Venue:- Le Bistrot
Location :- Mojacar Playa (best Indalo end)
Decided to try French this evening and went to the Le Bistrot restaurant, a small restaurant with both a small outside and small inside seating area, seats very comfortable and the place had a nice ambience about it even though there was only us and another couple dining. The couple who own the place seem to run it between them, the man (French) does the cooking and his wife (Dutch) does the front of house serving the drinks, taking the orders and generally looking after the diners. The menu is small typical French in style and should have something for everyone - we had dinner.
Starters -
Two types of salmon (smoked and gravalax) tartare - two of us started with this and it was delicious, served from a timbale with crispy toast and sour cream and chives. The salmon tartare was very nice, delicately flavoured with herbs and lemon juice, the lemon not overpowering the taste of the salmon.
The other starter was warm goats cheese on rings of toast with a bed of salad with a crushed almond topping - very nice, three rings of cheese, nice salad with an excellent dressing just right for a starter course. I believe the starters were all around 8.50 each.
The mains consisted of ….
I had fresh sea bass fillets which came with a small slice of onion quiche and a very delicious layered potato cake - potato, courgette and tomato I think with a fairly strong hint of basil which really made the taste for me. A very nice dish, fish nicely cooked and presented, accompaniments - delicious.
Then a gigot of lamb with the same extras. We were actually asked how we liked the lamb - very unusual, the French tend to serve as they like it (almost raw!) not how the diner wants it! This was requested pink and sure enough it came pink - it was declared superb.
Lastly plain grilled salmon with the same veggies as the other mains. The salmon was cooked through - yippee, it wasn’t served half done. Once more this was declared very good - if we must complain then we would have liked crispy skin, but never mind we didn’t eat that bit and I am sure had we asked the skin would have been crispied. Mains were around the 14.50 mark.
Desserts ..
We just had to have a go.
I had a trio of desserts with coffee - crème brulee, tart tatin and chocolate cake - delicious.
Crème brulee on its own - very nice.
Lastly Tart Tatin - again very nice (4.50 a pop)
We had a couple of beers to start, some water, coffees and went a bit mad on the wine front - a bottle of Mercurey 2009 for a whopping 26.00!! Well it was worth it, don’t see Mercurey around much and it was nice for a change.
Overall the meal was very good, the service and ambience excellent, the price what we would expect from that type of restaurant. Would we go again? Yup.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Monday, 24 October 2011
Torre Bahia - Mojacar Playa
Venue:- Restaurante Torre Bahia
Location :- Calle Torre Bahia Mojacar Playa
(Off the Playa near The Blue Lagoon)
A nice restaurant a few yards off the main Playa offering a spacious outdoor patio both covered and open and an equally spacious interior. The seating is comfortable and the tables spaced well, it has a nice ambience and the covered outdoor area was full the day we dined - evening a la carte.
Starters:-
Aguacate con Gambas (7.00) - avocado prawns with a nice lot of salad garnish, a very nice satisfying starter with a very tasty avocado and freshly peeled large prawns.
Sopa de champinones (3.75) - mushroom soup - tasty and fresh, nothing more to add.
Revueltos salmon ahumado (5.25) - scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, delicious, a nice sized portion but just one failing for me, balsamic vinegar was sprinkled on the dish, I do not like balsamic vinegar! Never the less the dish was very nice - I ate the bits covered in the balsamic first! Why oh why can a restaurant not serve what it says on the menu, the balsamic could and should have been placed on the table to add as desired.
Mains:-
Platija plancha (7.50) grilled plaice with garlic butter with frittied potatoes carrots and peas. The fish although it was a flat fish was not plaice as we know it, the flesh was too soft and not the right consistency for plaice - it was mostly devoured but the fish declared too soft.
Conejo al Ajillo (8.50) - grilled rabbit with garlic, several chunks of lovely garlic coated rabbit - very nice indeed. Came with the same potatoes, peas and carrots as above. If you don’t mind getting the meat from the bones then give this a whirl it is superb - boneless eaters steer clear!
