Lunch at El Cirkulo

El Cirkulo is one my favorite Spanish restaurants. Aside from serving consistently good food, they also have special dishes not found in other Spanish restaurants.  Eating good paella and lengua was on my cousin’s check list on her short trip to Manila. That’s why after picking up my two cousins and a friend from the airport we headed straight to El Cirkulo for lunch.

a friend and 2 cousins

We were given a plate of complimentary potato tortilla for starters.

potato tortilla

pitcher of sangria

The gambas was a bit spicy and very garlicky. We had to ask for more bread to sop off the delicious infused olive oil sauce.

gambas al ajillo P325

I love foie gras and after trying out the trio of foie gras at El Cirkulo I now have a new place to get my foie gras fix. The 3 ways of foie gras -pan fried with fig compote grilled w/ balsamic syrup, terrine w/ sea salt- were all excellent but my hands down favorite was the one topped with fig compote. I’ve always enjoyed my foie gras with a hint of sweetness.

foie gras “3 ways” P895

The lengua was incredibly tender but not mushy. The sauce was intense and flavorful. What more can you ask for?

lengua sevillana P495

The paella came to our table still wet as seen in the picture below. But we let it sit for a few minutes and it slowly absorbed all the liquids so by the time we ate it it was perfect. The rice was evenly cooked and seasoned. There was enough socarrat or crunchy rice on the bottom of the pan. The yummy crunchy bits is always the best part of the paella.

paella marinera P695

I wanted my cousins to try the beef belly since it wasn’t a usual cut found in the menus in the US. It was melt in you mouth tender due to the thin layer of fat above the meat. The skin was well spiced and added a kick to the mellow flavor of the beef.

slow roasted U.S. beef belly P795

Thanks to our friend, Warren who insisted on treating us for lunch. I hope they enjoyed the meal as I did. They were either very hungry or we ordered just the right amount of food because there were not a speck of food left on the plates. I can’t wait to go back to El Cirkulo to try the other dishes that caught my eye on the menu.

El Cirkulo menu
daily menu & specials, tapas, salads/soups/paellas/pastas,
main course, cheese & dessert