Elegant Latin/Mediterranean cuisine: San Salvador’s Monarca

My first meal ever in El Salvador set the bar very high: the capital city’s — San Salvador — Monarca. The cuisine is gourmet Iberian peninsula/Mediterranean in a charming, old colonial ambiance that’s surprisingly only 4 years old. I was happy to be hosted to experience it!

It is definitely a dressier restaurant, but gentlemen do not have to wear jackets, ties. There are different rooms, nooks and sections that give completely different vibes: friends, date nights, family gatherings.

Here’s a crispy bread amuse bouche.

I also shared a charcuterie plate with Iberian cheeses and the famously rich, nutty jamon de pata negra. What a treat! The piggies in Spain feast on wild chestnuts, which we haven’t had for centuries.

I was intrigued at the lengthy list of complex mocktails. I later learned that is a across the line tradition in El Salvador: they don’t limit themselves to some no-alcohol beer as a boozeless option. Nobody is left out of the fun and flavor. My first drink had mango, passionfruit, lemon with pina colada foam – refreshingly sweet. The drink was kind of a microcosm of Salvadoran gastronomy: other than an apparent love for American fast food chains, they put a premium on local, natural, unadulterated ingredients. The mocktail had fresh Salvadoran fruit, no syrups. In fact, mangoes (and avocados) grow wild all over.

My second mocktail I tried was “The Fancy Cucumber”, with cucumber juice, hibiscus tea and basil syrup. The tea added sweetness, but the cucumber and basil made things fresh and not cloying.

Fois gras with caramelized apples is rare to find in the USA, but El Salvador knows flavor triumphs all. It was rich, buttery and the apples added gentle sweetness. Like I learned during the rest of the week, the course introduced me to the generous portions in their country.

It’s probably been decades since I’ve had suckling pig, but Monarca has the continental favorites. It’s tender, very rich and I’m glad they had it in individual portions. Indulge!

Here’s a pic of the GINORMOUS shrimps to be found in El Salvador.

A strawberry-lemon sorbet served as palette cleanser. I learned from some wine experts that palette cleansers are a tricky business: you want to refresh your mouth from rich savories, but you don’t want to kill your tongue for wines. I think this sorbet hit the mark.

Here is a dessert sampler with dabs of dark caramel.