Parillada de Carne (9.50) mixed grill consisting of steak, chicken, bacon (belly I think) sausage and a fried egg on top - and guess what potatoes, peas and carrots. The meal was a plateful and was very nice, a good size if you are hungry.
Puds:-
Crumble Manzana Caramello (3.50) a nice apple crumble with custard.
Arroz con leche (3.00) a nice warm rice pudding.
Coffees at 1.00, pint beer at 2.50, tubo at 1.50, water at 1.50 and bread x3 .30 each. Had a bottle of Ribera tempranillo from the Moro stable at 14.00
Overall a very nice meal and restaurant the total cost being 71.40 - we will return.
Location :- Calle Torre Bahia Mojacar Playa
(Off the Playa near The Blue Lagoon)
A nice restaurant a few yards off the main Playa offering a spacious outdoor patio both covered and open and an equally spacious interior. The seating is comfortable and the tables spaced well, it has a nice ambience and the covered outdoor area was full the day we dined - evening a la carte.
Starters:-
Aguacate con Gambas (7.00) - avocado prawns with a nice lot of salad garnish, a very nice satisfying starter with a very tasty avocado and freshly peeled large prawns.
Sopa de champinones (3.75) - mushroom soup - tasty and fresh, nothing more to add.
Revueltos salmon ahumado (5.25) - scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, delicious, a nice sized portion but just one failing for me, balsamic vinegar was sprinkled on the dish, I do not like balsamic vinegar! Never the less the dish was very nice - I ate the bits covered in the balsamic first! Why oh why can a restaurant not serve what it says on the menu, the balsamic could and should have been placed on the table to add as desired.
Mains:-
Platija plancha (7.50) grilled plaice with garlic butter with frittied potatoes carrots and peas. The fish although it was a flat fish was not plaice as we know it, the flesh was too soft and not the right consistency for plaice - it was mostly devoured but the fish declared too soft.
Conejo al Ajillo (8.50) - grilled rabbit with garlic, several chunks of lovely garlic coated rabbit - very nice indeed. Came with the same potatoes, peas and carrots as above. If you don’t mind getting the meat from the bones then give this a whirl it is superb - boneless eaters steer clear!
Parillada de Carne (9.50) mixed grill consisting of steak, chicken, bacon (belly I think) sausage and a fried egg on top - and guess what potatoes, peas and carrots. The meal was a plateful and was very nice, a good size if you are hungry.
Puds:-
Crumble Manzana Caramello (3.50) a nice apple crumble with custard.
Arroz con leche (3.00) a nice warm rice pudding.
Coffees at 1.00, pint beer at 2.50, tubo at 1.50, water at 1.50 and bread x3 .30 each. Had a bottle of Ribera tempranillo from the Moro stable at 14.00
Overall a very nice meal and restaurant the total cost being 71.40 - we will return.
Rincon Del Puerto (Garrucha)
Venue:- Restaurante Rincon Del Puerto
Location :- Port of Garrucha at the lighthouse
The restaurant is on the beach side of the road overlooking the harbour. It is a large restaurant with an outdoor drink and snack area and outdoor dining area and an inside dining area. The restaurant specializes in the local catch and is well frequented by Spanish people. We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte.
Starters.
Gazpacho (4.00) - very nice gazpacho, plenty of it and very delicious, loads of red peppers, green peppers, onions and tomatoes - didn’t add the cheapo nasty mini breadsticks, make real croutons - how long does it take? This is probably once of the best gazpachos around. The other was a mixed salad (6.00), very nice plentiful salad with all the usual bits including tuna.
Mains.
Emperador (15.00) - nice large piece of sword fish done ‘a la plancha’ and served with garlic potatoes and a grilled tomato. The tomato was grilled, lovely, would have liked more! The potato was again lovely with plentiful garlic pieces in it - very nice. The fish cooked perfectly, boneless and skinless and plentiful - very nice. The other was the fish platter twice (20.00 each) - a nice platter consisting of sardines, calamari, baby squid and bocorones - a plentiful plate, nice.
