Tasting Counter - Twelve Seats
We cook
with the dark
and a little fire.
Ombra is a counter for twelve, hidden behind an unmarked door in the old quarter. One menu. One season. One fire at the centre of the room.
01 - Concept
A room held together
by heat, by hands,
by the quiet between courses.
We do not write a menu. We listen to the week: to the market, the boats, the orchard outside town, and we cook what is most alive that night. The fire is the only constant.
Service is slow on purpose. Twelve guests, one pass, one pace. You will meet the cooks, watch the embers fall, and stay for three hours without noticing.
"The fire is older than the recipe. We only translate."
- Elia Marchetti, Chef
03 - The Chef
Elia Marchetti.
A quiet cook, a patient room.
"I learned to cook from my grandmother, who never owned a thermometer and never made the same dish twice."
- Born in Pollenzo, between vineyards and his grandmother's hearth.
- Stages at Mugaritz and Etxebarri. Learns the discipline of fire.
- Opens Ombra with twelve seats and no sign on the door.
- First star. Refuses to expand. Closes Sundays and Mondays.
- Second star. Same twelve seats. Same fire.
04 - Sala
Terracotta walls, one candle,oak older than the city.
Materials
Hand-troweled lime plaster in burnt sienna. Reclaimed oak beams from a 17th-century granary. Cast iron, smoked glass, raw linen.
Light
Two sources only: the hearth at the centre of the counter, and a single tall taper at each setting. The room is never brighter than the food.
Sound
A custom playlist by composer Luis Tinoco. Strings, breath, the long pause. No screens, no notifications, no announcements.
05 - Reserve
Twelve seats.
Two seatings.
One evening at a time.
Bookings open the first Monday of each month for the following month. A deposit of EUR100 per guest secures your seat and is fully credited to your bill.
Service
Wed - Sat
19:30 and 21:45
Quiet days
Sun, Mon, Tue