TRIP REPORT: May 2014

[Doogz1874]

& Here we go again….
This time I’m going to write this restaurant by restaurant rather than going day by day – hopefully this will mean it takes less time and Sparky won’t shout at me for taking too long to post !

O Lume:
18th May: Lunch @ O Lume:
Chiperones, Choriquitos, Delicias de pollo con miel y romero (chicken with honey & rosemary), Rabbit liver frito
Fried milk to share.
3xlarge beers & 2xcarajillos
la cuenta around €40

This is the first time we’ve made O Lume the first meal of the holiday and I can’t believe we’ve not done it before – it’s worth it just for the welcome from Jaime never mind getting to enjoy the quality of the food and wonderful courtyard in the sunlight. Chiperones & Choriquitos have become lunchtime standards for us at O Lume so we try and add in a couple of new dishes to sample with these…..but it’s going to be very difficult next time as the rabbit liver frito was fantastic – I don’t think I’ve had a better frito.

20th May: Dinner @ O Lume:
2x Champagne Cocktails, 1 bottle of Godello, 1 bottle Water.
Amouse Bouche : Egg & Salmon
Doogz: Quail Ravioli > Pork in Mustard Sauce
Mogs: Goats Cheese > Cod in Garlic
2x Cafe Solo
2x Brandy on the House
la cuenta Around €55 ..... (price is distorted as Mr & Mrs Sparkes very generously paid for all the drink - Thanks again !)

The ladies were both given a Rose from Jaimes garden at the end of the meal.
Food, service, setting & company all as wonderful as ever !

28th May: Dinner @ O lume
2xChampagne Cocktails, bottle of Godello, bottle of water
Amouse Bouche: Sobrasada & Honey crouton
Doogz: Carpaccio of Beef > Sea Bass in Martini Sauce > Fried Milk
Mogs: Marinated Salmon > Monkfish Romana - Casedilla ????????
2xcafe solo
1 Amaretto & 1 Licor 43 on the house
la cuenta around €110

All fantastic as we’ve come to expect & nice to meet mwc & family.

(This seems to be going quite well, I’m managing to keep it fairly brief so far … but there is much, much more on O Lume to follow later)

 

[Doogz1874]

El Posito:
18th May: Dinner @ El Posito:
2xG&T, 1 bottle Mar De Frades Albarino, 1 bottle water.
Bread/Olives/Allioli
Doogz: Croquetas > Tuna
Mogs: Garlic Prawns & Squid / Tuna
2xCafe Solo, 2xBrandy(Suau)
2xHierbas on the house
la cuenta around €120

22nd May: Dinner @ El Posito
2xG&T, Bottle of Emilio Moro & a bottle of water
Bread/Olives/Allioli
Frito to share
Doogz - Massive T bone Steak
Mogs - Cod El Posito
2x Carajillos
2x Brandy on the house
la cuenta around €100

25th May: Lunch @ El Posito
Bottle of House Red
Mogs - Paella > Sepia a la Plancha > Chocolate Cake
Doogz - Sopa Mallorquin > Lechona > Ensaimada crema
2 x cafe solos
2 x 'Spanish Viagra' (you'll just have to go so El Posito & try it……. but glad I got to sample it at lunchtime or I may have been up all night !)
la cuenta €30

29th May: Dinner @ El Posito
2xcanas, 2xG&Ts, Bottle of Water & bottle of white wine (Butxat?)
Bread/Olives/Allioli
Garlic Prawns to Share
Doogz - Lamb chops w/ fried garlic > Lemon Meringue Pie
Mogs - Cod w/ sobrasada & honey > Almond cake w/ cinnamon ice cream
2x cafe solo
2x brandy (saua) & then dos mas on the house
la cuenta around €110

