Valencia Eats: menú del día at Nordic Cafe [Now closed / change of ownership]

May 2

May 2 Valencia Eats: menú del día at Nordic Cafe [Now closed / change of ownership]

[Edited Jan 14, 2017: this restaurant has changed ownership and concept, though the name might be carried over]

Lunch is the main meal of the day in Spain, and on weekdays a lot of restaurants offer good value "menú del día" prix fixe lunches.

In Valencia, a nice place for menú del día, and definitely the best value, is Nordic Cafe, located just southwest of the Mercado Central. Don't come here for typical Spanish cuisine, but come for a nice, fresh meal of home-y food. Its sole chef/cook/waiter/barista is a friendly, young ~~Dutch~~ Belgian guy.

Here, the menú del día includes a starter, main, dessert, and beverage for €7.90. The first time I went, I chose a salad for my starter (forgot what the other choices were). It was lamb's ear lettuce, garbanzos, pear, favas, and green beans. Very fresh tasting.

The second time, the choices were an onion puree soup, a chicken and mushroom salad, and a caprese salad. I chose the chicken and mushroom salad - freshly prepared and entree (by the American definition of "entree") sized!

Today, another salad, with pumpkin and a yogurt-cilantro dressing (I love this combination!).

The main course choice always includes the house burger, which is made of chicken. The other choices the first time I went were a lentil and chorizo stew and a vegetarian pasta. The second time the only other choice was spaghetti bolognese. I chose the burger these first two times. It's not the "traditional" burger because it's made of seasoned ground chicken, but has a nice blend of flavors.

This last time, the choice was burger, or pasta with curry sauce and shrimp and mushrooms. A creative combination, though not in a haute-cuisine way, but a home-y way.

Dessert is always great. While the other courses are pretty home-style, the dessert competes favorably against dedicated patisseries, in my opinion. First time, I sampled an orange cake, which was super moist and had just the right amount of bitterness. Maybe a tad underdone to maintain the moistness, as the center collapsed as you can see.

The second time I had an apple cake, which was ethereal in its lightness, and again, amazingly moist.

Today there was a strawberry and pudding layer on top of the cake.

Another nice aspect of Nordic Cafe is that in addition to the regular bottled water and soft drinks for your beverage choice, you can also choose homemade sodas, including strawberry, lemon, and ginger flavors.