Drinks - Cerveza at 3.50 a pint, normal for this area, water 1.00 coffee at 1.20 and bread at 1.00. The food here is always excellent but I feel it is well overpriced, I have had better tasting, more fish variety and cheaper fritura elsewhere - ie. Sol Y Playa at Carboneras. Still if you are in the area and don’t mind the prices give it whirl it will not disappoint. Total cost for 3 people 83.20.
Location :- Port of Garrucha at the lighthouse
The restaurant is on the beach side of the road overlooking the harbour. It is a large restaurant with an outdoor drink and snack area and outdoor dining area and an inside dining area. The restaurant specializes in the local catch and is well frequented by Spanish people. We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte.
Starters.
Gazpacho (4.00) - very nice gazpacho, plenty of it and very delicious, loads of red peppers, green peppers, onions and tomatoes - didn’t add the cheapo nasty mini breadsticks, make real croutons - how long does it take? This is probably once of the best gazpachos around. The other was a mixed salad (6.00), very nice plentiful salad with all the usual bits including tuna.
Mains.
Emperador (15.00) - nice large piece of sword fish done ‘a la plancha’ and served with garlic potatoes and a grilled tomato. The tomato was grilled, lovely, would have liked more! The potato was again lovely with plentiful garlic pieces in it - very nice. The fish cooked perfectly, boneless and skinless and plentiful - very nice. The other was the fish platter twice (20.00 each) - a nice platter consisting of sardines, calamari, baby squid and bocorones - a plentiful plate, nice.
Drinks - Cerveza at 3.50 a pint, normal for this area, water 1.00 coffee at 1.20 and bread at 1.00. The food here is always excellent but I feel it is well overpriced, I have had better tasting, more fish variety and cheaper fritura elsewhere - ie. Sol Y Playa at Carboneras. Still if you are in the area and don’t mind the prices give it whirl it will not disappoint. Total cost for 3 people 83.20.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Fantasia - Mojacar Playa
Venue:- Restaurante Fantasia
Location:- Mojacar Playa
Website:- www.restaurantefantasia.com
Phone:- 950 475 127
Fantasia is a beach front restaurant and bar situated along the Playa at the Best Hotel Indalo end. The restaurant was given a makeover last year and looks very good with its black and red décor and table linen. This restaurant probably does have one of the best views out to sea from the playa as it is set just back off the beach with bushes directly outside the large panoramic windows, then the cycle path, more shrubbery then the promenade more shrubbery then onto the beach with swaying palms - very nice.
We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte (menu del dia was 10.95).
Starters -
Caprese salad (7.95) - a plentiful plate of tomato. Onion and mozzarella cheese drizzled with olive oil. A very nice dish, well presented and very tasty.
Ensalada Cesar (8.95) - A Very nice Caesar salad with chicken pieces, plenty of it ideal as a main dish if not too hungry - all devoured.
Finally a deep fried brie (5.00) with sweet chilli dip and small salad - delicious brie cooked just right, not so hot it burned the mouth, nice sweet chilli sauce - sweet with a nice chilli bite. The side salad complemented it well.
Mains -
Do it myself pizza (9.75), a basic margarita with added double hot pepperoni and Roquefort (heart attack special! Its to die for!) - ate the lot, the pepperoni was ‘real’ hot pepperoni, not the often served cheap salami style pepperoni - I fancied pizza and it did the trick.
Escalope Milanese (13.95) - two huge pieces of thin veal coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried - delicious but it was a lot and it came with spaghetti and tomato sauce which went well with the veal.
Linguini Marisco (13.95) a simple pasta with large prawns and drizzled with chilli oil - very nice and nice hot chilli oil - rated the best so far.
We dipped out on the desserts as we all had had enough with the previous courses.
We had beer Mahou at 3.00, water at 1.75 and coffees at 1.50 each.
Total cost of the meal 76.30 - very good for what we had, in a nice setting - we will be back.
