Lunch at El Vagon De Beni

^{Trainspotting
  #}01 Basics  
Reservations
Needed in the evenings, not weekday afternoons.
Location
Website


Per Person
Aperitif, 1/2 Starter, Main, 1/2 dessert. 1/4 bottle of wine
€40-45

  ^#02 In Short  
Hopes?
A different dining experience.
Reality?
Spanish classics, in a unique setting.
First Impressions?
Someone's built half a railway station in their front garden!
A USP?
Lunch on a 1930s train.
The food in three words?
Modernised but conservative.
Can they get the staff?
One very efficient Galacian today.
Service with a smile?
Took some time to get steam up, nearly got off on the wrong track, but ran smooothly by the end.
Would you take your friends?
I can't think of too many who it'd appeal to.
Rating for a dating
Hopefully not a Brief Encounter, it's not the trains that'd do the coupling.
Tip?
5%.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
It was a quiet lunchtime. A few more fellow-travellers to up the atmosphere.
Going back?
If they'd put on a murder mystery night, you bet.

  ^#03 In Pictures  
On Google Images

  ^#04 In Depth  

Ahhh, the romance. The woosh of escaping steam. The countryside flashing by. The conductor pointing out your off-peak advance point-of-no-return isn't valid after 10am on a Tuesday after the full moon. Oh no, you insist. Again. The website said it was fine. Again. At this, he morphs into a giant fox. Again. Your ticket turns into a strawberry cornetto. Across the table, Cary Grant slides into the seat opposite you and - Stop right there and wake up!

We're in Beni's garden, halfway along the pleasingly scenic M-618, to do what you can't on a regular train in Spain anymore.  Eat a fresh lunch.

And the decor's sublime. As good as it gets. Polished wood, everywhere. Frosted glass in the period table lamps. Leather window pulls. Panasonic air-conditioning. OK, we'll let that one pass.

At first, the service is...a bit too reminiscent of a visit from the transport police. Who needs the Orient Express? Initially, conversation with our monosyllabic waiter is like murder. It took some high-powered Iberian talent to warm him up. Soon he was bantering away and informing us, with more relish than the Galician tourist board might like, that he came from the coast of deeeeaaaaath.

But did the food leave us all steamed up? Was it on track to success? Is this god's wonderful railway-themed restaurant? Today we're calling at...

First stop, cream of boletus. There's balsamic and olive oil dressing. It's a tasty big aperitif. Normally if you think "butch fun guy", you'd not think tasty mouthfuls. Well, not of dinner, anyway. But the balsamic adds a sweet touch - balancing the butch funghi. It's not the warmest May day up here at 1000m, but if only it was November. That's the month for this dish.

Change here for a towering goat's cheese salad and croquetas with a seafood sauce. Salad's great. Lots of baked cheese, apple julienne and a really good dressing which says mop me, big boy! to the bread without a hint of shyness. The croquettes could do with a mite more seasoning I think, but the sauce, in its own little pot, is suitably shipshape for a seafood dish.

This service divides here. No Duck for us, but one portion serves solomillo stroganoff, which is very rich. The sauce is creamy and has a smidge of spiciness going on. The rice bed is a little harder than it might be - is short grain rice usual in stroganoff? But this is the second dish today running six months early. It demands the nights drawing in, not days getting longer.

The other portion? Lamb shoulder. It's terrific. Highlights? Some lovely mint sauce and a thyme-infused meat gravy (Re. sauce names. We have a policy. Jus? Say No!) that demands more dunking with that terrific bread. This is a traditional main, with a couple of contemporary additions in the mint and cheese sauces. It's excellent, but not going to scare the gastronomic horses, which is maybe a bit of a missed opportunity.

All aboard! Only one course to go. Struggling slightly after the last double-helping, I steel myself to the dessert menu.  Can I cope? I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can. Our choice is apple pie. The menu warns of a 10-minute wait and, on balance, it's worth it. Ice-cream. Strawberries. A very tasty mix of syrupy sauces. I also get a quick taste of violet ice-cream. It's delicious. Really, really good.

You can have any coffee you like, if you like Columbian. We should have had cappucinos for some kind of steam-inspired wordplay. We didn't. Anyway, coffee's good for trains. It helps keep sleepers awake. Policy, the waiter tells us by way of a tortuous anecdote, is no freebie digestives.

So, worth a ticket? If you enjoy traditional Spanish dishes, but there's really no offering for the V-minded. If you have a few quid to spare. If you have transport. You might need to charm the waiter.

Like any outing, it's what you make of it.