El Sabroso - Ceuta

A manager at our hotel recommended this place for excellent seafood at reasonable prices. He was right on both accounts and we are very happy we took his recommendation. There is no menu, instead our server had a handwritten notepad with the day's catches which he read out to us. Unfortunately he spoke limited English and we spoke limited Spanish so deciphering the menu was difficult and we ended up asking him to choose for us. It worked out for the best since we loved every dish he selected for us. We ate: Coquinas tiny clams that were simply amazing and we plan to visit Ceuta again just for this. You just inhale one tiny clam after another and its unstoppable until there is just a mound of shells on your plate. Gambas small shrimps that changed the way we think about shrimps. They were perfectly seasoned and the meat just melted in my mouth. My husband likes to eat the shell as well and he loved the crunch of the shell with the softness of the shrimp, saying he didn't know shrimp could be like this. Concha fina We added this after seeing a different table get it. A medium to large sized clams, you can get it with or without salsa. I highly recommend getting it with the salsa. Before the meal, there is a small plate with some olives, tomatoes (some of the most delicious tomatoes I've ever had, beets, and a rice tuna salad. After the meal we were given an anise tasting liqueur for my husband and an apple non alcoholic liqueur for me to help digestion, though I think they normally charge for these. The service was very friendly, understandable since the server co owned the restaurant with two friends, who he said were like his family, and made us feel like family as well. We enjoyed the meal so much we visited again for dinner that same day, getting the coquinas again as well as a few other clam varieties, and some fish croquettes. They also sent out a shrimp dish cooked with onions, peppers, potatoes and salsa that they wanted us to try. They are very proud of their food and wanted us to try as much as we could. Which reminds me, be sure to try their desserts. On both occasions we dined, we were too full for dessert but on the second occasion they insisted we had to try and gave us a selection (still in glass bowls for us to take to our hotel, going so far as to give us a few metal spoons from their restaurant. As a final touch, when they learned my husband is a cook in San Francisco, they invited us in to their kitchen to have a look around. I cannot recommend this place enough. The food is simple, honest, and truly truly amazing. Beyond that, the owners are fantastic people, proud and joyous about what they do and happy to share it with everyone. We spent the next 25 days travelling Morocco and then Dubai, and during the whole time we thought of this place and how we have to visit Ceuta again. Possibly my favorite restaurant in the world.

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