Sometimes it’s the food which elevates a menú del día in Valencia to the next level, sometimes it’s the restaurant’s decor, ambience, or location. But for Paz26, an extra-small eatery on the small street Calle Cruz Nueva, it’s the sun. This alley which connects La Paz to the Plaza del Patriarca is blessed with an orientation that gets sun all afternoon long. And when you can lean back, sip wine, and soak up some rays, it almost doesn’t matter whether the food is good.
Luckily, the food at Paz26 is quite good, as well! The restaurant probably isn’t going to win any culinary awards, but the plates here are classic Spanish staples, made fresh, and served in big, generous portions.
We really like the people who running the place. There is no typical written lunch menu board, instead the owner comes out and lists out what he has prepared for the day, with just a few options to choose from. It’s the kind of place that you want to take your time at, when the sun is shining. Somehow, we always manage to get through quite a bit wine when we eat here. Good thing our apartment is just a couple minutes away, so that we can get home for a well deserved siesta.
On this particular day we ordered:
Mike
- Ensalada de Judías Blancas
- Salmon
- Pan de Calatrava
Juergen
- Tortellini with Meat Sauce
- Entrecot
- Pan de Calatrava
Our latest meal at Paz26 started out great. The sun was strong, and to start, they placed a little basket of freshly baked bread in front of us. Mike’s Ensalada de Judías Blancas (Spanish white bean salad), was delicious and they didn’t hold back on the tuna. Juergen was equally content with his tortellini.
Then came the second plates, and neither one was as good as the first course. The salmon which Mike ordered was tasty, but the sides weren’t too appealing. It was the same for Jürgen’s entrecot — the meat was sliced very thin, and the fava beans which accompanied it left much to be desired. This is a pretty typical occurrence at lunch menus, that the first plates are much better than the “main” entree. Then again, we still had some wine left! So there was plenty to enjoy.
For dessert, we both decided to go with the Pan de Calatrava, which is something we can totally recommend, especially when it’s homemade, like Paz26’s. This is a type of bread pudding that’s rich, custardy, and sweet, often described as a mix between a flan and a cake. And as everyone knows: flan + cake = drool. You’ll often find this dessert on Valencian menus, though it’s really a treat from the Murcia region.
From our Valencia Menú del Día Restaurant Blog.