La LLoreria was a small place run by Chefs Carmen Altri, José Certucha and Jesús Encinas, who all have worked in Michelin starred restaurants like DSTage, where they all worked together. There were stools for 8 diners at the tile counter opposite where they cook your dishes and a couple small tables along the walls.  The selection of creative dishes was written on a chalkboard and they are meant to be shared.  Most are available in half portions, whole portions and are seasonally changed.  You could pick your own selections or after expressing your likes/dislikes, they can pick for you – we chose the latter.  They will ask you toward the end if you want more or are ready to quit.  All our portions were half size except the oysters and dessert.  They had reasonable wine prices with many by the glass and offered tap water in a pitcher.  Music was in the background to complete this very relaxed dining experience.  Our server spoke great English and so did some of the chefs, who all were super friendly.  We had prime seats by the cooking area and they were happy to engage in conversation.  This was definitely a place to put on your list.

Set-Up

 

Food

Bread was served by the slice with a sous vide egg yolk.  They brought more and it was delicious with the meal and no charge.

 

Oysters were on the half shell with jalapeño, escabeche style – which is where the seafood is cooked before being placed in the vinegar-based marinade.  The sauce was made from  chicken wing, sherry vinegar and carrots, accented with a couple Cambodian peppercorns and fermented jalapeños which totally set off the delicious oyster.  The server said they recommend each diner start with one of these and I can see why.

 

Tomatoes, miso and noisette (hazelnut) were with kale lettuce in a sauce of browned butter.  The tomatoes were peeled and cured and the mustard was pickled.  This one needed to be stirred up and yielded lots of flavor with a good crunch from the very fresh leaves.  Really tasty.

 

Cauliflower, bacon IB and puntilles (small squid) were accented with green onion and raisins.  A Vadouvan curry was the tasty seasoning.   This one had a fun contrast of textures and flavors but was not as delicious as the first two.

 

Octopus was with roast tomato, and garlic in a vinaigrette.  The rice noodles on top of the sauteed octopus were dusted with tomato powder.  This one also had lots of textures and fun flavors.  The deeply flavored sauce was delicious.

 

Koji lamb meatballs were with plantains and topped with coriander and lemon rind oil.  Some chickpeas rounded out the dish and a spice oil was optional, which of course we took.    The meatballs were made with the lamb leg meat and were particularly good with the sweet plantains.  The fine grind of the lamb and its quality made for a fabulous meatball and the spice was just right.

 

Kataifi, cheese and maple were the ingredients of a signature dessert that was described as sweet so of course we had to try one.   A pastry layer was made some shredded noodles which were cooked in a small skillet to a crispy edge then filled with cheese and doused with maple sauce and finally topped with a liberal amount of pistachios and more crisp noodles.  The result was a crispy sweet browned edge filled with gooey cheese punctuated by crisp nuts and noodles.  It was hard to describe but trust me it was fabulous.  Definitely have this when you go, it’s unique and great.