En la Parra — Restaurant in Salamanca

As a chef of 15+ years I’m confused how this place has a star. My wife and I have dined at over 50 Michelin restaurants worldwide and have never experienced so much confusion in one meal. To start their online booking is extremely confusing so before booking I stopped by the restaurant to ask if they have any availabilities. The lady at the front told me: no, so I ask when is the next availability. There is a bit of odd language barrier which is odd since this is a Michelin star establishment and I do understand Spanish…but I was led to believe there is no openings for dinner either. My wife really wanted to try the local cuisine at its finest so we booked online and of course a table magically appears. This happens at a lot at lesser establishments so I’ll let this slide. Mealtime comes and we were greeted warmly by a different FoH employee and seated. The waitstaff was even nice enough to bring a cushion for my son without asking to make it more comfortable. The dining room was well organized with 5 tables in the main dining area and a few others in a more private space. They’re very proud of their star as you will see the Michelin man as a centerpiece in the room. From here it got very awkward. The lady that turned me away happened to be our waitstaff for the meal. She said this is the menu, pointing at 15 course tasting card on the table. I asked her if the 20 course tasting is available and she said it is not available for lunch. She then also says some weird thing about how they always save 2 tables for online booking. I didn’t ask nor care. Her mentioning it just made it awkward. She doesn’t bring a wine list or ask us what we want to drink so I had to ask her if they have a wine list. A stupid question as the room is surrounded by bottles. She brings an iPad and leaves. The wine list is “ok.” Industry avg of 3-5x markup and mostly under $100. They do have wines from outside the region but nothing worth ordering. For example for Alsace they have Trimbach Reisling and Pinot Gris for about $50-60. The only wine by the glass is fortified and sparkling which means 2 things. We order a bottle of a local white by producer and it was aromatic showing proper storage. It seems to be a small restaurant so I wasn’t surprised they didn’t have a sommelier until…other tables came in and the sommelier serviced them 😂. The meal was uninspiring and lacked substance. It is clear food margin is the number one concern. The BoH doesn’t have a strong ability to control salt and acidity as many of the dishes were bland and one dimensional. The highlights of the meal were the roasted Iberian pig with crisped skin and a mayonnaise of shrimp brain that served as sauce for one of the dishes. I’m writing this review a day after the meal and I honestly am having trouble recalling what I ate. The service at the table was fair. The server wasn’t friendly and probably felt awkward to be serving us after she turned us away (we honestly didn’t care and always smile to her). In industry terms: the staff had good service and poor hospitality. I would recommend this restaurant for someone visiting Salamanca that really wants a fine dining experience since the price was extremely fair. Everything considered I did not have a poor experience and felt it is a decent value proposition. I wouldn’t come here for a gastronomical experience or a Michelin level service. Also if you are older and European looking you might get a better experience including having the sommelier servicing you 😂. Come here if you want to pretend to be dining in a Michelin star establishment while paying about 60% of the avg for a 1 star and getting about 60% of the experience. Dress up as you will be...

I’ll give 5 stars for the potential but 2 stars for today. I’ll explain it below:

This restaurant is located in Salamanca. That means it’s situated in a "non-hub" location. That, per se, exemplifies effort and ambition, seen both in the venue's aesthetic and the quality of the ingredients. This speaks volumes about the potential on the horizon.

And let's give applause to the female chef steering the ship in an industry that's not exactly known for its gender equality. Kudos to her for breaking through, persevering, and leading the way!

So, I opted for their extensive Pizarra menu to fully immerse myself in Chef Rocio's vision.

The price is quite fair, so I can only guess that people who complained about it aren’t really used to eating course menus or often eat fine dining.

1-My Highlights: The croquetas are delivered with a satisfying crunch and rich liquid interior, a real crowd-pleaser. I could live in these croquetas!

The sandwich featuring Iberico and caviar? Pure luxe and a symphony in my mouth. The mejillón dish was a curiosity that paid off, and the mantequilla sobrasada was a pleasant curveball. The salad was what I expected in such a restaurant, audacious!

Though these ingredients may not be everyone's cup of tea (myself included), the skill in their preparation won me over, and that’s why I hugely praise them.

Sweets: The desserts ended the meal on a high note. I loved every single one of them personally and bite-wise. A quick heads up: the chocolate creation might overwhelm those not in the sugar fan club. There wasn’t any alternative on the dish to balance it.

3 - I don’t drink much, so the referred drink selection for my 2 cups of alcohol was well-tuned. Thanks to the staff for choosing them for me.

4- Now, the real thing. The Letdowns: The rest of the dishes lacked the spark I was hoping for. It failed to insert itself and /or reach the crescendo promised by the menu. The term that springs to mind is 'blunt.' Even the ravioli, generally a failsafe, was missing that oomph. I was pretty sad at that point. I was like, “Oh my god, even the ravioli is blunt.”

Regrettably, I can only say that most dishes missed the punch, a taste adventure, and worse of all… it missed… taste. It’s terrible to say that, but most of them were tasteless.

In summary, the experience was a bit of a rollercoaster. I soared, I dipped, but I'm optimistic about where we'll end up.

Chef Rocio, you've got the talent, and better, you've got the staff - which I know is hard to train. Just ensure the rest of the menu lives up to its promising start. It’s as if you were afraid to dare / A constipated potential (funny to say, but it feels like that 🫠).

Go and explode our tongues! Make people happy, angry, and confused when eating your dishes. Make people feel and scream “WOW”. You have everything for that!

I'll certainly be back to see how the story unfolds. Good luck and success! 👍⭐️

An update before I forget: Your colleague who presented the mantequilla is a gem you'll want to hang onto. He brings a level of enthusiasm and flair that could elevate your already solid service. His vibe is infectious; he's the kind of energy everyone wants to be around when dining out. In just a few words, he gave all the essential info needed to fully enjoy and discover what you wanted to present . This guy is a keeper; he knows how to make an experience memorable. Reward and look after him, because he's a real asset to...

First of all, I really wanted to give 5 stars but if I'm reviewing a place depending on their credentials, this place actually deserves 3 even though we had a lovely evening. If it wasn't a Michelin restaurant, I would ignore a lot and would give a better review. Also Spanish is not my native, if I misunderstood anything, feel free to correct me. I chose this restaurant to enjoy with my 9-year old son as En La Parra has menu infantil. My son decided to go for Granito menu. He enjoyed this experience thoroughly. The starters have a flow and everything was distinct yet balanced. The bread is bought from another bakery, which is a big NO for me at a Michelin restaurant. It was good, the problem is not that. Once Parte del Todo started, I felt like the coherence slipped and plates became very generic. The taste was very good but it was missing that Wow factor. Desserts were good also but apart from the bombon and piñon, I don't remember the taste of the others. I will definitely try to recreate the piñon.

Service was very good, it was my son's second experience in a Michelin guide restaurant and first proper Michelin star meal. The staff made us feel very comfortable. It was overall a...