Restaurante Montevedra

The culinary scene in Tunja has historically been challenged with anything that pushes beyond comida tipica.  Establishments offering Italian, Mexican and Asian food have rarely offered anything that approaches what might be found in Medellin, Bogota or even Manizales.  And nothing that remotely approaches fine dining in the United States.  Ingredients for foreign cuisine rarely seemed fresh and often tasted very much like what you might find from a can in the supermarket.  But from some recent dining forays in October, there are some glimmers that this might be changing.  The brightest glimmer comes from Montevedra, an elegant Italian restaurant just a block or so from the Plaza Bolivar.  Having found some photos of the restaurant on the @gastrotunja Instagram page, we  made a reservation and set out for a Wednesday evening dinner. There are two parqueadores within a block of the restaurant, so even with a light drizzle, making it to the restaurant was a relative breeze. 

 We arrived and found the place mostly empty.  A large party of eight was at one end of the dining room and our party of two was seated at the other end.  The dining area is upstairs, and you immediately notice the unique decor highlighting the wine collection.     The menu provided a reasonable, but not extensive choice of Italian fare with pastas, meats and fish choices.  We started with the antipasti appetizer and passed on the soups and salad.  The antipasti plate was a mixed bag.  The mozarrella was fresh and well done.  The vegetable portion was tasty, but relatively unidentifiable and did not scream “italian.”  The odd part of the plate was the garlic bread which appeared to be simply toasted white bread with a little flavoring.  After the platter, our server brought us what she called a “tortilla” but which was close to a focaccia style flatbread, served with a creamy sauce, which was rich and flavorful, although a tad salty.

For dinner,  I chose the salmon capperi, a baked pasted with salmon bit in a cheesy penne pasta with capers.  This is a tricky dish, because salmon can dry badly even cooked a a filet.  Trying to bake the bit into a cheesy penne is a careful balancing.  The chef did very well.  The salmon bits were overwhelmingly baked to a perfect, moist finish.  At the very end, a few pieces that had settled on the iron baking dish were a little dry, but that did not detract from the overall skill of the dish.  My dining companion chose the salmon napolitano and was very satisfied as well.

In all, with tip, the meal with a round of drinks cost about $30 USD.  Service was attentive and professional and the atmosphere was elegant and relaxing.  Overall, this establishment is the new face of fine dining in Tunja!