Eduardo Martínez-Gil
Before you even taste anything, BRUT has already shaken your senses. Housed in a restored wooden warehouse in the middle of Llubí, with exposed beams, a concrete bar that wraps around an open kitchen and knives from all over the world hanging like war relics, it is punk, raw and radical. No menu, no rules. Only 16 people a night, seated in front of the stage where Eduardo Martínez-Gil and his team cook up—literally and symbolically—an experience that defies the limits of conventional gastronomy.
“From the very beginning we conceived BRUT as a concept with a philosophy, with a common thread”, says Eduardo. “We wanted everything to make sense, from the food to the setting and, above all, to carve out new paths. There is a phrase by Carlo Dossi that I love: “the crazy ones carve out paths that the wise later walk’’.
Every night, 16 privileged diners sit around the bar that surrounds the BRUT kitchen, knowing absolutely nothing about the menu. The only certainty is that what awaits them is unlike anything they have ever seen before. “What characterises us is that constant search. Every year we work on a different concept that inspires the menu, which evolves with the setting. We don’t have a fixed menu because we work with what nature gives us: wild vegetables, fruit, botanicals… We don’t know what we are going to find each day”, he adds.
Cashew "Ajo Blanco y Negro", cocoa lip balm
The result is vibrant food that is radically seasonal, with no concessions. The aim, according to Eduardo, is to cultivate astonishment: “If you already know what you are going to eat, you lose the ability to be surprised. We want our diners to experience something new, not only to eat well, but also to enjoy, reflect and challenge themselves”.
It is no coincidence that BRUT was awarded a Repsol Sun in 2024, as well as being recognised as a ‘revelation restaurant’ in 2018. Its identity is not limited to its dishes: the exposed stone walls adorned with knives from around the world, the metal structures, the hanging light bulbs and the skateboard collection chronicle Eduardo’s personal world, where his past as an art director, his love of punk and his fascination for the raw and the real converge. “Punk was a less hippie way of complaining, more active. It represents me. I like to go against the grain, to break with convention, like skateboarding and punk did. At BRUT we also try to look for a different aesthetic, a different type of cuisine”.
But this rebelliousness is not without rigour. BRUT embraces a ‘zero waste’ philosophy, where each ingredient is used to the maximum. Fermentation, distillation, enzymatic maturation and homemade processes give shape to responsible and deeply technical food. “From the very beginning we have been concerned about not generating waste. Fermentation was our first ally. It is an ancestral form of preservation, and it allows us to transform local ingredients, such as Sa Pobla broad beans, into unique sauces that would not otherwise exist. It’s not a question of making it better or worse, but of making it different and healthier”.
BRUT’s commitment to sustainability also extends to beverages, for which it produces its own, including kombuchas, craft beers, and even sake made using Mallorcan rice. “We have always understood gastronomy as a whole. Liquid and solid cuisine should not be separated. A dish can be finished off with a fermented drink. That way we use ingredients right to the end: fruit peel can end up in a tepache, for example”.
The restaurant offers both alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings. The non-alcoholic drinks, based on their own fermentations, offer a healthy and creative alternative to complement the menu. They also work with natural wines and small local productions.
Their respect for the environment has been recognised with the Balearic Plastic Free label, awarded by Save the Med. But for Eduardo, true impact is measured in the possibility of spreading the message. “We are a microenterprise. This is what we tell 16 people each night. But having an NGO behind it helps us amplify the message that it’s possible to cook without harming the planet”.
With eight seasons under their belt, there is no room for complacency at BRUT. Eduardo and his team continue to look ahead, unafraid to transform everything. “My dream is that BRUT becomes a nerve centre for the development of ideas, that we can open up these concepts to more people. Not everyone can afford to come to a restaurant like this, but we can transfer these values to more affordable, more ethical and healthier production”. BRUT is a space where rules are challenged, where the local becomes universal, where cuisine is not served, but rather shared. And where every night, the wild becomes sublime.