Okay this may take a little longer as there a few things to mention:
New chef – Damien really is excellent. We ordered a lot of our usual dishes and in general the differences to Antonios versions are quite subtle (or at least seemed subtle after we’d overloaded our palates with Allioli !). It will be interesting over time to see Damien adds more of his stamp to the dishes / menu.
Missing Waiter – We missed Zak as we knew we would. He was a good lad with a cheeky sense of humour that always guaranteed a few laughs throughout the evening. However, I think it’s been a positive change for the restaurant: it seems much more like the old version of EP. Toni is more involved with the service and seemed happier as a result. I guess with Zak there it had become a little less Spanish …. but I do wish he’d still been around the port so we could have met up with him…. I must think of an excuse to visit Kent !
Sunday Lunch: We’ve been for lunch many times but never on a Sunday before. We took the precaution of booking (as per Sparky’s advice ) and were glad we did – restaurant is very busy mainly with locals. Miggy (who doesn’t have the greatest English) took our orders so we were glad we’d had a quick review of the Spanish menu outside so we could do a little of the translations up front. Food & atmosphere was great– and just unbelievable value for money !
Specials :If you’re ordering one of the special dishes like the Tuna or T-bone steak Toni will take the time to show you it beforehand if you ask so you can assess the quality (or in the case of the T-bone start trying to figure out how much you’ll be able to eat / what size the cow was !)

As always lovely to catch up with Toni, Miggy, Mr & Mrs Sparkes, Mr & Mrs PPKev and was nice to meet Neil & Bernadette on the 1st night too.

 

[Doogz1874]

Bar Rumbo:
19th May: Lunch @ Bar Rumbo
2xlarge beers
1 Pa Amb Oli con queso & Jamon
1 Pepito De Lomo
la cuenta €16

23rd May: Lunch @ Bar Rumbo
2xlarge beers
2x Pa Amb Oli con queso & Jamon
la cuenta €18

26th May: Lunch @ Bar Rumbo
2x Large Beers, 2x Pa Amb Oli con queso & Jamon
la cuenta: €18

28th May: Lunch @ Bar Rumbo
2xlarge beers
1 Pa Amb Oli con queso & Jamon
1 Pepito De Lomo
la cuenta €16

Great spot for a cheaper/lighter lunch – clearly we favour the Pepito de lomo & Pa Amb Oli but Xisca makes great tapas too !

La Llonja:
19th May: Lunch @ La Llonja
2xG&T
Both went for the Menu de Semana:
Doogz: Chefs Chunky Chilli > Pan Fried Rabbit > Fruit Strudel w/ ice cream
Mogs: Salad + Blue Cheese in brick pastry w/ Pear > Salmon w/ pink peppercorn sauce > Fruit Strudel w/ ice cream
2xCafe Solo & chocolates
2xBrandy on the house
la cuenta around €75

27th May: Dinner @ La Llonja
1 cava rosado & 1 G&T, Bottle of Vionta Albarino & a bottle of water
Doogz - Truffle spaghetti > Salmon in Red Curry Sauce
Mogs - Tuna Tartar > Cod in Garlic sauce
2xCafe Solo & chocolates
2x Brandy on the house
la cuenta around €100

Great food, location & service and always guaranteed a lovely welcome from Miguel. The MDS is wonderful value for money.
I don’t think I could go to PP without visiting La Llonja at least once for the truffle spaghetti.


El Meson:
21st May: Lunch @ El Meson
4xCanas
1 Pa Amb Oli (Goats Cheese & Peppers), media Ribs in sweet sauce, media cod croquettas
la cuenta around €25

25th May: Dinner @ El Meson
4x Canas
Bread/Olives/Allioli
Racions of Chiperones, Albondigas, Pork Loin & Mushrooms
2xcafe solo
2x coffee liqueur w/ cream & chocolate on the house. (Tasted quite like a White Russian - The Dude abides!)
la cuenta around €30

One of this holidays discoveries (and for a few others recently too it appears). We tried it for cana and free tapa and decided it was worth a go for lunch …. And having tried lunch decided it was worth a visit for dinner too ! Food is good quality / great value. Staff are very friendly but don’t have too much English so a little Spanish helps.

 

[Doogz1874]

O Lume 2:
24th May: Dinner @ O Lume ……. The Tasting Menu Part 1of3
2x Champagne Cocktails
2 glasses of Albarino
1 bottle of Ses Nines Red Cava & 1 bottle of water

#amuse bouche: Pork & Prawn skewer con pequeño huevo y tomate hombre:

Amuse Bouche by Doogz1874, on Flickr

#Scallop carpaccio w/ sauces (A Balsamic reduction and Hot Red Pepper)

Before:
Scallops I by Doogz1874, on Flickr
And after:
Scallops - Finished by Doogz1874, on Flickr

