If you’re on a low salt diet and disappointment turns you on, Estragon is the place for you. One glance at the menu and I was entranced. The ingredients were creative and the ideas behind the food were pretty original so when groupon offered a half-off coupon, I jumped on it. Unfortunately, my dinner of 5 dishes was summarized by the following stats:
No salt: 4/5
Overcooked: 4/5
Stingy portions: 0/5
I could have made it at least equally poorly: 5/5
I’ll go through the things I ordered so that others will be wise and not order them:
Berenjenas: loved the concept of eggplant fries! Sadly, I don’t love anything fried so long it’s turned darker brown than my eyes.
Lamb Sweetbreads: this was the special of the day. It has a hint of that strong taste of lamb I love so much, but it comes lightly breaded, with no salt or spices, tastes awful with the provided lemon wedge, and has a texture resembling chewed gum.
Alcachofas Fritas: the artichoke itself tastes good. They were lightly battered and decently fried. I am a firm believer that alioli tastes great on anything, but I could live without the half-jar of mayo smothering it.
Pulpito a la Parilla: the grilled baby octopus was actually pretty good. Sadly, it tasted a little burnt, which is somewhat understandable because it’s hard to control the flames on a grill. A little salt/spice/flavoring of any kind would have turned this from ok to good.
Torreznos: crispy fried pork belly. Crispy = hard as rocks, fried = consistency of jerky. However, this is the only dish that had any salt in it.
On a positive note, the décor is simple but modern, and the portions are generous for tapas. We ordered 5 dishes to split between 2 girls, and 4 would have been just enough. Also, our server was attentive and pleasant. He was patient when we took a long time deciding what to get, and was quick to offer advice and answer questions. He gets 5 stars for his quiet charm and earned this place one extra star from me.
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