Unsurprisingly, I never made it to any of the processions; I just did not want to undertake anything ambitious (for me) on the night before I was leaving Spain. But have booked for next year and will be in Andalusia during the entire Semana Santa.
I had two lunches at ANTONIO RESTAURANTE, facing the beach outside the town of Zahara de los Atunes. My first lunch, on the Thursday that the restaurant opened for the season, was excellent and the place was about half filled. I returned for lunch on Saturday when there was a full house and a sharp slowdown in speed of service. Waiters here are efficient, kind and professional, but they attend to many tables; that’s the downside of dining during a busy holiday weekend.
My two lunches there were, by far, the most expensive of my trip (about 140 euro and 160 euro each) but no one could ever doubt the quality of the seafood on offer here; like ASADOR D’BERTO in O’Grove (Galicia), ANTONIO seems to source the largest specimens of shellfish (lobster, carabineros) and the kitchen nails the preparation, every single time.
Here are dishes from both lunches:
Extra gift from kitchen to atone for slow service, although I had said nothing; delicious smoked salmon:
I thought this was butter mixed with jamon; it was paté, spread on turmeric infused bread:
I don’t think I’ve ever dined here, or at EL CAMPERO, without starting with sashimi of ventresca (belly of the blue-fin tuna;). this is a full order (36 euro)
Pair of hefty carabineros:
“Chupito” of crema de Orujo, a brandy made from pomace, which is made from the residue left from pressing grapes, with cream added; local to Galicia but a popular digestif throughout much of the country.
Amuse; tasty bite of “fried tuna”
Bogavante (type of lobster,) served at my table and brought back after claws were cracked in the kitchen; look at all that delicious roe and tomalley…! The creature did not look all that large, but I could not finish the .77 kilo.
When I entered the restaurant, my eyes popped out of my head when I spied a towering pile of sea urchins on one diner’s plate; sadly, this person consumed the restaurant’s entire supply of erizos and left not one tiny bite for yours truly! Erizos appear at ANTONIO only “de vez en cuando,” according to my waiter, but I have high hopes for eating my share next year, either here or in Cadiz where an “Erizado,” sea urchin festival, unfolds annually in late January or February. I’m hoping they may also available into the subsequent months and hope to scope out where I can find these. On this trip, I had some in Barcelona, at ULTRAMARINOS MARIN and at PUR. (I highly recommend both restaurants and wrote comments on another thread)
My bill for my bogavante lunch; highest total of the entire trip:
