Any Spanish restaurant can be reasonably well judged on its sherry and its pork dishes.
Cabra verde excels in both, and is definitely worth a visit. While Ambiente offers a rustic, rough around the edges selection, Cabra Verde is more refined in its plating and delivers cleaner, punchier flavours.
Both restaurants are excellent, but as I’m a lover of pork in all its glorious forms Cabra Verde has become the favourite.
The menu is fairly varied and has a good selection of vegan, vegetarian and meat dishes, as well as few clever fish courses. Between the four of us we pick a table covering selection of small plates, and for drinks we try the sherry. Both were excellent, but between the Fino and the Amontillado I preferred the fuller flavour of the latter.
Olives and almonds are salty and sweet respectively, and paired well with the sherry. Amongst other dishes, we chose goat stew, spiced belly pork, grilled chorizo, scallops and a chickpea stew.
The spiced belly was rich and fatty, and served with thick sherry vinegar which interplayed nicely with the fattiness. The scallops were wrapped in serrano ham and served with potato puree.
They were perfectly cooked and benefited from the salty punch of the ham. The depth of flavour accomplished at Cabra Verde is something which many of York’s other restaurants should aspire to, and the only fault I could find with the meal was the lack of textual variation, although this was largely down to the dishes we chose.
For desserts we tried the chocolate torte and the crème Catalana. Similar to a crème brûlée but with hints of spice, the Catalana was the lighter option of the two, but nonetheless satisfyingly rich.
The chocolate torte was a combination of 72% chocolate and almonds, and therefore a heavy but tasty way to finish the meal. The Pedro Ximinez dessert sherry was the best way to finish- raisiny and a very long finish.
Next time I’ll be trying their Morcilla and (as an aficionado of slow and sticky braises) the pig’s cheeks.
Cabra Verde is a little tricky to find for the first time customer, as it’s tucked away in a skinny side street by the perfume shop.
Once you been and realised how good pork can get it’ll become a dependable favourite.
Dishes range from 4-6 pounds a plate and most people will want 2 or 3 each, although for larger groups you might average a little under that.
All in all, it was a fantastic experience and I’d recommend a visit to all.
Cabra Verde is found at Number 1 Peter Lane. Contact the restaurant on 01904 652 920