After a post Segovia shower, change of clothing and drink at the hotel bar, we headed to Zazu Bistro for dinner on our final night. Zazu has always stuck in my head as a one of my first memories of Salamanca long before I moved there; as it was the restaurant I chose for dinner after signing the lease for our apartment. I remember a girl from Glasgow waitressing. She spoke Spanish so perfectly and served everyone with confidence and ease. She was only there for the year on erasmus, so I was quite inspired to make sure I came back to Ireland at that level of fluency. Wherever that girl is now, I hope she’s still got it!
At the time, Zazu was more of a destination for pasta and pizza but they changed the menu a bit, getting rid of pizza entirely, keeping risotto instead! Maybe this is why they aren’t number one on Tripadvisor for Salamanca anymore.
We ate very late by Irish time, boarding on late for the Spanish considering it was about 11.30pm. We choose Zazu as it’s one of Salamanca’s more consistent restaurants for their hours and menu. Sometimes you want a starter, main course and even dessert. Nothing complicated, just something to sort out your hunger after a long day.
The new menu offers a lot of variety. We started with chicken skewers, teriyaki sauce and chives…
..0x carpaccio with olive oil and parmesan,
French cheeses with pesto toast and jam. This was my starter. Sorry it’s out of focus, I was probably quivering with excitement because it was amazing. It was ridiculously filling mind you, it would have been enough on its own…but I’m, eh…still learning that lesson in life*.
*Lesson never learned. I will always order too much.
The wine was well priced, as it always is in Spain. They didn’t have the original Ribera del Duero we chose but the very friendly Argentinian guy who was looking after us suggested C21. It turned out we had it in a different restaurant earlier during the week so it worked out well. Hooray hooray!
Yes, that’s a burger. In fact, my sister and I both ordered burgers. Sometimes you don’t want fancy, you just want burgers! In fairness, they were really good – veal burgers with cheddar, dijon mustard, shallots and Dauphinoise potatoes.
This dish (unlike ours) was very traditionally Spanish, and a thing of beauty. Iberian pork ribs so dark that my camera had issues photographing them.
We were the last to leave but our Argentinian friend didn’t mind, offering us coffee and limoncello.
Zazu Bistro is located in the very beautiful and serene Plaza de la Libertad. You’ll be among the cyprus trees and the babble of fountains. Accordion players frequent the area…its such a lovely area of the city. There’s also an excellent bar right across from the restaurant called Hernandez y Fernandez if you’re too full to wander too far afterward.
For the website, click here.
Click here for the Zazu Bistro menu.
Other restaurants in Salamanca offering the same type of dining experience, if you feel like a bit more than tapas or have a group of late night visitors:
La Tagliatella, 48-50 Calle Compañía.
El Pecado, 12 Plaza de Poeta Iglesias.
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