Ministry of Foodies Review
Cuisine: Spanish/Fusion
Average price per person: 70€
Environment: 9/10
Food: 6/10
Service: 10/10
Other: Fine dining, Tableside preparation
Website: www.saladedespiece.com
This review is going to be a little different since Sala Cero asks guests to not publish any photos of the meal online. Sala Cero restaurant opened its doors this summer and belongs to the team behind Sala De Despiece.
The team at Sala Cero tries to maintain the mystery behind this restaurant by not allowing photo or video posts online and making the whole experience look like something exclusive.
Location/Environment
The restaurant is located in Salamanca. The design is very similar to Sala De Despiece with mainly inox elements and a barra setup.
Before the main dining room, you are escorted to a “cutting room” where you receive an aperitif and a small appetizer (we are allowed to post up to this point).
Sala Cero – Menu
There is both an à la carte and a tasting menu. The tasting menu is a sequence of a selction from the à la carte menu. There is also the option to buy some caviar on the side to add to your dishes as you like.
There are both seafood and meat options available with most dishes designed to share between 2 people.
Service
The service was very attentive. The staff escorted you from the door to the weighting room where you got an overview of the experience and then into the main dining area.
Everything was coordinated well and the staff appeared knowledgeable and helpful. Those of you who visited Sala De Despiece before would know that table-side preparation is a key element of the experience. The same goes for Sala Cero where all the finishing touches happen at the guest’ table.
I did notice that in one instance the person preparing something at our table had to ask one of their colleagues for confirmation on the consistency of the dish, so it appears that the staff is still getting accustomed to certain things.
Sala Cero – Food
I will not provide specific details on the dishes to be respectful of the restaurant’s guidelines. However, I will say that in general, I did not find any of the flavors really memorable.
The ingredient combinations and textures were good but overall there was not any dish that I would come back for. The strong point of the restaurant is the presentation and the finishing touches at the table. However, this is something you can also find at Sala De Despiece and overall at a slightly lower price point.
We opted for 5-6 different dishes both with seafood and meat, but we did not go for any dessert. At the end when we were escorted out they offered us a petit fours. For 2 people this amount was more than enough, we left the restaurant feeling full.
Conclusion
I was not completely disappointed by Sala Cero. Nevertheless, since I have been to Sala De Despiece several times the table side preparation was not that impressive to me. The flavors were not particularly bold and although it wasn’t really bad, it wasn’t great either. It was an interesting experience but no different from Sala De Despiece. Comparing the 2, I would likely return to Sala de Despiece instead of Sala Cero.
Visit: August 2024