El Huerto is situated in a beautifully-restored mansion on the outskirts of the old town. We were looking for a fun tapas meal there, and we were definitely not disappointed.
When we arrived at El Huerto, the smartly dressed people in front of us headed up the beautiful ceramic-tiled staircase to the restaurant upstairs. We stayed in the more casual tapas room – with a long bar counter at one end – at the bottom of the stairs. We admired the carved ceiling panels, and the patterned tiles on the walls.
We ordered "Coronita" beers (brewed in Spain, with lemon slices) and sampled a plate of "marcona" salted almonds. These almonds are flatter than the traditional shape for almonds. We enjoyed them lots.
El Huerto has an extensive tapas menú. After much prevarication, we eventually chose five of them. The plate of aubergine carpaccio with parsley and parmesan slices was excellent – the aubergine was firm and smoky, and the parsley flavour was a good complement. The sausage and bean casserole did not meet with such universal approval. It was a plate of broad beans around a couple of sausages – with the harder sausage being much more popular than the squidgy "blood" variety.
The salami plate went well with the bread and olive oil that was brought to the table when we arrived. We also enjoyed the potato croquettes with Roquefort sauce and we rounded things out with another potato plate – potato slices with a mustard sauce. Very good.
We skipped dessert and finished our meal with glasses of milky coffee. We enjoyed sitting for a while, and then wandered upstairs to have a peek at the fancy restaurant. The upstairs room is beautifully decorated – with blue ceramics and white tablecloths – and looks like a great place for a quieter evening.
We visited El Huerto at 10pm on a Saturday evening. Although the restaurant was not full when we arrived, we were glad to have made reservations beforehand. The El Huerto tapas restaurant was definitely to our taste, the tapas were delicious, and the décor was attractive and interesting. Service was efficient but unhurried, and the evening was a great introduction to tapas eating in Valencia. Highly recommended.