ANDALUCÍA - JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA - RESTAURANTE LA CARBONÁ

LA CARBONÁ

This spacious and elegant dining room is in what was once an Antiguo Casco de bodega (sherry winery/cellar). It was transformed into a fabulous Restaurant showcasing the local food of Jerez de la Frontera and the rest of Spain and the local sherry wines.

In this old bodega, light penetrates the room through the Spartans that cover the windows, letting in the Jerezana breeze, especially on warm days, maintaining the optimum temperature of their wines.

The room is on the original floor, where the sherry foremen once tasted the sherry wines of Jerez under a large wooden beam roof. A circular fireplace presides over the centre of La Carboná, giving the Restaurant a warm and cosy atmosphere.

There are two tasting menus at €60 and €85

Two of us had the tasting menu/sherry pairing

Two of us had from the a la carte menu

The superb Sherry pairing menu / menú maridaje con vinos de Jerez Carboná in Jerez went as follows

Salmon tartare with avocado, marinated with dill and beetroot - Paired with Valdespino Inocente Fino.

Risotto of wild mushrooms and squid in sherry and parmesan - Paired with Lustau Almacenista Amontillado

Fresh fish of the day, vegetable wok, cream of peanut, and Fino sherry - Paired with Valdespino Palo Cortado Viejo C.P

Loin of Cantabrian Pinta Beef, P.X. mole sauce, potatoes, and vegetables - Paired with Álvaro Domecq Oloroso Alburejo

Cheese ice cream, red fruit coulis, and crunchy Fino coral - Paired with Bodegas Barón Pino Viejo Medium.

All for €45 per person. Superb.

The main course included There is a good array of fish, including a local fish called urta, sea bass, and cod. For carnivores, there's baby lamb from Castilla or pig's trotters stuffed with liver and wild mushrooms.

Off the a la carte menu, we had

Jamón Ibérico de Bellota de la Alberca de Salamanca