La Paella eatery serves tasty Spanish cuisine in a homey interior.
“How far are we?” inquired my friend as we walked up Saksahanskoho street, past a crowd of people with flags standing in front of the unfortunate Constitutional Court, headed to a Spanish restaurant called La Paella. I had to admit, I slightly miscalculated the distance when I looked at it on the map – the eatery was placed far enough from Palats Sportu to justify my friend’s complaining, but I still thought a stroll did us some good. In a hurry to finally reach our destination, I almost missed a small signboard placed on the wall of the building, saying: “La Paella restaurant in the yard,” with a graphic image of Don Quixote above.
As we reached our destination, I had doubts that there would be many other guests inside apart from us, given the location on a rather empty street and the humble look of the eatery from outside. But as soon as we stepped inside, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. The two halls – one to our left, another to our right – looked quite busy. On the left side I could see a long table with a big group of people seated at it, laughing and talking loudly in Spanish – clearly having a dinner party. The other hall was quieter, but most of the tables were occupied by a few couples and a company of Spanish-speaking men. Well, if Spaniards frequent the place, it already speaks in its favor, I thought, as we took our seats at a small square table by the wall. There was nothing noticeably Spanish about the interior, but the place was designed with taste. The chairs, tables and even walls were covered with pastel-colored drapery, giving the place a cozy feel. Several small windows on one side were adorned with short striped curtains and various figurines and vases standing on the broad window sills.
Having gone to powder her nose, my friend returned to inform me that the restroom door bore an awkward sign, “Be careful! The door doesn’t close!” and indeed there was no way to close it from the inside. I had to admit that didn’t make me very comfortable. Still, I was sure such minor defects had to be compensated with something – there had to be a reason why all these people were here on a Saturday afternoon, including those who clearly knew all about authentic Spanish dining.
The menu was comprised of Spanish appetizers known as “tapas,” soups, salads and hot dishes, as well as about six kinds of paella – a customary Spanish rice dish that gave the eatery its name.
As soon as we raised our heads from the menus, an amicable waitress dressed in a Spanish-style bodice and fluffy skirt appeared before us. Trying to pick something authentically Spanish, I opted for gazpacho (Hr 25) and seafood paella (Hr 61), while my friend copied my choice for the first course and ordered grilled shrimp in wine (Hr 65) as her entree. I saw a few people in the hall drinking tomato juice and decided to order myself a glass as well (Hr 7), while my friend preferred tonic (Hr 10).
The cozy ambience of the place, complete with live Spanish singing heard from the next room, where a party was going on, conversations in Spanish from a nearby table and some Spanish music coming from the CD player, created a properly authentic atmosphere. We really began to feel like we were in Spain when our gazpachos arrived – two bowls of pink colored cream soup and two small plates filled with croutons, bits of fresh cucumber and boiled egg. The bread that was served with it was customary local white “baton” bread, but toasted in an original way, that made it taste great. However, I was much more impressed with gazpacho itself, which was clearly prepared the right way – a perfectly satisfying first course, especially on a hot day.
After a while our second courses arrived. My friend was served a plate of royal shrimp complete with a bowl of water with lemon, while I received a pan with hot paella, some of which the waitress spooned onto my plate before retreating. As I enjoyed the wonderful paella with mussels, shrimp and squid rings, my friend coped with royal shrimp, scaling them and washing her fingers off in the water bowl. Completely satisfied with our dinner, we decided to order dessert. I went for “Santiago” almond pie with ice cream (Hr 25) and a cappuccino (Hr 10). My friend chose cottage cheese pudding (Hr 20) and carajillo coffee (Hr 25), which was listed with cognac on the menu, but which the waitress suggested trying with any alcohol of her choice, so she went for Baileys.
The desserts arrived looking very appetizing and beautifully arranged on their plates. My pie, with a ball of ice cream on top, sprinkled generously with powdered sugar and cinnamon, seemed to consist of almond-filling alone, with just a thin layer of pastry, and made a heavenly combination with aromatic strawberry ice cream. My friend’s pudding turned out to be an equally great choice – a creamy and light cake of cottage cheese, served with bits of apple. Done with our sweets and coffee, we went on chatting away, unwilling to leave our cozy table at La Paella and go out onto the cold and already dark street. My friend, whose work place was located not very far, was already considering La Paella as a possible place for lunch, though both of us hoped they would eventually fix the lock on the toilet door.
La Paella (83 Saksahanskoho, 536-1123). Open daily 11 a.m. till 11 p.m.
English menu: Yes
English-speaking staff: No
Average meal: Hr 100
