The history of Unic is closely linked to the story of Migjorn Ibiza, which in 1979 was one of the very first tourist hotels in the Playa d’en Bossa area. Everything has evolved a lot since then, and today Ibizan entrepreneurs José Riera and Alicia Reina have made a commitment to converting this pioneering hotel into an oasis of authentic experiences, recouping the very essence that attracted the first tourists to the area.
Migjorn Ibiza was originally run by the Escandell family, managed for many years by Alicia’s father, Juan Reina, and of which she treasures many tender memories of her childhood, as the relationship with the tourists was very close and endearing. «I remember we organised barbecues. My father played the guitar with some of our staff and friends, and I danced in my flamenco dress together with my brother and cousin to liven things up. The tourists had a blast, and all ended up swimming fully dressed in the pool at the end of the night. It was all lots of fun and very spontaneous», she recalls.
Unic restaurant origins
Around 2008-2009, after a generational shift in its management and direction, Migjorn Ibiza underwent a process of complete modernisation of its facilities and its vision as a business. In this effort to create an excellent and distinct product, the managers were clear that the differentiating element to which they should be oriented was gastronomy as a pillar of their global proposal. Therefore, over the next few years, they devised and created what we know today as Unic.
Unic Restaurant is located in one of the island’s nerve centres, Playa d’en Bossa, where at one end stand the Renaissance city walls of Dalt Vila and, at the other, Torre des Carregador watchtower, the construction of which precedes the 18th century.
«We are located in what was once a maritime traffic hub, in an area where we also have La Xanga, a key element in the island’s traditional fishing industry and the first port for salt», explain Alicia Reina. In addition, the area surrounding the restaurant was once home to the island’s extensive agricultural land. «This is why, with all these pivotal references, that the history of Platja d’en Bossa is Unic’s main conceptual ingredient», adds the manager of Migjorn Ibiza.
David Grussaute, Unic’s chef
In this regard, David Grussaute, chef at Unic, has focused his attention on working with local produce and also incorporates his appreciation for the privileged natural environment in his work. This path has led him on a historical and culinary investigative journey that goes back to the time before the arrival of tourism to the island and the construction of large hotels.
The chef has documented verification that Playa d’en Bossa, a destination that is today world famous, was very different at the start of the 20th century. Older people can still remember it as an area full of crops, windmills, ditches, ponds, the odd water wheel, and a maze of footpaths that were travelled every day on foot by the locals who worked in the fields and at sea. An area where fishermen collected branches to make pots and baskets, which they later used to trap fish like moray. What’s more, there used to be a large plantation of tamarind at Playa d’en Bossa.
With these references the intention of the Unic project is to recapture the real essence of Ibiza and its gastronomy, through a creative process founded on respect for the excellence of local produce and the island’s culinary tradition, resulting in a creative and innovative universe that its surprising and totally captivating.
