Raquel Pena’s flamenco dancers entertain the diners at Restaurante Rebate
One of the many wonderful things about living in Spain is that it’s a lot cheaper to eat out than in the UK. And even if you want to eat at the top end of the budget, you can still do it without having to remortgage your casa in the sun or sell your body on the roundabouts. Recently, we had family over from the UK, and as they had a 7 month old baby, we opted for eating out at lunch times, rather than keeping the baby up late at night. So, what better place to spend a sunny Spanish afternoon than enjoying a meal at Restaurante Rebate? As a bonus, there’s a flamenco show on Wednesdays – ideal for visiting relatives and little babies who love movement, noise and bright colours.
Rebate is in a magnificent setting, in the heart of the Sierra Escalone, and you could easily spend the day there without eating. Feed the water fowl on the lake, admire the white peacocks, explore the tiny chapel and hit the organic foods, wines and local crafts in the shop. However, it would be a big mistake not to experience the taste sensations that Rebate offers.
The shaded dining terrace overlooks the grounds of the finca, and although there is also a large conservatory restaurant, you really should be outside. We were shown to our table, and one of the waiters brought across a bowl of bread and a cone of vegetable crisps for us to nibble on while we waited for the starters. If you go for the Menu Del Dia – and I really recommend it for your first visit – you’ll receive a tray of hot and cold tapas for starters. It varies every day, but here’s our selection:
On the slate tray in the foreground, there are the hot tapas – meat empanadas with garlic, cod fritters on sticks and toasts spread with morcilla
A selection of starters
and pesto. On the wooden board there’s gazpacho, Russian Salad and Greek Salad. The only one I didn’t do was the morcilla toasts, but the gazpacho is to die for. In fact, I had my first ever gzpacho at Rebate several years back.
The starters are small, but when you’ve worked your way through half a dozen, you feel as if you could just stop right there, so it’s a good job the segundo plato isn’t loaded. When we visited, there was a choice of salmon in cava sauce, pork loin in Roquefort sauce, or chicken fillet with cheese and onion. No contest for me – it had to be the salmon.
In Spanish restaurants, you never get a huge serving of vegetables, but the salmon was cooked to perfection, and it was presented beautifully. When we’d finished, I really didn’t think I’d have room for dessert, but I figured it would be rude not to, after all the trouble the chef had gone to. Once again, it was a beautifully presented selection of mini desserts.
Fresh watermelon, arroz con leche and Crema Catalina rounded off a fantastic meal – although our great granddaughter Madison took a shine to the Crema Catalina, so we didn’t see too much of that! She was also enamoured of the gazpacho and Russian Salad, so we have a 7 month old convert to the Mediterranean Diet now!
Salmon in cava sauce – perfection on a plate!
I suppose you’re wondering how much all this costs, aren’t you? Are you guessing at €25, €35 or even €50 ? Guess again! The Menu Del Dia comes in at just €15 a head, for appetzers, 3 courses and coffee. Drinks are extra. On Sundays, MDD is €25 , but the servings are larger, and there are more starters and desserts, and also more choices for the segundo plato. The total bill for 4 adults, including drinks, came to just over €70. See? I told you you wouldn’t need to remortgage the casa to eat at Restaurant Rebate. And if you fancy creating your own mini starters and desserts, you can buy the special pots and cuttlery in the shop when you’ve eaten.
Restaurante Rebate is situated on the CV952, midway between Pilar de la Horadada and Torremendo, in the heart of the Sierra Escalone mountains in Alicante Province. In summer, there is a full programme of lunchtime entertainment. During low season, there are flamenco shows on Sundays and Wednesdays. Booking is advisable.
Phone: 965 368 229
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