Was it sunny at Xer's?
Pro Generous, authentic lunch at a decent price.
Con The logistics of getting there.
Pay
€€€
Per Person Special menu is €50; 1/4 lamb (lechal), potatoes and salad or migas. Bottle of ribera, dessert and coffee. Gratis: XL chupitos.
Find
No Website.
Access Three or four steps to the patio, stepfree inside.
📍Talamanca in a nutshell
Get there: M-103/Alsa Bus 197 from Darsena/Door 30 at Plaza Castilla (approx 50 mins). Zone C2.
See: A generally intact Roman bridge, very battered remains of Andalusí walls and town gate, nearly as battered remains of Carthusian monastery. A very friendly tailless cat at the cottage opposite the town library. An hour's very gentle strolling sees the whole town done.
Stop for a drink: shady tables and very cold beer at the churreria to the left just after the bridge by the gate. We can't speak for the food there.
In Short
Hopes? Lamb!
Reality? Looks like people flock (ho ho) here for it.
First Impressions? Kids playing table football, grandparents on the beer.
A USP? A very nice, quiet patio with a fair amount of shade and a bit of breeze.
The food in three words? Authentic country classics.
Can they get the staff? Half a dozen on hand.
Service with a smile? Far more friendly and approachable than the city often offers.
V-friend friendly? It's classic Spanish, so not very.
Rating for dating? Not a bad spot for a quiet afternoon in someone's company.
Tip? 8%
Change one thing? A homemade dessert would get this on our recommended list.
Going back? Not likely to be in town again, but it's recommendable to others.
Compare & Contrast
Similar dish, spectacular presentation to the North West at Casa Maruja.
What's the story?
You might not be likely to head there, but you'll find a winning lunch at this traditional bar-restaurant north of Madrid.
We're well off the tourist trail. Talamanca doesn't even have a village square, with its half a dozen bars (including, following a little-known but scientifically proven constant Mirm's Law, one called Bar Manolo) split between the more modern lower half and the older walled town - not that there's much wall left - which sits on a little hill, with a strangely abandoned square at its heart.
Xer's is, conveniently, just round the corner from the (only) bus stop, on the way to the highlight (the definite article as it is the only one) of your sightseeing. After a stroll to, across, under and back from the battered remains of a roman bridge, now cut adrift from its river in a park full of trees, a hot walk back in the bright sun brought us to Xer's.
We'd seen the blackboard on the stroll in: 1/4 lamb plus trimmings for €50. So we popped in to reserve/enquire, which was a wise move. It turned out they need pre-bookings for it - presumably due to the cooking time.
Pro Generous, authentic lunch at a decent price.
Con The logistics of getting there.
Pay
€€€
Per Person Special menu is €50; 1/4 lamb (lechal), potatoes and salad or migas. Bottle of ribera, dessert and coffee. Gratis: XL chupitos.
Find
No Website.
Access Three or four steps to the patio, stepfree inside.
📍Talamanca in a nutshell
Get there: M-103/Alsa Bus 197 from Darsena/Door 30 at Plaza Castilla (approx 50 mins). Zone C2.
See: A generally intact Roman bridge, very battered remains of Andalusí walls and town gate, nearly as battered remains of Carthusian monastery. A very friendly tailless cat at the cottage opposite the town library. An hour's very gentle strolling sees the whole town done.
Stop for a drink: shady tables and very cold beer at the churreria to the left just after the bridge by the gate. We can't speak for the food there.
In Short
Hopes? Lamb!
Reality? Looks like people flock (ho ho) here for it.
First Impressions? Kids playing table football, grandparents on the beer.
A USP? A very nice, quiet patio with a fair amount of shade and a bit of breeze.
The food in three words? Authentic country classics.
Can they get the staff? Half a dozen on hand.
Service with a smile? Far more friendly and approachable than the city often offers.
V-friend friendly? It's classic Spanish, so not very.
Rating for dating? Not a bad spot for a quiet afternoon in someone's company.
Tip? 8%
Change one thing? A homemade dessert would get this on our recommended list.
Going back? Not likely to be in town again, but it's recommendable to others.
Compare & Contrast
Similar dish, spectacular presentation to the North West at Casa Maruja.
What's the story?
You might not be likely to head there, but you'll find a winning lunch at this traditional bar-restaurant north of Madrid.
We're well off the tourist trail. Talamanca doesn't even have a village square, with its half a dozen bars (including, following a little-known but scientifically proven constant Mirm's Law, one called Bar Manolo) split between the more modern lower half and the older walled town - not that there's much wall left - which sits on a little hill, with a strangely abandoned square at its heart.
