I walked by La Trufa Negra the other day and thought the menu looked really interesting! It was an eclectic mixture of mediterranean and asian fusion, with some items on the menu sounding rather experimental. I decided to sit down for lunch and give it a try.
Service is good and rapid, and the waitresses are opinionated about the dishes (which I love). The wine included with the lunch menu is served in generous portions. The menu itself is very unique and it was difficult to decide which items on the menu would be best. The menu itself is 12 euros, but they have several options that cost an additional 4 or 5 euros per plate. I decided to have the salmon tartar (+4 euros) and the orange and ginger duck (+5.5 euros), along with the 'gin and tonic with a spoon'.
The salmon tartar was awesome. Very fresh, with perfectly ripe but still firm avocados that served to give the dish a good texture. The presentation was excellent, and I think the only thing that could have made this dish better was some sort of crispy addition as a side or garnish. If you're a fan of tartar, I recommend this dish and think it was 4 euros well spent.
The orange and ginger duck was really unique. I've actually never had a worse duck. It was served without any rice or anything else-- just duck and a few sliced oranges. The waitress did warn me that only the duck cooked in soy came with rice, to be fair. The orange sauce the duck had been cooked in was sickly sweet, with an unpleasant aftertaste. Perhaps the oranges had gone off. To top it all off, the duck was overcooked and dry, despite sitting in so much sauce. I was unable to finish the dish.
The gin tonic dessert is a lemon/lime ice cream served atop gelatinous gin cubes. It's actually one of the better desserts I've ever eaten in my life. It's difficult to describe the incredible flavour experience one has on their palate when eating such a well prepared dessert. The ice cream was sweet but tart, with delicious and natural flavours. The gin cubes were of the perfect strength. More so, the textures were spot on, which is really hard to achieve with gelatinous desserts. This dessert falls into the top 10 desserts I've ever had, easily.
I would return to La Trufa Negra, but I'll be a bit scared to order! I'm baffled by how a restaurant that prepared a perfectly good tartar and a truly excellent dessert could ruin a duck dish so thoroughly. Three stars because they had two awesome dishes and good service, but a duck so bad I almost wouldn't return. read more