CLERICO

One of the things we missed here in Marbella was a proper Argentine parrilla (grill) restaurant especially for a long lazy Sunday lunch. Well now, the wait is over with the opening of Clerico. Just over a month old, the restaurant is on a busy one-way street in downtown Marbella. The facade is simple but what catches the eye is the glass-enclosed charcoal grill near the entrance where all the meat and sausages are grilled to order. (Unfortunately, i didn't have my camera with me so the photo below is from the Clerico website).

We walked in for a quick dinner earlier this evening at around 8:30 and surprisingly, there were already a few tables occupied. The menu is divided in four sections - appetizers, grilled items, salads and pastas.

To start, my husband, A, and I had one empanada (fried meat pie) each and shared a morcilla (grilled blood sausage). This was followed by our favorite: grilled veal sweetbreads, thinly sliced and crispy with just a sprinkling of sea salt and some lemon juice. These were excellent and exactly as they are done in Buenos Aires. For our main course, we opted not to have beef but the typical pork steak called matambrito tiernizado with French fries. The meat was soft and tasty but was not an exact replica of the Argentine original. Our son had a simple spaghetti with tomato sauce.

It was impossible not to end the meal with another of A's favorites - panqueque con dulce de leche (a rolled crepe filled thick caramel) with cafe cortado's (an espresso with a drop of milk) to end the meal. By the time we left at around 10:00 p.m., the place was packed and with more people walking in to wait for tables. I can definitely see ourselves becoming regulars here.
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Clerico

Avda. Antonio Belón, 22

Marbella

Tel: 952 765 683

Open daily for lunch and dinner

Average: 30 Euros per person

Street parking or in the Alameda car park (3 blocks away)

**** Food (Good selection of Argentine meats on the grill with an excellent price-quality ratio)

**** Atmosphere (Brick-exposed walls with clean,modern interiors)

**** Service (An all-Argentine staff offering friendly and efficient service)

My Tip: Perfect for a group. Order several grilled meats and share plates. It's much more fun that way and you get to try different things. Don't miss the crispy, melt-in-your-mouth veal sweetbreads.