Tapería Yuste, Cáceres

This weekend Fiona came into town from Madrid so we though it'd be the perfect opportunity to try out a new restaurant and bar hop around the town. 

We decided to go to Taperia Yuste. We looked over the menu and made our decisions, with help from the waiter, we were pretty confident in our decisions. However, when the food arrived we were taken rather by surprised as it wasn't necessarily what we expected. Talk about lost in translation! While different, this isn't to say the food was bad. A particular highlight for me was the spinach stuffed crepe with a trout cream sauce. Sounds strange, but it was delicious! I just wish there was more of it. The prawn cream cheese tostada went down well. but we came to the conclusion that that was all it was. A prawn and cream cheese on toast. Next we tried the 'Pizza Artesana' and this was the one we were most underwhelmed with. More of a deconstructed pizza with a strange cheese spread and some sort of jam. Definitely not a favourite and something we probably wouldn't order again. 

Next came the main; steak served with a delicious courgette garnish. Unfortunately we were so excited at the prospect of meat that I didn't manage to grab a snap. 

Then it was time for dessert. I had been eyeing up the desert menu since we arrived so was thrilled when the girls suggested we order 3 and all share. 

We plumped for a warm chocolate brownie with ice cream;

Sacher torte;

 and a toffee mousse. 

They were all brilliant and we ended up practically licking the plates clean! 

After we'd finished eating we hit the town and headed to a local bar brimming with people, spotted a table and nabbed it. 

Ordered some drinks and happily started chatting away. I was clearly telling a story that I found highly amusing…

It got later and the bar started emptying so we decided to move on and go for cocktails at one of my favourite bars in Caceres; La Traviata. I like this place because it has a fun interior and loads of little nooks you can snuggle yourself in with your drinks and have a good catch up. There's a mix of sofas and comfy chairs so it's easy to settle down and while away the hours. 

After a couple of drinks a feeling rather merry, we decided to head on elsewhere. This is where the night gets a little blurry and the camera was put away.

Tapería Bouquet, Cáceres

After a rather tiring and intense day at uni Penny and I decided to relieve some stress and head into town and find some food. We stumbled across Tapería Bouquet  and decided to pop in. 

Despite us both speaking Spanish we were slightly baffled by the menu and just decided to pick what we thought, from the few words we could understand, sounded good. Seeing as it was a Tapas restaurant we picked 4 plates and it turned out to be plenty. 

We started with Sinfonía de Croquetas de Setas, Jamón Ibérico y Morcilla. We both decided that the croquets were the least favourite dish of the meal, but still tasty even if we were unsure what the sweet orange sauce was supposed to accompany.

Next was the carpaccio (Carpaccio de Bacalao y Ralladura de Naranja al Pimentón). this we both enjoyed and would definitely order again, the slight spice of the paprika?, coupled with the tang of the orange against the salty cod was delightful. 

Next we went for Secreto Ibérico con Jarabe de Regaliz (Pork in a sticky sauce with vegetable crisps and potatoes) and Solomillo de Cerdo al café de Olla (pork again, this time with an amazing café au lait sauce). Both of these were perfect; beautifully tender meat, both served with delicious sauces. 

We were so excited to eat the Solomillo that i forgot to snap a photo of it, but as you can see we both wiped the plates clean! 

We mopped up each of the plates with the bread that was served with them, so much so that the waiter commented on it! Having enjoyed everything so far, we couldn't not try the deserts. Penny went for a nutty caramel concoction and I plumped for the 'Chocolate Passion'. 

Both were delicious, the chocolate suitably rich and the caramel was lovely, if a little solid but if we had been a little more patient this wouldn't have been a problem. 

We made such an impression on the owner that he said he'd whip us up a cocktail. A take on a traditional gin and tonic, but the gin was infused with fruits of the forest. A combination that I'd never heard of before, but will definitely be ordering when I go back again. 

Penny clearly thought the same and had to grab a photo for herself! 

The restaurant was great value, and i would recommend it to anyone in the area looking for an affordable, casual but delicious dinner in Cáceres. 

Find the website here.