Location:- Mojacar Playa
Website:- www.restaurantefantasia.com
Phone:- 950 475 127
Fantasia is a beach front restaurant and bar situated along the Playa at the Best Hotel Indalo end. The restaurant was given a makeover last year and looks very good with its black and red décor and table linen. This restaurant probably does have one of the best views out to sea from the playa as it is set just back off the beach with bushes directly outside the large panoramic windows, then the cycle path, more shrubbery then the promenade more shrubbery then onto the beach with swaying palms - very nice.
We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte (menu del dia was 10.95).
Starters -
Caprese salad (7.95) - a plentiful plate of tomato. Onion and mozzarella cheese drizzled with olive oil. A very nice dish, well presented and very tasty.
Ensalada Cesar (8.95) - A Very nice Caesar salad with chicken pieces, plenty of it ideal as a main dish if not too hungry - all devoured.
Finally a deep fried brie (5.00) with sweet chilli dip and small salad - delicious brie cooked just right, not so hot it burned the mouth, nice sweet chilli sauce - sweet with a nice chilli bite. The side salad complemented it well.
Mains -
Do it myself pizza (9.75), a basic margarita with added double hot pepperoni and Roquefort (heart attack special! Its to die for!) - ate the lot, the pepperoni was ‘real’ hot pepperoni, not the often served cheap salami style pepperoni - I fancied pizza and it did the trick.
Escalope Milanese (13.95) - two huge pieces of thin veal coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried - delicious but it was a lot and it came with spaghetti and tomato sauce which went well with the veal.
Linguini Marisco (13.95) a simple pasta with large prawns and drizzled with chilli oil - very nice and nice hot chilli oil - rated the best so far.
We dipped out on the desserts as we all had had enough with the previous courses.
We had beer Mahou at 3.00, water at 1.75 and coffees at 1.50 each.
Total cost of the meal 76.30 - very good for what we had, in a nice setting - we will be back.
Sol Y Playa - Carboneras
Venue:- Sol Y Playa
Location :- Carboneras Playa (desalination end)
Walking along the promenade from the beginning towards the desalination plant you pass many café/bar/restaurants, but for us the best of the bunch is Sol Y playa - a large restaurant with a nice shaded outside terrace overlooking the sea, an interior section and then a further section that appears even more a fine dining area. The place is very Spanish and you will not be offered an English menu, although they must have them. You can have anything from Tapas and a drink, through raciones to full a la carte - its Sunday, the day for a leisurely lunch so a la carte it is - the restaurant was very full with mainly Spanish people - speaks volumes for quality and service.
Starters -
Ensalada Cogollos (8.00) - don’t know cogollos and it not in our ‘dick and harry’ but we think it is a type of lettuce, little gem maybe? - anyway it came with the lettuce draped with fresh anchovies with tomatoes and a pineapple ring in the centre decorated with a few pieces of sweet corn. A very nice concoction the anchovies nice and fresh as was the salad - very nice and a good size.
Boquerones Fritos (8.00) - quite large whitebait that had been cleaned and beheaded, nicely done and presented and delicious with a squib of lemon juice. Everybody tried some and all were well satisfied with the lovely fresh flavour.
Gazpacho Andaluz (4.20) - a total disaster! Croutons already added, no bits to add and it was ’fizzy’. Thought if may have contained cava but the waiter said ‘no’. I tried it and it definitely was not right, we told the waiter as we could not eat it and he just seemed a little surprised but did not offer an alternative. This is purely personal but I believe it was on the turn and should not have been served!
Mains -
Merluza Plancha (11.00) - one of my favourite fish this (hake) and it seems a Spanish favourite as well. The two large pieces of fish were simply cooked with a nice garlic and oil dressing and served with potatoes and a small mixed veg. The fish was cooked to my liking - ie. Not undercooked! I hate undercooked fish! The fish was cross cut so had a ring of skin and the central bone still with it, not a problem as the fish fell away from the bone and the skin peeled easily if you didn’t want to eat it - I did and it was delicious.
