Palma, which are proving to be of great quality and differentiation, but they are sold out due to the limited volumes we have available".

The pandemic and the volcano took their toll. Regarding the influx of diners, alma mater of the establishment, considers that the pandemic and the volcano have calmed the figures of a tourism that has brought in quite a lot from the rest of the Canary Islands, the national territory and, in the case of foreigners, the English, Germans and also the French. "Once the eruption was over, the situation has been dampened, but we are confident that in the coming months we will experience a change of trend for the better.

A point of hope that can harmonise well with the desserts of the house, such as that suggestive creamy avocado and fresh cheese, thyme oil, vanilla and iced mango juice; the brownie chocolate and Maria biscuit, or the homemade tiramisu with mascarpone.