If you ever find yourself strolling the streets of the very beautiful and historic Salamanca, you will probably come across El Pecado. In fact, if Salamanca is on the cards..promise me you’ll stop by this place. You won’t regret it!
Close to the busy Rua Mayor and a stone’s throw from the Plaza Mayor, ‘El Pecado’, meaning ‘sin’ is blue on the outside, while the inside is small, relaxed and very modern with zebra striping and hot pink walls. After reading that Natalie Portman, Ferrán Adriá and Pedro Almodóvar have all eaten at El Pecado I can see why – The food is fantastic. The wine list is great and prices aren’t ridiculous (€40 for a good bottle of wine, Dublin?!) and I felt instantly relaxed..I would have happily sat there all night.
Since it’s small and quite intimate, most tables are for two or four. The staff however will happily arrange a table for more if necessary. They’re a nice and smiley professional bunch indeed.
The guy in the background of this picture was most definitely on a date!
Now..on to the food. The starters definitely steal the show.
The Vampirización de Langostinos a l’ast en su versión mexicana y alioli was full of flavour and well presented. It was essentially lightly spiced shrimp in light breadcrumbs and each shot glass contained what seemed like chilli infused soy sauce. The middle shot glass had a garlic dressing in the middle.
Carpaccio de Buey con polvo de queso y nachos. Ox carpaccio with cheese and nachos. Sounds strange but it was interesting and melt in the mouth. The most perfect carpaccio I have tried so far, as past carpaccios go.
Niall started with the Patatas meneás con brochetas de Morcilla y Farinato. This dish was potato pudding and Spanish black pudding (morcilla). It seemed more like a cozy winter food for me. Very heavy and a little sweet but very good. Niall likes the combination of savoury and sweet so this suits those kinds of tastes well. He was however incredibly full afterward, which worked out well for me.
Huevos Poché con Foie sobre Patatas a la emulsión de Brie – Poached eggs with foie gras and a brie and potato cake. I’m sorry to say I didn’t actually try this. However it sounds wonderful, looks beautiful and so, so many people ordered it. In a restaurant with that little seating, I could afford to be nosy!
Chuletillas de Cordero lechal con timbal de Jamón y queso- Lamb chops with ham and cheese. The meat really fell off the bone and was cooked to perfection. Again, El Pecado really know how to make simple ingredients work together.
Bacalao fresco encebollado a la miel con ensalada verde – Fresh cod with a honey and onion sauce and salad. Although I’m not a lover of sweet and savoury as I mentioned, the sauce was great. The onion balanced the sweetness.
Solomillo de Ternera con Boletus Edulis y Patatas fritas – Veal fillet with mushroom and chips. Delicious and tender. The maldon salt flakes brought out the flavour even more so. I didn’t like the Boletus Edulis, for me, as I dislike the texture and the scent is a little overwhelming.
Pizza-crêpe Margarita “Frutti di Mare” con Vieiras al aroma de Tartufo – Margarita crêpe with prawns and scallops. It wasn’t much to look at, but this pizza-crêpe was incredibly light, which meant I could enjoy all the flavours without becoming too full. These dishes are just some of the meat, fish, pasta and rice dishes available.
El Pecado also offer a small selection of desserts. I tried the chocolate coulant, however it was my only disappointment. It wasn’t well presented and it was essentially a 5 minute mug cake, a recipe that has been floating around online for some time now.
El Pecado prices for starters range between €10-€18 and main courses from €16-€24.
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