#Smoked Salmon & Avocado mousseline

Before:
Salmon I by Doogz1874, on Flickr
And After:
Salmon - Finished by Doogz1874, on Flickr

 

[Doogz1874]

24th May: Dinner @ O Lume ……. The Tasting Menu Part 2of3

#Vol au vent stuffed with Mushroom, green asparagus & leek) with red lobster, peppers & saffron sauce

Before:
Lobster by Doogz1874, on Flickr
And After:
Lobster - Finished by Doogz1874, on Flickr

#Sorbet - various choices were available but we both decided on the grape sorbet (made from the grapes in the courtyard):
Mogs had hers with grand marnier & I had mine with licor 43

Before:
Sorbet I by Doogz1874, on Flickr
And After:
Sorbet - Finished by Doogz1874, on Flickr

 

[Doogz1874]

24th May: Dinner @ O Lume ……. The Tasting Menu Part 3of3

#Veal Fillet w/ foie gras wrapped in pancake + Veg & chips

Before:
Veal Fillet II by Doogz1874, on Flickr
During:
Veal Fillet - In Progress by Doogz1874, on Flickr

And here we are finally defeated – this was as close as we could get to finishing……
Veal Fillet - Finished by Doogz1874, on Flickr

At this point I took a small walk to let the food settle down a little and attempt burn off a calorie or 2 which did actually help make a little room for the dessert:

#Banana Mousse & pineapple w/ vanilla sauce
Before
Dessert by Doogz1874, on Flickr
And after
Dessert - Finished by Doogz1874, on Flickr

2x cafe solos (no room for anything bigger !)
Amaretto & Licor 43 on the house
....... and then Jaime arrived with the chocolates (My first thought was of Mr Creosote but we did end up eating them without exploding …just !)
Jaime joined us for drinks and a lovely chat while we let the food settled down but eventually a wonderful evening had to end and we walked very slowly back to the hotel !
(We had a lovely long lie the next day as there was no need for breakfast)

la cuenta around €135 ..... 135 for all of that, I still can't believe it !

Each dish was absolutely stunning – I really can’t pick a favourite I only know that if any appeared on the main menu I’d delighted to order them.
The concept which is for each dish just to have a few simple flavours which you can try on there on & then combine with the others worked perfectly.
I can’t recommend it highly enough – but if you’re going to try it a few tips:
The tasting menu has to be booked 24hrs in advance
Skip or only have a very light lunch before
Book a little earlier than usual (we usually book for 9pm but we moved it forward to 8.30) so you can take your time & savour the experience and still get home before 1am.
WWJD : With a tasting menu it’s can be a challenge to find a wine that’s suitable for all the courses so best to ask Jaime for his expert advice. His recommendation of the Red cava was a first for us but worked perfectly throughout the menu. (I think we had the last bottle but he was going to try and get more from the limited supply)

The only slight issue was with the portion size – we’ve done tasting menus before and in general the portions are much smaller – we’ve both got good appetites but even we were defeated, in the end, by the Veal (but I can’t really complain about having too much of a good thing !).

My biggest concern is that I think Jaime is planning to have a new tasting menu each year …….. and obviously we will have keep trying them

 

[Doogz1874]

Los Faroles
21st May: Dinner @ Los Faroles
2x G&T, 1 bottle Mar De Frades Albarino, 1 bottle water
Doogz - Soller Prawns with garlic, Steak Tournedo (Rossini)
Mogs - Sepia a la Andaluza > John Dory
2x Carajillos
Half bottle of cava on the house
la cuenta around €100

26th May: Dinner @ Los Faroles
Bread/Olives/Allioli
Bottle of Vionta Albarino & a bottle of water
Doogz - Goats Cheese Salad W/ Walnuts & Caramelised Onions > Chicken Cordon Blue
Mogs - Gazpacho > Grilled Sea Bass
2xCarajillos
2xLemon Schnapps on the house
la cuenta around €60

Restaurant was very busy both nights but didn't impact the quality of the food or service at all. In particular the Soller Prawns > Steak Tournedo I had on the first night was excellent – it was very difficult not to just order the same again on the next visit but even I thought I’d already had too much steak/veal for one holiday !

