Restaurant: Terete
Location: Calle Lucrecia Arana, 17, 26200 Haro, La Rioja, Spain
Date: June 21, 2016
Cuisine: Spanish
Rating: Great traditional lamb
We drove up to Rioja for a day to tour some of the wineries (of course), namely López de Heredia and CVNE, and happened to ask the marketing director at López for a lunch recommendation.
She sent us to Terete for the roast lamb.
The menu.
They have one of those wood fired ovens like at Botin.
And the place is huge!
Of course, having just come from López I had to order some of their wine.
2002 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia. 93 points. First whiff is of honey, candlewax, bruised apples.
On the palate, apples, honey, chamomile tea, and that amazing thick, waxy texture that is just to die for. Finish is loooong, with a mouthwatering acidity that makes the oxidized notes be in balance. Really a lovely wine.
The bread.
A typical Spanish salad, with eggs, asparagus and the like.
Marinated red peppers.
Tortilla Espanola.
White asparagus. Big fellows.
Greens.
What we came for, the roast lamb. I’m not sure there were any other ingredients. Maybe some salt. Basically lamb slow roasted in its own juices. But this was same damn fine lamb, cooked up the way its been cooked for thousands of years! Super tender and moist and full of flavor.
Whiskey cake.
You got to pout this on.
Cafe bonbon. Expresso and chocolate and sweetened condensed milk.
Overall this was a fun little lunch. The lamb was spectacular and that’s what we came for.