Restaurante El Monje — Restaurant in Salamanca

My wife and I made reservations two weeks prior with the highest expectations. The venue is absolutely gorgeous throughout. The interior is to die for. We were seated at the only table in use inside. The restaurant was virtually empty, so don't bother making reservations during a weeknight. The meal started off great with two different compound butters and two tiny pieces of stale bread. The fresh bread arrived soon after. I ordered the crayfish croquettes which were absolutely fantastic. My wife ordered the Salmorejo, also fantastic. The main courses arrived. I ordered a sirloin steak, my wife ordered the duck. My steak was tasty, albeit very small, probably around 100-150 grams. I asked for it to be cooked medium, it was a little underdone, and not evenly cooked. The duck was not edible. My wife could not cut it with the knife provided, and we sent it back. We should have cut our losses, but she ordered the €24 potato salad, yes, you read that correctly, €24 for potato salad, again a mistake. The salad lacked character and was overloaded with mayonnaise. The bill came to a total if over $100 US. There are so many great places to eat in Salamanca. Try your luck elsewhere and eat at a busy restaurant. Aside from the beautiful location Restaurant El Monje was 100% underwhelming and a complete waste of time and money. I'm so thankful that I didn't order wine. I'm sure you can see the interior without dropping 100 bucks, and I am concerned about the honestly of the good reviews that have...

The quad is beautifully set up for dinner, just ten covers for the Maître D’ and his assistant to cope with, which they do with perfection. We start with some clarification, as there’s a starter called marinated prey, obviously I need to know what prey, however this turn out to be carpaccio, so I’m “game” for that anyway! Hubby has lobster pasta for his. They are both delicious, the pasta naturally sweet from caramelised roasted garlic yummy

Moving on, hubby’s lamb is billed as “suckling” a term used for young pork, but I can tell it’s just belly, or breast as this cut gets called when used in lamb, it’s excellent, once the excess fat is discarded. Meanwhile I’m on vermin - not exactly, but my pigeon is fabulous, two almost raw (as they should be) breasts, two legs and, the unusual bit, two wings. Normally I’m not a wing-man, but the bicep part (if it were human) is slightly crispy and really tasty. Served on risotto flavoured with cocoa it’s an excellent dish too.

We’re on a localish wine, the Md’ beamed when I choose this, indeed it’s so good an extra half is required, which being a different vintage provides a great vertical tasting experience,

Puddings were equally incredible, hubby’s chocolate forest - pink (this new natural pink chocolate, also found as a treat in our room) sponge plus a white chocolate ganache. Mine, foam and soap was the translation but I think soap and suds sounds better, was really a fabulous tiramisu!

(This is an excerpt from my blog, so a bit more chatty...

One of the best places to dine in Salamanca. The restaurant is not only gorgeous, but the service is great and the atmosphere just invites you to enjoy your meal and drinks. One of the things I like the most! It’s PET friendly, and if you’re like me and like to take your little fur baby everywhere, you know not all restaurants are. We had croquetas de jamón caseras( homemade style jam croquettes) and cachopo (better to google it instead of me failing miserably at trying to translate the name), and everything was delicious! If you’re ever in Salamanca, I recommend you go, either for tapas...