A Sophisticated Sunday

It's finally February and that only means one thing to me - sister time!! My little one has come out to visit for some sunny holiday time in Spain. Straight from the airport, first stop a cheeky little patisserie that's just popped up round the corner from my place...

 From one meal another, we had a relaxing wander into town, perusing the pretty boutiques before arriving at Lienzo for what turned out to be a truly phenomenal meal. Being a truly indecisive creature (I have issues choosing which colour pen to write with on a daily basis) we opted for the epic 'gastrotapas' tasting menu, look away now if you are even mildy hungry or suffer from food envy....

 Foie Gras Mousse with Apricots, Pistachio and Dark Chocolate

Potentially my favourite dish, the mousse just dissolved on your tongue before you were able to fully recognise all the rich flavours. The tang of the apricot, a beautiful match with the earthiness of the pistachio. I could have eaten just this and have been a very content customer.

Marinated Sardine with Tomato and Onion Salsa with a Pesto Sauce 

The Quintessential Tapas - Patatas Bravas, micro style

Full of Spanish families and couples enjoying their sunday lunch together, and not a tourist or word of English in sight! Perfect!

 Losing her Oyster virginity... she was a fan of the lemon, we'll leave it at that!

Duck Pate with Pineapple and Toasted Brioche 

Toasted Sandwich of Iberico Ham, Mozzarella and Black Truffle 

You'd think that having 3 such strong flavours would be ovepowering, but they were balanced perfectly and only required a small amount of each component to make the tantalising impact on your taste buds. Divine. Simplicity wins once again. 

Soft Boiled Egg served with Wild Mushrooms, Potato Fondant, Bacon Croutons and a 

Beef Gravy 

We thought it was like the Spanish take on a Full English Breakfast, our waiter wasn't quite as convinced, but it was delicious all the same.

Grilled Squid with a Mustard, Onion, Tomatina and Pepper Salsa with Spring Greens 

Ells' favourite dish of the day due to the texture combination, the 2 different salsas and the vibrant colours. Especially as we thought we were done with the savouries after the sandwiches!

Turron Ice Cream Tower with Pistachio 

Traditional Italian Tiramisu 

The dessert was ridiculously light and fluffy and just melt in your mouth, I never wanted it to end. And the sponge was deliciously drenched in the coffee liqueur, just heaven.

A Green Tea - to aid digestion!

A truly wonderful meal, all the dishes were excellently balanced with complex flavours but composed with an expert eye so as not to contradict each other. My taste buds were truly mind blown and it has to rate as one of my top meals of all time. An unassuming restaurant from the outside, with the most friendly, welcoming and informative waiters. I wholehearted recommend you to dining here (it's worthwhile making a reservation), it's worthy of a visit to Valencia just for this meal alone!

After all that decadent food, we continued on to the Fine Art Museum to further our appreciation for the fine things in life...

I had my own personal art historian guide to teach me all about the tricks of the trade...

I learnt that paintings are built up in layers, hence we known that this one is unfinished as some of the characters appear almost ghost-like.

Tapestries are the most prestigious form of art and only the most elite if the aristocracy used to own them due to the amount of time and effort they required. I found the detail to be incredible, with so much attention to the colours and contours of the fabrics.

I made a new friend, both working the eyebrows and moustache look! Back home to crash out on the bed and prepare for a full week of touristing it up and dining out! Gotta love family time x

How was your Sunday? I hope you had a nice relaxing weekend too.