Xer's is, conveniently, just round the corner from the (only) bus stop, on the way to the highlight (the definite article as it is the only one) of your sightseeing. After a stroll to, across, under and back from the battered remains of a roman bridge, now cut adrift from its river in a park full of trees, a hot walk back in the bright sun brought us to Xer's.
We'd seen the blackboard on the stroll in: 1/4 lamb plus trimmings for €50. So we popped in to reserve/enquire, which was a wise move. It turned out they need pre-bookings for it - presumably due to the cooking time.
A misunderstanding meant we got migas *and* salad, but considering the price, a few more euro wasn't going to hurt too much. Probably older than the roman bridge, migas is (are?) a dish everyone who visits Spain for longer than about 10 minutes should try, if it fits your diet. If for no other reason than to briefly visit the pre-potato era, as this is surely where huevos rotos evolved from. Make sure those eggs are nice and runny, although the yolks will vanish into the bread crumbs in seconds.
So, main course. A giant serving platter brings out a jointed piece of lamb with ribs and quarter ready to go. This is suckling lamb, so a leg is equivalent to about half a medium sized chicken. A very good portion of lightly roasted potatoes and peppers, plus a similar decent salad (tuna, tomato and onion in this case) are the accompaniments we had planned on. Advice? Get the waiter to leave you all the cooking juices, or have him bring them back in a jug. Half a dozen spoonfuls is not enough. This is very simple cooking; fresh lamb, a bit of wine or brandy, some salt and that's about it. There are no cheftastic reductions, garnishes or prettifications to bump the price up €20. It's on the plate. Eat it. Bread of course is essential for moppage. It's warm when it arrives.
The spud and pepper combination is top notch too. Sweet pepper does cut through (yes, cheftastic term!) the carby (dietary twonky term!) potatoes well (adverb!). The tuna in the salad was plain, when I would, to be picky, have gone for escabeche - the acidity makes it lighter. But, to each their own. Look, two of you are not going to leave hungry, OK?
A nice bottle of rioja comes with this, although if the sun's really beating down you might want to try negotiating it into tinto de verano or go native - red wine with casera. Worth a try, probably. They're friendly and helpful.
You never know with desserts. They're not a national priority, so you need a patron or chef with a sweet tooth or a special interest. So we got a white, sweet, industrial concoction. I'd rather have had a banana if there'd been any. Rule of thumb if given a list: unless someone tells you otherwise, flan and tarta are probably not homemade, pudding! might be. Not that we had the option. Oh well.
But extra points are scored by any bar that interprets the chupito as half a caña's worth of pacharán. A snifter not to be sniffed at. Well done on that one.
Reserving helped our corner had some fresh air moving, too. In full sun, or even under a sunshade, it might get a bit warm, a bit quick. We watched other dishes pass, including good looking steaks and mountainous huevos rotos and ham. Enough for four, but served for two. The two in question leaving slowly and quite carefully when they'd cleared the plate some time later.
Locals wander in and out saying hello. Waiters shake hands with customers. Kids play hide and seek noisily. There were probably a grand total of two tourists in the place. Us.
You think the city's a bit touristed? Get out of town!
No seriously - get out of town. See how things used to be. And, in fact, still are.
The spud and pepper combination is top notch too. Sweet pepper does cut through (yes, cheftastic term!) the carby (dietary twonky term!) potatoes well (adverb!). The tuna in the salad was plain, when I would, to be picky, have gone for escabeche - the acidity makes it lighter. But, to each their own. Look, two of you are not going to leave hungry, OK?
A nice bottle of rioja comes with this, although if the sun's really beating down you might want to try negotiating it into tinto de verano or go native - red wine with casera. Worth a try, probably. They're friendly and helpful.
You never know with desserts. They're not a national priority, so you need a patron or chef with a sweet tooth or a special interest. So we got a white, sweet, industrial concoction. I'd rather have had a banana if there'd been any. Rule of thumb if given a list: unless someone tells you otherwise, flan and tarta are probably not homemade, pudding! might be. Not that we had the option. Oh well.
But extra points are scored by any bar that interprets the chupito as half a caña's worth of pacharán. A snifter not to be sniffed at. Well done on that one.
Reserving helped our corner had some fresh air moving, too. In full sun, or even under a sunshade, it might get a bit warm, a bit quick. We watched other dishes pass, including good looking steaks and mountainous huevos rotos and ham. Enough for four, but served for two. The two in question leaving slowly and quite carefully when they'd cleared the plate some time later.
Locals wander in and out saying hello. Waiters shake hands with customers. Kids play hide and seek noisily. There were probably a grand total of two tourists in the place. Us.
You think the city's a bit touristed? Get out of town!
No seriously - get out of town. See how things used to be. And, in fact, still are.