Arroz Con Bogabante (40.00 for two) - this was a seafood Paella with an added whole lobster. The rice was excellent and there was plenty of large mussels and large clams not the usual small tasteless ones that you normally get. There was also calamari and it was topped with a whole lobster halved with the appropriate implements for claw cracking. A very very nice paella probably one of the best we have eaten anywhere so far - expensive maybe but it did contain a whole lobster, to have just a mixed seafood paella would have been 26.00.
Too full for postres, drinks were beer at 3.00 per pint, water at 1.60 and bread for three at a total of 1.00 - coffees on the house.
Total cost for three people was 85.80 - again I thought this reasonable for what we had.
If you want a leisurely meal with a nice outlook give this place a whirl, you can spend a lot less and I am sure you will enjoy whatever you have - we will return.
Location :- Carboneras Playa (desalination end)
Walking along the promenade from the beginning towards the desalination plant you pass many café/bar/restaurants, but for us the best of the bunch is Sol Y playa - a large restaurant with a nice shaded outside terrace overlooking the sea, an interior section and then a further section that appears even more a fine dining area. The place is very Spanish and you will not be offered an English menu, although they must have them. You can have anything from Tapas and a drink, through raciones to full a la carte - its Sunday, the day for a leisurely lunch so a la carte it is - the restaurant was very full with mainly Spanish people - speaks volumes for quality and service.
Starters -
Ensalada Cogollos (8.00) - don’t know cogollos and it not in our ‘dick and harry’ but we think it is a type of lettuce, little gem maybe? - anyway it came with the lettuce draped with fresh anchovies with tomatoes and a pineapple ring in the centre decorated with a few pieces of sweet corn. A very nice concoction the anchovies nice and fresh as was the salad - very nice and a good size.
Boquerones Fritos (8.00) - quite large whitebait that had been cleaned and beheaded, nicely done and presented and delicious with a squib of lemon juice. Everybody tried some and all were well satisfied with the lovely fresh flavour.
Gazpacho Andaluz (4.20) - a total disaster! Croutons already added, no bits to add and it was ’fizzy’. Thought if may have contained cava but the waiter said ‘no’. I tried it and it definitely was not right, we told the waiter as we could not eat it and he just seemed a little surprised but did not offer an alternative. This is purely personal but I believe it was on the turn and should not have been served!
Mains -
Merluza Plancha (11.00) - one of my favourite fish this (hake) and it seems a Spanish favourite as well. The two large pieces of fish were simply cooked with a nice garlic and oil dressing and served with potatoes and a small mixed veg. The fish was cooked to my liking - ie. Not undercooked! I hate undercooked fish! The fish was cross cut so had a ring of skin and the central bone still with it, not a problem as the fish fell away from the bone and the skin peeled easily if you didn’t want to eat it - I did and it was delicious.
Arroz Con Bogabante (40.00 for two) - this was a seafood Paella with an added whole lobster. The rice was excellent and there was plenty of large mussels and large clams not the usual small tasteless ones that you normally get. There was also calamari and it was topped with a whole lobster halved with the appropriate implements for claw cracking. A very very nice paella probably one of the best we have eaten anywhere so far - expensive maybe but it did contain a whole lobster, to have just a mixed seafood paella would have been 26.00.
Too full for postres, drinks were beer at 3.00 per pint, water at 1.60 and bread for three at a total of 1.00 - coffees on the house.
Total cost for three people was 85.80 - again I thought this reasonable for what we had.
