El Convent: An Aria and a Prayer
There are not many places where you can climb down a mountain, enter a cloister and then find yourself in an excellent restaurant, surrounded by mountains and listening to opera.
However, there is at least one such place.
We were brought here by Everest climber and physical education teacher Rosa Real, who cruelly made us climb a mountain to a cross, visible from the restaurant but clearly unreachable for mere mortals.
Nevertheless we reached the summit in a manly manner and despite some whining from one or two members of our party (actually it might have just been one), from where there was a delightful view of the sea, Sagunto castle, and the monastery of Sant Espirit, our destination and location of a very special restaurant.
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The music hits you when you walk inside, opera sung by owner Emilia Honrubbia, who also organises summer opera concerts in the Franciscan monastery in the summer months.
The restaurant is part of the monastery building and is appropriately called El Convent, and the welcome from Miguel is effusive and very informative, despite the fact that he speaks at the speed of sound.
Between them, Miguel and Vanessa the cook will provide you with a meal fit for a king, even if they are not open; just a phone call will have the pots clinking and the sirloin sizzling.
A cold beer for weary mountain climbers opened our appetite, and was followed by nuts and olives as the tasty salad with apples and currants among its ingredients, was prepared.
This was followed by a plate of different cold, cured meats and cheese, along with fresh, a wood oven baked bread and toasted biscuits and a tangy sauce of tomato, garlic and oil.
The main course was sirloin, tender and accompanied by roasted vegetables.
The dessert’s name escaped me but was an intense chocolate pudding that left us almost unable to finish the Mistela and brandied coffee.
The whole meal only cost a 100 euros for the four of us, an absolute bargain.
There were lots of other options, including Valencian oysters, and a whole range of menus for 10, 15, 20 and 25 euros, as well as breakfasts and elevenses at economic rates.
Some of the dishes are unusual to say the least, and I was especially intrigued by the ‘Trinchado del Maestrazgo, which seems to include blood sausage, a fatty bacon called ‘panceta,’ described as ‘crunchy,’ with cabbage, potato, bacon and garlic; enough to scare off werewolves under a full moon.
There is a wide range of rolls, a full or half loaf, indicating that people generally arrived here famished after a struggle with the mountain trails.
The monastery itself is fascinating and offers accommodation, but more of that in a further article.
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