Cellar La Parra
23rd May: Dinner @ Cellar La Parra
Bottle of the House Red & bottle of water
Bread & Olives
Mogs: Tomato Salad > Suckling Pig
Doogz: Trampo salad > Suckling Pig
2x Carajillos
la cuenta around €50

Needed to book a couple of days in advance again- seems everyone already knows the house wine is great value and the suckling pig is excellent.

Ca'n Tofol
22nd May: Lunch @ Ca'n Tofol
4xCanas
Mogs - Pa Amb Oli w/ sobrasada & Honey
Doogz - Pepito De Lomo
la cuenta around €20

27th May: Lunch @ Ca'n Tofel
4xCanas
2x Pa Amb Olis: Mogs w/ salchichon Iberico, Doogz w/ lomo, cheese & onion.
la cuenta around €20

We’d only been here on the tapas route before but as we’d always enjoyed it we thought we should give it a try for lunch and weren’t disappointed.
Menus is all in Spanish and left hand side of is dominated by a large selection on Pa Amb Olis – I seem to remember tapas on the right of the menu but we never really got beyond the left !
Staff very friendly, but don’t speak to much English & most of the other customers were local – which is a good sign.
One word of warning – the pickled peppers are hot – they’re very nice but took me by surprise the first time !

Bonys:
20th May: Lunch @ Bonys
Baguettes & Large Beers x2
la cuenta €11

29th May: Lunch @ Bonys
Baguettes & Large Beers x2
la cuenta €11

Cheap & cheerful lunch + the bonus of Jose for entertainment !


Other:
A few G&T, cocktail, coffee, beer & tapa stops throughout the holiday @ La Bodeguita, El Meson, Gemini, Rumbo, Bonys, Los Faroles and Cafe 1919.
Enjoyed all of them but recommend trying the first 2 in particular - great for a small beer with a free small tapa for €1.50.
A little disappointed we didn’t make it to La Roda this time – but we’ll hopefully remedy that later in the year

 

[mwc]

Great reports, couldn't possibly do as good as them, I even have to do them every couple of days because my memories rubbish.

 

[scotslizzy]

I'm Starving !!!!

I def think we will go for the tasting menu as it all looks great. Thanks for the pics as they really bring it home as to what you get for your money .

Thanks so much for the revue

Cheers

Scotslizzy

 

[Disorderly]

What a truly stunning and mouth-watering post (or should I say posts!).

You have reminded me of El Meson, which we really need to try and, and La Llonga too.

Only out for seven nights in June and there's so much to try to fit in! You've whetted the appetite something wicked!

Brilliant posts. Thank you.

 

[Doogz1874]

Great reports, couldn't possibly do as good as them, I even have to do them every couple of days because my memories rubbish.

Thanks - I do recommend getting someone to take notes while you're there (Thanks Mogs ! )

 

[Sparky]

Excellent trip report Doogz, loved the before and after pics and i am seriously impressed at the speed with which you have posted .

 

[Nick]

Excellent reports.....

 

[sws97sdg]

What can I say Doogz, fantastic reports and photos, I think you have raised the bar and set new standards for reports this year!!

 

[Doogz1874]

Thanks to all for the positive feedback
It's really quite enjoyable writing these reports as it let's you re-live the highlights of the holiday again - it's even better if others can enjoy them too !

What can I say Doogz, fantastic reports and photos, I think you have raised the bar and set new standards for reports this year!!

I think that would be the first time I've ever raised the bar .... although I may have razed a few in my time

 

[kate1]

Fantastic report - that tasting menu is really historic (as Michael Winner used to say) - as well as HUGE - even the amuse bouche looks vast! We will definitely give it a try later this year (but perhaps fast for a week or two before arrival) - I love Jaime's food as the quality is so excellent and he has such a good wine list too. Some great recommendations for other places too - good to hear El Posito is back to its very best.

We went to La Roda in April but were a bit disappointed - perhaps the usual chef was away that day, but it wasn't as good as last year - I'm sure the potato wedges were frozen, for example, not the lovely home-made version we had there previously, and the batter on the squid was rather soggy. I noticed several locals who had the same dish as us left theirs uneaten too… we'll have to give it another try in October. I hope it was just a one-off as it was one of my favourites last year. I'd be interested to hear reports from anyone who has been recently.

 

[Doogz1874]

even the amuse bouche looks vast! QUOTE]

The picture may be a little deceptive - if I tell you it's a cherry tomato & quail egg it give's it a more realistic scale