Very inventive, but not that much flavour

La Salita was a bit like I had expected: Very modern and inventive food, but not much intensity in the flavour.
My grade for the cooking goes mainly for the inventiveness and the beautiful presentation. For instance I was giving a glass of something that looked like champagne or cava, but it was actually gazpacho where they had taken out the colour and then added bubbles. The first course was called coffee and cakes. It was actually a cup of tomato soup, goat cheese resembling cream, and several small savoury dishes that looked like cakes.

I had eight courses, but I didn't see much flavour in the first five courses. The risotto, however, was very good, and had an intense flavour of thyme (thyme being one of my favourite spices), just like a risotto should be. Personally I would have put in mascarpone, as that will give any runny or dry risotto (this being runny) the perfect creamy consistency, but that is really a minor detail and just my personal preference. The mild duck liver and duck ham in the risotto couldn't quite cut through the intense thyme flavour, so those ingredients unfortunately became a bit superfluous in the dish as a whole. Nevertheless, very good.

The pork dish was also good, but still just a bit too mild.

The dessert was, once again, coffee and cakes. The coffee was a chocolate fondant in a cup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The ice cream was a little bit too frozen, but the chocolate fondant was EXACTLY the way a chocolate fondant should be: Crispy on the outside and warm and runny on the inside, but most importantly: The chocolate flavour was very intense. Great!
The rest of the dessert was also nice and pleasant, but it didn't really make me feel anything. That said, this dessert was in part somewhat similar to the dessert I had at Pierre Gagnaire's very expensive three star restaurant in Paris, and those small desserts he presented wasn't much different (or any better) than the ones at La Salita (however, Pierre Gagnaire's dessert came in several servings, and for instance his liquorice ice cream is the best liquorice ice cream I've ever tried).

Service was also good, but not as pampering as in Michelin star restaurants. It's just small details that make the difference: Pouring up water the minute my glass is empty, putting all the plates for all the guests on the table at exactly the same moment (as for instance was done at Kokkeriet in Copenhagen and Daniel in New York), asking me if I want another bottle of water and so on. Just details – there was nothing wrong with the service, very friendly and talkative. Both the service and the interior reminded me more of a café than a top restaurant. I take it they have started out recently, and are still trying to find their path.

It wasn't really very clear to me if the restaurant had already paired the menu with wine, but I asked for just a glass of white and a glass of red, and unlike at La Sucursal and Sangonereta they didn't ask me to try several wines or asked for my preferences so I could see which one I liked best, they just served me something. That said, the white wine was probably the best Spanish white wine I've tried so far (which doesn't say much), so that was definitely a good choice.

Value for money: 8 courses and a loaf of bread for €40,5, but no appetizers, which there usually is in this type of restaurant. That said, the price in similar restaurants is usually around €50-€60 for a menu + wine, bread and water, so you get what you pay for both places. I do feel that the price was very reasonable. The wine I had was €3,24 per glass, and half a litre of water was €2,16. Total bill: €40,5 for the food, 2 x €2,16 for water, 2 x €3,24 for wine = €51,30 for one person.

I don't like spicy food at all, but I like intense flavours. Seeing how Spanish people cook, and seeing what food the restaurants serve, it seems to me that Spanish people prefer mild food. Therefore, I would say that La Salita would be very good for Spanish people who want to try "fancy" cooking without paying as much as in for instance Riff, La Sucursal or Ca'sento. It probably would not be so good for people who are used to going to Michelin star restaurants. For them I would still recommend Sangonereta.
La Salita clearly have ambitions, and if they stay as ambitious and inventive, and maybe put a little more flavour into the food, they will eventually gain a Michelin star.