The Prague restaurant El Camino Tapas offers Spanish cuisine in the form of tapas, which is a Spanish term for small portions of various kinds of food. Tapas can be hot or cold, and can include everything from olives and cheeses to fish, seafood, meat, and vegetables. Tapas is also a social affair – many people go on a “tapeo”, which is a tradition of visiting various bars and trying a variety of tapas.
In our case, however, changing the venue was not in the plan, we spent the whole evening just here. We tasted a large part of the menu.
First on our table was a cold tapas “Bread, tomatoes, olive oil” for 85 CZK (approx. 3.60 EUR, without photo). The grated tomatoes were so well seasoned that I even asked for the recipe. The recipe is reportedly simple – tomatoes are grated and left to drain in a colander. The same volume of water that drains off is replaced with oil and garlic is added to taste. Unbelievably simple and yet great.
Next to be served was “Iberian neck, revolcanas potatoes, sofrito sauce” for 335 CZK (approx. 14.20 EUR). Revolcanas are boiled and then mashed potatoes. A specific type of Spanish paprika is then added to the smooth purée. Sofrito is a mixture of onions, garlic, and tomatoes slowly prepared in olive oil.
Next came “Mushrooms, truffle, jamón jus, 63° C egg” for 295 CZK (approx. 12.50 EUR). An absolute delicacy. Excellent food, which I would very much like to have again.
From the meat tapas, we tasted a grilled sandwich with beef cheeks and clove granita for 270 CZK (approx. 11.50 EUR). Great combination of tastes. From the fish, we tried a dish called “Sea bream, romanesco, dust” for 360 CZK (approx. 15.30 EUR, without photo).
“Wild duck, escabeche, beetroot, blackberries” for 570 CZK (approx. 24.20 EUR). Escabeche is a cooking technique where the food, often fish or poultry, is first fried and then marinated in a sour sauce. This sauce usually contains vinegar, white wine or lemon juice, onion, garlic and various herbs and spices. An interesting dish that was a bit too “earthy” for me.
From the desserts, we tried “Chestnut, walnut, chocolate” for 170 CZK (approx. 7.20 EUR).
And also a dessert named “Torrijas, black olive jam, olive oil ice cream, almonds” for 180 CZK (approx. 7.60 EUR). Torrijas is a Spanish dessert, the main component of which is toast or bread that is soaked in a mixture of milk and sugar, sometimes wine is also used. After soaking, the bread is fried until golden. An excellent combination with the taste of olives and almonds.
El Camino Tapas restaurant was created by David Böhm, who owned and ran the successful Spanish restaurant Medité in Mariánské Lázně for several years. Restaurant Medité received many significant gastronomic awards during its existence. The growing interest in tapas then led him to open the El Camino restaurant in Prague. During our visit, Mr. Böhm was directly in the restaurant and tried to stop at each table for a while or to present the just served dish.
The restaurant is popular, if you want to try the non-traditional form of Spanish tapas here, I recommend making a reservation.
Bon appetit!
More information can be obtained by clicking on the map link:
