We wanted to try El Nido Restaurant in Quesada, for a curry. Friends had been and said they had enjoyed it, so it was a place to add to our list.
When it comes to curries, there are a multitude of options and peoples preferences. By this I mean a lot of people stick to the same dish everywhere they go, be it a chicken tikka madras, a prawn korma or a beef vindaloo.
For me I’d rather try 2 or 3 different dishes across visits to an Indian and usually find a dish that I really like, but often this is based on the restaurant and not the dish itself.
So, restaurant one I might enjoy a Chingri Malai Curry – Prawns cooked in a coconut milk gravy with Bengali spices, while in restaurant two it might be Saag Gosht – Lamb with slow-cooked mustard greens and spinach, while restaurant three might be Railway Mutton or Lamb Curry.
Being brought up just down the road from Bradford I’ve been eating curries since the early 1980s and have travelled through different areas of India, so I do know a little bit about curry. Finding a half decent Indian in Spain is challenging, especially when I prefer to avoid the British curry house classics and prefer something different. One of the best ever curries I had outside of India was actually here in Spain at Fireclay ( read the article here please ) which sadly vanished.
Anyway, I am digressing here, so let’s crack on and look at El Nido Restaurant!
What We Had
We went for the El Nido Restaurant menu del dia option for the food which includes a drink each.
Drinks
Soph had a Coke Zero, this is a 33cl can. I went for a large beer. Soph did have a second Coke Zero during her meal
Food
The menu del dia is a choice of 1 of 6 starters, any main course lamb or chicken and a dessert or coffee.
Starters
We were given a popadom each with a pickle tray to begin the meal. The popadoms were crispy, everything nice and fresh.
I went for the onion bhaji while Soph had the channa puri.
The bhajis were lovely, freshly cooked, seasoned and had great taste to them. Sophs channa puri was well presented, colourful and well balanced in taste. The puri bread can be a bit oily but that wasn’t the case today.
Mains
Sophie went for a Chicken Tikka Masala with a Garlic Naan. The naan was tasty, the curry was fine.
I went for the lamb Handi and asked for it spicy. This was a really nice dish, just enough heat to keep it enjoyable. I decided to have a cheese and chilli naan with my dish. Boy, what a sensational bread this was. The thin trail of melted cheese gave an extra level of texture, but it was the kick up the arse flavours from the chillis that made this such a wonderful naan.
This is one of the best nanna I have had in years, it had the heat and the texture and it was so enjoyable, I said to Soph, ” I’m so tempted to order a couple more of these to take home”.
Desserts
We both had the chocolate ice cream.
What We Liked At El Nido Restaurant
Great food, full on flavours in my dishes. Also common sense applied with the bill ( see below ).
What Could Be Improved
Personally the service needs tightening up. We were the only diners, until another couple got a table out on the terrace and I think had just either a starter or a main then left. This meant the guy who was serving had little to do. All the tables were set, he’d prepped up spare cutlery etc, mopped the floor behind the counter, but…
For some reason he kept messing with the play list on the music, which is a personal hate of mine. I hate people who channel hop on tv and skip music tracks on playlists. Just leave the music to play or choose a better play list. He also decided at one point to turn off the air con, meaning it went from a lovely temperature inside, to melting point. Finally we had to ask for the dessert. He’d cleared our mains, cleaned down the table then wandered about and we had to ask for the dessert.
I’m sure if he was busier, he’d not have had the time on his hands.
What Did It Cost Today
Our lunch came to 27,68€. The breakdown was the menu del dias at 11,95€ each, Sophs extra drink at 1,80€, my large beer price difference was 1.90€ and my choice of naan was an additional 2,00€.
What I like here is the common sense with the bill. The menu del dia includes a small beer, I had a tanque so was charged just the difference. The same with the naan, the lunch menu includes a plain or garlic naan, so with me choosing a different option, I was just charged the difference.
Would We Return To El Nido Restaurante
Oh yes, 100% we would. This is the best curry I have had for months and my choice of naan was brilliant.
I know El Nido Restaurant is fairly newly opened but this is a place to try if you love a good curry. My advice is to book in advance if possible, there are only 12 places inside and 20 places out on the terrace.
How To Find El Nido Restaurant in Quesada
So, if you know the area, I’d say head towards Coopers Bar, then use the carpark at the bottom of the street where the laundrette etc is. You then need to walk up the steps and walk past La Vida Sunset Bar
Their address is Avenida Antonio Quesada,local 4, and it’s basically next door to La Vida Sunset Bar.
Should you need to ring, they have a mobile number listed; 632 29 31 27 or check out their Facebook page for more information.
