El Cirkulo

In our quest for something that Dino and Lola will eat, we suddenly ended up at El Cirkulo. It was Dino and Jenny's anniversary and we suggested someplace special but they were being a bid modest and didn't want to go anywhere special. Of course, this place is already considered special by most people here. For our crowd, it was just another lunch place.


amuse bouche


chorizo

This was pretty good. It is nestled on a bed of peppers and onions.


gambas al ajillo


Another good one. It tasted like there was a little bit of the chorizo oil in this. No chorizo itself but the oil was just nicely flavored.


foie gras 3 ways

The 3 ways from left to right: grilled bread with lightly grilled foie gras with a chutney; classic with a fruit compote; and grilled bread and grilled foie gras with a balsamic glaze. The last one was by far the winner.


sopa de ajo


We had ordered the lunch special which was a three course deal with soup of the day (above), a main and dessert. This soup was flavored with smoked Spanish pimenton. The smokiness was a little haunting but it didn't exactly taste like sopa de ajo, still it was good.



slow roasted beef belly

It was a prime rib cut where the bottom portion was cut away. Everybody thought there was a smell to it, but I thought it was okay. With a dab of horseradish, it was soft and comforting. It was served with zucchini, long roasted tomato, some sauteed mushrooms and a couple of candied onions.


buko lychee sherbet


Homemade buko lychee sherbet. Tiny chunks of buko and lychee, no milk in it. Great finisher to the meal.


Dino's interest was piqued by the Friday lunch special: fabada.