With several awards and a Michelin recognition in 2012, Casa Paca is a restaurant you want to try when visiting Salamanca. Located on the main place, the restaurant serves a hungry clientele of locals and tourists alike. The only problem you will face is finding a place to park in this touristic city. An hour after arriving, I found a spot at the city hospital and walked down to enjoy lunch. I was excited to try as many choices as I could in this varied and sumptuous menu.
I loved the choices, the anchovies, asparagus, duck, beef carpaccio, Iberian hams, cured Iberian hams, prawns and seafood, beef chops, roasted young goat, suckling pig, a diverse choice of salads and fish. I was excited to eat especially the porc and stroganoff.
Back to the place, a huge restaurant with several rooms of which a balcony, two private rooms below ground, a dining space under the road, a bar with a quick eatery and the main dining room. The old restaurant preserving the traditional culinary know-how of Salamanca for more than a century showcases the decor, stones, and chandeliers from that age. The waiters seem to be here for a long time passing the traditional from a generation to the next.
A wine you should try: selection Special, Muga 2011, Rioja. A smooth wine with aromatic notes of wood and the light finish of excitement bringing up flavors of the forest on the palate.
A large white porcelain plate, silverware, crystal wine glasses, and an ironed tablecloth; the restaurant oozes fine-dining standards.
Start with the salads: a salad of avocado, grilled pines and toasted croutons mixed with small greens. Quarters of oranges add the needed sweetness and freshness. The shrimp salad, balsamic and strawberries had a certain uniqueness to it, a certain amount of love felt in every bite.
Iberico ham croquettes are a Spanish delicacy: balls of potato purée mixed with bits off Iberico ham, battered and fried. Fire-grilled tender asparagus with a tartar sauce mixed with diced pickles. Thinly sliced ham, probably the best I’ve had, different from any ham you can have at your local supermarket. Fatty, tender, moist and oily ham with strong flavors.
Overcooked capsicum prepared in sheets and wrapped around pulled bulls tail and bathing in a red sauce drizzled with olive oil. Very refined and amazingly delicious, this preparation is unchanged unconventional and so good which makes it memorable. I loved the texture of the capsicum and the tenderness of the meat with the creaminess of the sauce making this preparation perfect.
And then arrived the WAW effect; a piglet fried to perfection and served with a side of thinly sliced potatoes. I got the back of the piglet, my mum the cheek and both were exceptionally delicious. The most tender meet I’ve seen, white like milk, juicy like a sponge loaded with water and extremity tasty. The skin is even better, fried; it crunches like chips. A load of fat but who cares, this plate is outstandingly delicious.
Bravo, bravo, bravo... you made my day!