If you want a leisurely meal with a nice outlook give this place a whirl, you can spend a lot less and I am sure you will enjoy whatever you have - we will return.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Riad Cabrera (Fatimas) - Sierra Cabrera
Venue:- Riad Cabrera (Fatimas)
Cuisine:- Arabic & Mediterranean
Location:- Above Turre in the Sierra Cabrera
GPS 37.114011, -1.915135
Email :- riadcabrera@hotmail.com
Phone:- 950 092 042 or 617 854 183
Riad Cabrera more commonly known as Fatimas (Fatima Mouhib Housini) is a beautiful restaurant, definitely in the fine dining bracket. To get to it you either follow the signs out of Turre village (from Mojacar direction) to Pastores - a steep left turn before you reach the cemetery , Fatimas is about 5 km along a long winding road climbing into the Sierra - the road is good. If you pass the cemetery either turnaround or carry on to the main entrance to the Cabrera and then follow the arrows to Fatimas - slightly longer journey, road much rougher but very pretty - try going up one way and coming back the other. The restaurant is beautifully laid out in a very Arabic style with very neat white linen tablecloths and blue or white napkins, the seating is comfortable with the chairs also being covered in white - the interior is a delight to behold. The outside area consists of a large open terrace with lots of seating, the style is very Arabic with a nice fountain at the rear and many plants and trees, the place is beautifully lit at night.
The menu has lots of choice of fish, meat and vegetarian - Arabic or Mediterranean, you can also let Fatima devise a sampler menu for you - price according to choice. The prices/courses we tried are typical of the menu as a whole.
Fatima seated us at our table and handed us our napkins with a pair of tongs. The napkins were held by a delightful decorated swirl, the like of which I have not seen before. There was an ‘amuse bouche’ of hommous on Moroccan flat bread - very nice.
Starters - Salmorejo Gazpacho (6.00) - a tasty gazpacho with red pepper, green pepper and onion to add as required - a delicious soup described as beautiful - praise indeed from a person who has gazpacho at least three times a week! Rissotto con fungi (12.00) - excellent creamy rissotto with an assortment of fungi - very tasty. I opted for a Moroccan dish 3 x Brewatte (spelling?) baccalao - an Arabic samosa stuffed with cod and raisins - not as sweet as you might expect, and the pastry I have not seen before, a sort of a bubbly filo, crispy and delicious not brittle like filo - absolutely to die for, more please! But wait mains to follow. We believe all the rolls to be homemade (3.00) for 3 - an assortment of very delicious rolls.
Mains - Tagin de Ciervo (14.00) A venison tagine with carrot, guava, goji berries and pumpkin - a delicious concoction with a lovely ‘gravy’ which was mopped up with some of the bread rolls. The second main was lamb cous cous (12.00) - lamb, cous cous, pumpkin and loads of chick peas were the main ingredients - absolutely scrummy, the juices were superb - the last time anything like this was eaten was in Marrakesh years ago. Finally I had the Carre Cordero al Horno (15.00) - a large piece of boneless lamb served Arabic style with boiled new potatoes in a creamy vegetable mix and some mixed veggies (normally served with pumpkin but I do not like pumpkin). The lamb just fell away and was cooked beautifully, the potatoes mopped up the delicious gravy/sauce. A super choice I thought - I would have it again.
Desserts - Mixed Morrroqui (5.00) a selection of Moroccan desserts - similar to baklava - delicious and different. Tarta de pasas y miel (5.00) - Moroccan dessert, similar to bread pudding as we know it - a lovely taste, thoroughly enjoyed it. Now for my dessert - helado de queso (6.00) - blue cheese ice cream served with nuts and honey - vile you are thinking, Heston Blumenthal must have visited! But no, the blue cheese ice cream (Roquefort) with the honey and nuts were very very tasty, it was truly delicious - I would have it again and again.
Fatima looked after us to start then handed the reins to a very proficient waiter - 10/10.
To finish a couple of Marroqui mint teas at 2.00 a pop - if you don’t like it sweet then ’sin azucar, else it comes very sweet - very minty, very refreshing. We started with a couple of beers and an orange juice and a very fine bottle of Ribera wine at 29.00 - well it is a special place.
Total for the evening was 127.98 for three people - you could pay a lot less, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend the restaurant to anyone. Enjoy - we will be back.
Cuisine:- Arabic & Mediterranean
Location:- Above Turre in the Sierra Cabrera
GPS 37.114011, -1.915135
Email :- riadcabrera@hotmail.com
Phone:- 950 092 042 or 617 854 183
Riad Cabrera more commonly known as Fatimas (Fatima Mouhib Housini) is a beautiful restaurant, definitely in the fine dining bracket. To get to it you either follow the signs out of Turre village (from Mojacar direction) to Pastores - a steep left turn before you reach the cemetery , Fatimas is about 5 km along a long winding road climbing into the Sierra - the road is good. If you pass the cemetery either turnaround or carry on to the main entrance to the Cabrera and then follow the arrows to Fatimas - slightly longer journey, road much rougher but very pretty - try going up one way and coming back the other. The restaurant is beautifully laid out in a very Arabic style with very neat white linen tablecloths and blue or white napkins, the seating is comfortable with the chairs also being covered in white - the interior is a delight to behold. The outside area consists of a large open terrace with lots of seating, the style is very Arabic with a nice fountain at the rear and many plants and trees, the place is beautifully lit at night.
The menu has lots of choice of fish, meat and vegetarian - Arabic or Mediterranean, you can also let Fatima devise a sampler menu for you - price according to choice. The prices/courses we tried are typical of the menu as a whole.
Fatima seated us at our table and handed us our napkins with a pair of tongs. The napkins were held by a delightful decorated swirl, the like of which I have not seen before. There was an ‘amuse bouche’ of hommous on Moroccan flat bread - very nice.
Starters - Salmorejo Gazpacho (6.00) - a tasty gazpacho with red pepper, green pepper and onion to add as required - a delicious soup described as beautiful - praise indeed from a person who has gazpacho at least three times a week! Rissotto con fungi (12.00) - excellent creamy rissotto with an assortment of fungi - very tasty. I opted for a Moroccan dish 3 x Brewatte (spelling?) baccalao - an Arabic samosa stuffed with cod and raisins - not as sweet as you might expect, and the pastry I have not seen before, a sort of a bubbly filo, crispy and delicious not brittle like filo - absolutely to die for, more please! But wait mains to follow. We believe all the rolls to be homemade (3.00) for 3 - an assortment of very delicious rolls.
Mains - Tagin de Ciervo (14.00) A venison tagine with carrot, guava, goji berries and pumpkin - a delicious concoction with a lovely ‘gravy’ which was mopped up with some of the bread rolls. The second main was lamb cous cous (12.00) - lamb, cous cous, pumpkin and loads of chick peas were the main ingredients - absolutely scrummy, the juices were superb - the last time anything like this was eaten was in Marrakesh years ago. Finally I had the Carre Cordero al Horno (15.00) - a large piece of boneless lamb served Arabic style with boiled new potatoes in a creamy vegetable mix and some mixed veggies (normally served with pumpkin but I do not like pumpkin). The lamb just fell away and was cooked beautifully, the potatoes mopped up the delicious gravy/sauce. A super choice I thought - I would have it again.
Desserts - Mixed Morrroqui (5.00) a selection of Moroccan desserts - similar to baklava - delicious and different. Tarta de pasas y miel (5.00) - Moroccan dessert, similar to bread pudding as we know it - a lovely taste, thoroughly enjoyed it. Now for my dessert - helado de queso (6.00) - blue cheese ice cream served with nuts and honey - vile you are thinking, Heston Blumenthal must have visited! But no, the blue cheese ice cream (Roquefort) with the honey and nuts were very very tasty, it was truly delicious - I would have it again and again.
Fatima looked after us to start then handed the reins to a very proficient waiter - 10/10.
To finish a couple of Marroqui mint teas at 2.00 a pop - if you don’t like it sweet then ’sin azucar, else it comes very sweet - very minty, very refreshing. We started with a couple of beers and an orange juice and a very fine bottle of Ribera wine at 29.00 - well it is a special place.
Total for the evening was 127.98 for three people - you could pay a lot less, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend the restaurant to anyone. Enjoy - we will be back.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
La Gaviota retaurante and Pizzeria - Mojacar Playa
Venue:- La Gaviota Restaurante & Pizzeria
Location :- Mojacar Playa - opposite the stables - upstairs.
