C/ 31 de Agosto / Abuztuaren 31-KO Kalea, 31
20003 San Sebastián, Spain
*Closed Mondays
We were looking forward to eating at A Fuego Negro after hearing all the rave reviews. It follows the trend of more modern and creative pintxos with a bit of molecular gastronomy thrown in. Unlike the other places we went to, the menu is available in English - YES! There is both a bar and a sit-down area in the back of the restaurant. If you want a more complete meal, you can opt for a table and try one of the available tapas tasting menus. As we had reservations to Arzak for dinner, we ordered a few things to share.
1. Marinated salmon, citrus and seeds - I had originally planned on ordering the duck-based Shaking Salad, as recommended by a friend but the waiter indicated this salad was his favorite so we followed his recommendation. Bad idea. There was nothing special about this dish that you can't find in LA - should have known better than to order salad in a tapas restaurant!
2. Salmon, idiazabal blue cheese, green apples- More salmon, you ask? I blame myself for this one. I didn't realize that by switching to the waiter's recommended salad that I would be getting another raw salmon dish. I wish he would have pointed that out. I didn't find this pairing to be synergistic- salmon and blue cheese, in my opinion, are not meant to be served together.
3. Foie Snack - Disappointing yet again. This time, it was the pairing of the foie with the jam (I believe it was apricot) that didn't shine. There was an unfamiliar flowery smell/flavor to the jam that did not compliment the foie.
4. Iberian Ham - Sigh, if only all our dishes were as tasty as this one! My favorite part was their deconstruction of the standard pan con tomate or bread with tomato. Pan con tomate is simply toasted bread rubbed with a fresh tomato and drizzled with olive oil. This version had the tomato converted into a puree (imagine gazepacho consistency) that was super flavorful and paired nicely with the crunchy bread and rich, salty flavors of the ham.
Our dining experience at A Fuego Negro was simply a bad case of ordering the wrong things. I was expecting everything to come in small, petite pieces but the ham and the foie were large platters and each could have been shared between 4-5 people. I would still recommend this place to anyone wanting to experience the more trendy and creative tapas scene. I suggest snagging one of the tables and doing the tapas tasting, to get a fuller experience of everything A Fuego Negro has to offer. You know that's what we will be doing next time!
20003 San Sebastián, Spain
*Closed Mondays
We were looking forward to eating at A Fuego Negro after hearing all the rave reviews. It follows the trend of more modern and creative pintxos with a bit of molecular gastronomy thrown in. Unlike the other places we went to, the menu is available in English - YES! There is both a bar and a sit-down area in the back of the restaurant. If you want a more complete meal, you can opt for a table and try one of the available tapas tasting menus. As we had reservations to Arzak for dinner, we ordered a few things to share.
1. Marinated salmon, citrus and seeds - I had originally planned on ordering the duck-based Shaking Salad, as recommended by a friend but the waiter indicated this salad was his favorite so we followed his recommendation. Bad idea. There was nothing special about this dish that you can't find in LA - should have known better than to order salad in a tapas restaurant!
2. Salmon, idiazabal blue cheese, green apples- More salmon, you ask? I blame myself for this one. I didn't realize that by switching to the waiter's recommended salad that I would be getting another raw salmon dish. I wish he would have pointed that out. I didn't find this pairing to be synergistic- salmon and blue cheese, in my opinion, are not meant to be served together.
3. Foie Snack - Disappointing yet again. This time, it was the pairing of the foie with the jam (I believe it was apricot) that didn't shine. There was an unfamiliar flowery smell/flavor to the jam that did not compliment the foie.
4. Iberian Ham - Sigh, if only all our dishes were as tasty as this one! My favorite part was their deconstruction of the standard pan con tomate or bread with tomato. Pan con tomate is simply toasted bread rubbed with a fresh tomato and drizzled with olive oil. This version had the tomato converted into a puree (imagine gazepacho consistency) that was super flavorful and paired nicely with the crunchy bread and rich, salty flavors of the ham.
Our dining experience at A Fuego Negro was simply a bad case of ordering the wrong things. I was expecting everything to come in small, petite pieces but the ham and the foie were large platters and each could have been shared between 4-5 people. I would still recommend this place to anyone wanting to experience the more trendy and creative tapas scene. I suggest snagging one of the tables and doing the tapas tasting, to get a fuller experience of everything A Fuego Negro has to offer. You know that's what we will be doing next time!
Hi
ReplyDeleteMy take is different...
3. the Foie Gras snack has a home made pumpkin and vanilla bean marmalade... the texture and taste to me was delicious and the creme brulee top to the foie gras was to die for. Combined with the fruit and nut bread was a winning combination
Different tastes.