¡¡Menú del día!!

"Menú del día", or menu of the day, was one thing dating back to the early 1960's in Spain which still exists today. It was introduced to enable the working man to have a 3 course meal at lunchtime at a reasonable price. However, they do vary and usually consist of soup, salad or a pasta dish followed by lamb or pork chops, chicken or fish and finished off with a flan or tart. Wine, water and bread are included and the cost varies from around 8€ to 18€. The menu improves over the weekend but then the cost escalates.

Today we visited l'Antic Moli, the Old Mill, restaurant situated just outside the village of El Castell on the road to La Senia on the borders of Catalunya and Valencia.

It was a smart restaurant and very well appointed where the food was well above the normal standard you would expect. First on the table were the aperitifs which can be seen in the photo above and above that with Margaret and her salad containing fruit, smoked salmon and mozzarella cheese shown in more detail in the photo below. Also in the top photo is my starter which was morcilla, Spanish black pudding, with piñones, pine nuts, topped with a fried egg on a bed of puff pastry - not the sort of thing you would expect for a menú del día!

The wine was a Terra Alta, the local wine region which we pass through on the way back to Torre del Compte, from a village called Bot. Margaret had a bottle of water as she was driving.

For segundos, jamon de Mallorca, which was basically a pork shoulder cooked in the oven with a lovely sauce.

For Margaret, chicken breasts stuffed with bacon and pineapple in a delicious sauce. The photo below does not do it justice.

For postre, dessert, chocolate mouse with chocolate sauce on puff pastry for me...

...and for Margaret, coconut ice cream with cranberry mousse.

And the price of this? 

Just 12€ each!!

l'Antic Moli is highly recommended.