Here are the comments and photos from my late lunch at SALA DE DESPIECE in March 2023. Two of the dishes overlapped: Their famous “Rolex” and the artichoke, but I was less wowed by both of these on the second go round. My partner, as mentioned, did not like the Rolex. This is still a fun restaurant, maybe for your diners with a moderate budget and a hankering for someplace “cool.” The waiter said they now call it “international creative.” I did not hear English spoken by any diners, but there were other Europeans lined up with us along the bar, and we sat next to a couple of guys from Murcia (:our city is the one part of Spain you should never visit!!" So much for hometown pride!!"
The disappointment began early, with the presentation of the
beignet" amuse, sprinkled with powdered chipotle. Fried dough with no taste; Before tasting I thought they were onion rings and I wish they had been! Or at least a dip should have been presented.
Their famous artichoke, which I was instructed to eat in one bite, was good. A baby artichoke is crisply fried and studded with dots of guacamole spiked with a splash of lime. Good farmed caviar (RioFrio???) nestled at the top. It’s a gorgeous dish but the surprise was long gone. Tasty, however.
The “Rolex” arrived next…a pounded thin scarf of raw pancetta softened with a blowtorch (you will see this gadget used over and over during the course of your meal here). A golden orb of yolk cooked for two hours until it becomes jammy perfection, sits in a disc of foie topped with a mash of truffle and mushroom (I think they like to throw around the t-word cause I detected no taste or aroma of the black tuber. Then the pancetta is rolled up, sliced into two portions, and blowtorched again for you to pop into your mouth. I thought it was pretty good but partner did not…I’ll post the complete dish when I can.
It’s fun to watch the cooks at work in front of you at the counter, blowtorches in hand, and most of the staff is incredibly friendly although very rushed. Unfortunately we were attended to by probably the least friendly staff member in the place. No smile, no effort at chatting…so sprit of the place could be detected and despite my negative comments, the place does have spirit.
I’mm still waiting for our last two dish (the disappointing razor clams and a more disappointing connection of Cecina and sausage curled into thinly fried potto cups ) to load up, so now I’ll put up a photo of the 14 euro tomato with basil…I guess it was par boiled before peeling. It was on an adjacent plate so I did not get to sample.
