Restaurante La Cuchara de San Lorenzo — Restaurant in Córdoba

We came across this restaurant by accident when planning a day trip to Cordoba and it did not disappoint.

We have family in Malaga, so have been visiting the area for years and I can honestly say this restaurant is up there with the best of them and at very reasonable prices for the quality of the produce and the elevation of local dishes into haute cuisine, whilst staying true to their original roots.

The room is beautiful and the attention to detail for every little thing on the table is a joy to behold. It is all there for a reason, but also very visually pleasing.

It is a small space, but the tables are not crowded together. You can happily dine without interruption from the other diners, but during our visit we had social locals on each side of us, which made for a very enjoyable experience.

The service is excellent, very professional, but warm and friendly. A difficult mix to get right, but they do.

The restaurant is also in a lovely spot, quiet with an amazing church dating back to 1625(ish) across the road. San Lorenzo is a suburb of Cordoba and this little corner of it has a laid back vibe and is a short 10 min taxi ride from the historical centre.

Well worth getting out of the hustle and bustle of the centre, once you have...

Despite all the good reviews, we were not impressed with food, menu or service. Sent up some stairs to meet another waitress who just pointed us to the table with no word on the menu. Menu is QR code & wine separate QR code which is a negative for me and covered with centerpiece and place setting which we found after waiting for the menu. Menu explained the dishes with minimum information from how it was prepared to what it came with and our waitress was of no help as she too, was brief. When ordering we asked if 2 main meals with the soup & salad would be too much as we were not that hungry and she said no, that 2 additional dinners wasn't going too be much. The almond soup was large, thick & very filling and not that good either. Hot goat cheese salad was good. The cod fish was salty and pasta or gnocchi was awful. The oxtail wasn't anything special either. Way too much food too which 1 main dish would have been sufficient. Both of us didn't even finish half our meals. Our waitress could care less. Thought much more for a Michelin star restaurant, which we didn't see the sign anywhere. Maybe it's been taken away? Plainly just...

This spot is FABULOUS! Every part of the experience was curated to perfection. From the welcome glass of white wine when we hit the table, to cleaning up the breadcrumbs halfway through our dinner, all the way to the incredible creme brûlée I have nothing but great things to say about this spot.

A bit more of our dining experience can be found below:

Sardines - great app, served on toast, fresh, not overly salty Steak Tartar -DID NOT SKIMP OUT ON THE STEAK, again super fresh, not gamey and not overly salty. Best I've had every! Risotto - beautifully plated and filling, really amazing flavours, rich and creamy, but not too much that I didn't want to eat it anymore. Creme brûlée - this was the best creme brûlée I've ever had! it was nothing like I've had before. the filling was cold and more on the liquidy side, still rich and creamy, the crack of the sugar on top was fantastic and even that was topped with POP ROCKs. Amazing textures, really took me on a sweet journey.

The service was great, the staff was friendly and attentive, very kind not pushy. We sat outside on the patio and it was a lovely vibe - would...