If we awarded a “best cuisine of the trip” prize, Rincon del Arroz would probably have clinched it – again. It never fails to please. It’s a nice space, with an interesting non-touristy menu and great service in that semi-formal style at which the Spaniards can excel. It attracts many locals as customers, as well as a few tourists like us.
We both ordered scallop starters. One plate had six scallops coated in the lightest of tempura batters and then deep fried. Real skill in the kitchen here, with the batter perfectly cooked to crisp and the scallop just barely cooked so still a little translucent in the centre. Served separately was an intense seafood sauce, based on prawns. It was just fab.
The other plate was a single scallop, presented on the shell. It had been very thinly sliced and covered in a cava sauce, then finished under the grill. At a guess, the time under the grill was the only cooking of the scallop but no more was needed.
As suggested by the restaurant name, they major on rice dishes, of which there must be around fifteen. Unfortunately, we were only given an English translation of the menu so were not sure what several of the dishes actually were (must remember to ask for a menu in Castilian next time). That said, our default order here is paella and we picked the seafood one. It’s a large portion – enough for “seconds”. The rice is excellent, although there was none of that delicious crusty bit you often get at the bottom of a paella pan. There’s white fish and squid stirred through and, on top of the rice, mussels, clams, shell-on prawns and a couple of langoustine. Perhaps needless to say, I did have “seconds”, but couldn’t finish it.
To full for dessert, we just had café solo.
