Three dissociated, although complementary, menus coexist in the Essentia bar-restaurant not far from the industrial estate of Tarancón (Cuenca).
An enclave adjacent to the hotel where it is located, which in recent years has become an almost inevitable reference when passing through the A-3 highway.
Through its entrance bar and the small tables that surround it, always busy, rustic-style rations and tapas parade with contemporary resolution that are no strangers to hunting cuisine or the soul of the Cuenca territories.
Not to be missed are the cold cuts, salads, pickled wild partridges, salad, Iberian pork sandwiches, grilled meats and cod fritters.
Careful specialties to which are added its two great icons, the melty Iberian ham croquettes, made with milk from La Mancha sheep, excellent, and its exceptional torreznos, another of the house's landmarks.
An addictive recipe that Antonio Navarro, his young head chef, openly reveals to those who question him.
“There are no secrets,” he says, “we use bacon chosen from the neighboring Incarlopsa slaughterhouse, a company related to this place.”
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Punctuation |
7 |
|---|---|
Bread |
7.5 |
Coffee |
7 |
Store |
7 |
Atmosphere |
6.5 |
Toilets |
7 |
Service |
7 |
Kitchen |
7.5 |
Desserts |
6 |
In alliance with Eugenio Sánchez, his sous chef has been undertaking a positive evolution for months in the menu of his main dining room, traditionally monopolized by a routine list of starters, by his famous grilled red meats, and the occasional fish.
A breath of fresh air that focuses on the suggestions of the day, rigorous in season, unpredictable, which are based on the products they receive from small suppliers.
Their brioche
bread tacos are very fine
, with
steak tartare
or sea urchins, which are finished with the boring and almost inevitable presence of caviar.
The seafood salpicón is magnificent, seasoned with three vinegars, where razor clams, barnacles, sea ox, lobster and urchins are superimposed.
Croquettes made with milk from La Mancha sheep.
Image provided by Essentia.Creative Protein
The grilled lobster with
romescu
sauce and
calçots
excels without note , and the potato and borage stew with chopped ham is exciting due to its simplicity.
In the middle of the season, the poached egg coated in Japanese panko
with teardrop peas and truffles from the Cuenca mountain range
is outstanding .
And depending on the day, even rice with chicken or a delicate quail and partridge soup with truffle slices.
News that extends to the grill where fish chosen are roasted with the same technique as the La Huertona restaurant in Ribadesella, among which the viceroy's loins leave their mark.
Grilled viceroy, in the style of La Huertona de Ribadesella (Asturias).
Image provided by the restaurant.Antonio Navarro
Evolution that affects the meats, among which apart from the classic old cow steaks matured with candied piquillo peppers, interesting Iberian pork steaks are offered with the field bait label that are matured for 50 days in chambers.
Very fine meats with a soft texture, a real novelty.
As almost always happens, disappointments await in the desserts (flan, cheesecake or rice pudding), somewhere between homemade and bland, which detract from the concerns of saltiness.
And also the dynamism of its winery, which David Gómez successfully manages.
View of the Essentia room.
Image provided by the restaurant.Antonio Navarro
Essentia
Address: Avenida de Adolfo Suárez, 30. Tarancón (Cuenca)
Telephone: 969 32 23 97
Price: Between 50 and 80 euros per person
Hours: The bar does not close on any day
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