Arriving into El Escorial and out of a dozen restaurants we’ve visited, this one seems to be good and less touristic. Using two Michelin Bibendum as decorative items to grab the organization’s attention, Charoles needs to be up to standard: so let’s eat and see. Welcome home, the menu states. Nibbles, starters, main dishes, meat platters, and desserts. Some items are interesting: shrimp croquettes, bull’s tail croquette, sausages, foie gras terrine, red tuna tartare, red shrimp, duck, lamb kidney and much more.
Michelin guide states: The Charolés enjoys a well-deserved reputation, both for its attractive decor and stone walls and its traditional, seasonal cuisine. One of its specialties is a hearty "cocido” stew.
Tomato Gazpacho to start, frozen, acidic and intensely flavorful. Toast with mashed potatoes to create your own bruschetta, accompanied by fine wine, the “Marques del Viscal, Rioja 2001”. Yes, after trying the 2012 version of this wine yesterday, I chose to have the 2001 which turned out to be majestic.
With attentive service and good quality food, I laid back to enjoy my experience.
Tomato and toasts are so exquisite that I couldn’t stop. The bull’s tail croquettes are a must try. The fried Brie cheese with jam is also an interesting plate. Have the wild asparagus, very big thick asparagus, tender and juicy with a bed of lemon and olive oil. My mum had a mountain of spinach decorated with pines and flavored with goat cheese. Everything was tasty until now.
My little ones ordered the veal escalope: very tender escalope, battered and fried with a side of French fries. Beautifully done and very tasty. I loved it, and my kids did too.
That’s what perfection is all about; a big chunk of bull’s tail, actually two of them served in a casserole. Super tender bull cooked in a brand and carrot stew. It’s enjoyably fatty, tender like butter, rich in taste and unique. It’s so good! I wish we have bulls in my country. My family’s plates of beef were also exceptional.
The minuses: waiters don’t understand English. Our orders came wrong. Asking for the bill, we had to wait for long. Service could be improved and get at least one person to speak English with tourists.
Desserts followed: dark chocolate ice cream, champagne sorbet, and tiramisu. Good food and good service in a touristic area. Visiting El Escorial, this is the restaurant to choose. We were even offered a present, a souvenir of the restaurant.
