A very mixed review of Taberna Alabardero (new to us) restaurant. The courses shown in the reverse order in the photos also reflect the best to the worst of the dishes.
We were concerned when we sat down and were told they had no mussels, no oysters, and no lobster. In the opening moments they had decimated their own a la carte menu. (We opted for the tasting menu thinking "let's taste what they have featured and call it a night.")
They didn't have the wine we ordered and offered a sparkling wine from Sevilla that was minimally drinkable.
Despite this supposedly being an upscale restaurant there were only small paper napkins instead of linens. However the service was attentive and friendly and aimed to please.
The starter on the tasting menu was an oyster dish. (Not sure why you'd feature a dish you don't have the ingredients to make....but I am not a chef) We had a substitute dish of a tasty sardine overwhelmed by the red pepper confit (piperade?) on the toast. The poor sardine was lost on the overall dish.
But just when we were ready to give up on the meal, it was like we were sucked into an alternative universe of fine dining.
Each successive course was an improvement over the last. With cured salmon, a tasty tuna tartare, beautifully prepared Corvina and the suckling pig all being well presented, well seasoned and well cooked (when appropriate). And the meal ended with a terrific dessert course that was in essence a deconstructed tiramisu.
So not only did the meal become a tale of redemption. It got even better when the bill came and the tasting menus (we hadn't asked the price) turned out to be 38.5€ ($42!!!!) each.
As mentioned the servers were all very accommodating and welcoming so we were feeling badly for them as they listed all the things they didn't have and then came back with a report that the wine we wanted wasn't available either.... But in the end we left happy overall with the food and very happy with the tasting menu option!
So while we won't be back next week we will definitely give this place another chance. Great potential..
We went back to Desacato tonight for a second try. Had dinner, some repeated courses and some new ones. Winners tonight - salmon bombóns, tuna tartare toasta, bruleed foie gras, the fabulous carpaccio de solomillo de ternera. Not going on my repeat list the entrecot nor the tuna belly. The mussels almost missed their moment in photographic glory but I caught the last part of the dish before they were gone. Still a winner!
We wanted to like Despensa, but sadly it was a fail on so many levels. It took a half hour to place a drink order. The service was spotty, only one server of three seemed to have a clue about the job they were supposed to do. The mussels and red tuna tiradito were excellent but the rest of the meal didn't get to the same quality. So - no we won't return to this place despite it being less than a five minute walk from our new home.
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