HALMA: José Luis Espino's Most Personal Restaurant Opens in Las Palmas at the End of August

Sometimes the most exciting openings are not the biggest, but the most personal. That is exactly the feeling surrounding HALMA, the restaurant that José Luis Espino — the chef who earned a Michelin star at Bevir — is about to reopen on calle Joaquín Costa 25 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The announcement, made in late July, confirms that the doors will swing open at the end of August, marking the return of a project that has been quietly maturing for half a decade.

For anyone who follows Gran Canaria's dining scene, this is major news. Espino is not just any chef. He is a Las Palmas native who trained in some of Spain's most hallowed kitchens — from Martín Berasategui to El Celler de Can Roca — and was named Best Cook of the Canary Islands in 2017. His first HALMA, a tiny venue that quickly became a cult reference, laid the philosophical groundwork for everything that followed. Now, after leading Bevir to a Michelin star and a Repsol Sol, he is returning to where it all began, with his wife and partner María González by his side.

A Chef Forged in the World's Best Kitchens

To understand why HALMA is generating so much anticipation, you need to know the journey of the man behind it. José Luis Espino was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria around 37 years ago and took his first professional steps at the Hotel Escuela Santa Brígida (Hecansa), where he completed the Food and Beverage programme with a double qualification in both kitchen and front of house. That dual training — understanding service as deeply as cooking — still shapes his approach today.

His early career reads like a roadmap of Spanish haute cuisine. He started at the Ritz-Carlton Abama in Tenerife, then moved into the kitchen of Restaurante M.B. by Martín Berasategui under chef Erlantz Gorostiza. From there, he embarked on a series of stages at some of the country's most celebrated restaurants: El Bohío with Pepe Rodríguez, the three-Michelin-starred Martín Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria, and a formative six-month stint at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona. He later returned to the Ritz-Carlton group as Chef de Cuisine, overseeing outlets at both Abama and the Hotel Arts Barcelona. In 2017, he won first prize at the 13th Campeonato Regional Absoluto de Cocineros de Canarias, effectively crowning him the best cook on the islands.

From the First HALMA to a Michelin Star

After years on the Spanish mainland, Espino returned to Gran Canaria with his wife María González and opened the original HALMA. It was a very small restaurant — some described it as even tinier than the famously compact Bagá in Jaén — located on calle Alfredo L. Jones, 28, near Las Canteras beach. Despite its size, or perhaps because of the intensity that such intimacy demands, HALMA quickly became a talking point among the island's gastronomic circles. Early reviews called it "new but already commanding," praising its strict focus on local orchard produce and Atlantic fish and seafood.

That philosophy — "only local garden and ocean," as Espino has often put it — became the DNA of his cooking. When he joined Bevir around 2022, he transplanted those ideas into a larger format. The result was remarkable: within about a year and a half of opening, Bevir earned a Michelin star and a Sol Repsol, putting Las Palmas firmly on Spain's fine-dining map. The brand later expanded south with Bevir by Lopesan at the Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort & Spa, again under Espino's leadership. Throughout this period, however, HALMA remained his core identity — his LinkedIn still lists him as owner and chef of HALMA since August 2021, and Canarias7 describes it as the project he and María have been nurturing for five years, "growing in silence."

What We Know About the New HALMA

The new HALMA will be located at number 25 on calle Joaquín Costa, a different address from the original Alfredo L. Jones premises, which have long since closed. The opening is confirmed for the end of August, though no exact date or service hours have been published yet. What is clear is that this is not simply a restaurant reopening — Canarias7 describes HALMA as a brand and philosophy that "goes much further than a restaurant," the culmination of five years of quiet, focused work away from the spotlight.

As for the culinary proposal, the team is keeping its cards close to the chest. No details about the menu format, price range, or interior design have been officially disclosed. What we can reasonably expect, based on Espino's well-documented practice at both the first HALMA and Bevir, is a cuisine deeply rooted in Gran Canaria's vegetable gardens and the surrounding Atlantic. His cooking has always emphasised ultra-local sourcing, seasonality, and sustainability — he is known for using farmed sea bass and making garum from fish trimmings to minimise waste. At public talks like Orígenes Gran Canaria, he has consistently championed sea-to-farm relationships and the careful use of local resources.

Why This Opening Matters for Gran Canaria

HALMA's return is not just a story about one chef. It reflects a broader moment for Gran Canaria's gastronomy. The island has recently seen a surge of Michelin recognition, with Bevir, Tabaiba, and other venues earning stars and putting the destination on the radar of food-loving travellers. In this context, a new project from one of the central figures of that movement is naturally framed as a significant event — both for residents who have followed Espino's career and for visitors planning gastronomic trips.

The deliberate mystery surrounding the opening only adds to the sense of occasion. By withholding specifics about the menu and design, Espino and his team have created a rare thing in today's hyper-documented world: genuine anticipation. Locals are speculating about how he will translate his "huerta y mar" philosophy into the new space, and whether the intimacy of the original HALMA will be preserved. For now, the only fixed points are the address — Joaquín Costa 25 — and the timeframe: the end of August. Given the history of the first HALMA and the Michelin-level reputation Espino has built since, demand around the launch is expected to be high.