We have visited this restaurant in previous years and not a lot has changed, even has the same staff - as far as we can remember. The location is good, the restaurant open and airy and the seating is comfortable. There is a menu de la noche for 10 euros, a pizza menu where most are less than 10 euros and the a la carte with all the usual Italian suspects plus other Mediterranean choices - we opted for the a la carte.
Starters - Gambas Pil Pil times two (9.95 each) requested and served extra spicy - prawns fresh and peeled with a very hot garlic and chilli oil - no bread was forthcoming to mop up the resulting juices so some was requested and charged at 50 cents each - could have least thrown that in as the gambas was 9.95! The other starter was an ensalada Caprese (4.50) - basically tomato with two cheeses, one hard and one soft and crumbly - very nice, just right, not too filling.
Mains - Spaghetti Carbonara (6.75) - excellent, plenty of bacon pieces with a delicious creamy sauce.
Spaghetti with chilli and garlic (6.50) - simple, straightforward and very tasty.
Now I had Mero which translates as Grouper (14.00), the waiter assured me that this was what we call turbot so I had it. Now I am no expert but it didn’t taste like turbot to me, checked when I got home and found grouper and turbot to be completely different fish - whatever it was it was delicious and came with a creamy but not too rich prawn sauce with a few patatas fritas and some beans, carrots and cabbage - all gone!
Desserts - Ice cream - well ice cream is ice cream, it is what I wanted.
Profiteroles with ice cream - nice vanilla ice cream with two perfectly nice profiteroles either side.
Fresh fruit salad - kiwi, melon, orange and pineapple - very nice.
All came in at 3.75 a go.
We had a bottle of rather nice, rather pricey (for Spain) bottle of Cautivo Baroja Crianza for 15.00 euros - house wine was 6.50 a bottle.
Total bill for three people 89.20 euros - very good meal and we were happy with price, we will return. Three menu de la noche and a bottle of house would have set you back 36.50 by comparison.
Location :- Mojacar Playa - opposite the stables - upstairs.
We have visited this restaurant in previous years and not a lot has changed, even has the same staff - as far as we can remember. The location is good, the restaurant open and airy and the seating is comfortable. There is a menu de la noche for 10 euros, a pizza menu where most are less than 10 euros and the a la carte with all the usual Italian suspects plus other Mediterranean choices - we opted for the a la carte.
Starters - Gambas Pil Pil times two (9.95 each) requested and served extra spicy - prawns fresh and peeled with a very hot garlic and chilli oil - no bread was forthcoming to mop up the resulting juices so some was requested and charged at 50 cents each - could have least thrown that in as the gambas was 9.95! The other starter was an ensalada Caprese (4.50) - basically tomato with two cheeses, one hard and one soft and crumbly - very nice, just right, not too filling.
Mains - Spaghetti Carbonara (6.75) - excellent, plenty of bacon pieces with a delicious creamy sauce.
Spaghetti with chilli and garlic (6.50) - simple, straightforward and very tasty.
Now I had Mero which translates as Grouper (14.00), the waiter assured me that this was what we call turbot so I had it. Now I am no expert but it didn’t taste like turbot to me, checked when I got home and found grouper and turbot to be completely different fish - whatever it was it was delicious and came with a creamy but not too rich prawn sauce with a few patatas fritas and some beans, carrots and cabbage - all gone!
Desserts - Ice cream - well ice cream is ice cream, it is what I wanted.
Profiteroles with ice cream - nice vanilla ice cream with two perfectly nice profiteroles either side.
Fresh fruit salad - kiwi, melon, orange and pineapple - very nice.
All came in at 3.75 a go.
We had a bottle of rather nice, rather pricey (for Spain) bottle of Cautivo Baroja Crianza for 15.00 euros - house wine was 6.50 a bottle.
Total bill for three people 89.20 euros - very good meal and we were happy with price, we will return. Three menu de la noche and a bottle of house would have set you back 36.50 by comparison.
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