Restaurante El Mesón de Gonzalo - Salamanca

Jaded O. G.

One of the best meals I had in Spain, and I had no shortage of great meals. Everything about this place is so enjoyable. The location. The interior. The fantastic service. The delicious food. You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. Reasonably priced. An excellent wine list as well. In a town with many fine restaurants, many of which have won Michelin accolades, it can be a difficult to choice to select a restaurant. But you will be hard-pressed to find a better option than this one. Highly recommended. Also recommended - making reservations (which can be done via their website)

Karl L.

A solid 4 stars, nothing more. The food was good, but be warned if you are American the portions are small. Vegetables were consumed as gazpacho prior to dinner, served with bread that you should not eat. This is because there is a €3 each charge for bread that isn't otherwise announced and the bread itself is terrible. I ended up ordering an appetizer of steak tartar and a side of fries as dessert when I was still quite hungry after having the meatballs. The wine is quite affordable by American standards, and good, though pours are short. Bathrooms were clean. We made a reservation despite wide availability online and were lucky we did as others were turned away on a Monday evening.

Kerri H.

Walk in August 2024
Outdoor seating a group of 8 hungry but time short tourists.. they were happy to accommodate us and even thought we were short on dinning time the service was excellent and the food was absolutely delicious and amazing
Great prices, excellent food and service
Would definitely recommend

Q G.

A great disappointment. I went to this restaurant on the recommendation of a dear friend of mine—a chef from Salamanca—who urged me to try their celebrated Galician beef chop, dry-aged for 40 days, weighing some 900 grams and served boneless. To accompany such a dish, we chose a fine bottle of Carmelo Rodero, expecting a meal of true distinction.

Alas, the experience fell far short. Service was slow, and when the long-awaited chop finally arrived, it was served cold. Summoning a waiter proved a challenge in itself, and when at last I managed to request that the dish be warmed, the plate was whisked away without a word of apology or courtesy. Moments later, it returned—clearly reheated in a microwave, a grievous mishandling of what should have been the crown jewel of the menu.

For a restaurant of this reputation, and for its most expensive dish, one would expect not only excellence in execution but also at least a sincere apology or an explanation. Instead, there was indifference. A regrettable experience, and a sad waste of what could have been a memorable meal.

David C.

Absolutely outstanding experience. The service was warm, professional, and perfectly timed. But the real star of the evening was the lechazo. Cooked to perfection, with impossibly tender meat and crisp, golden skin that showed true mastery in the kitchen. Every bite had that deep, traditional flavor you only get when a restaurant respects the product and knows exactly how to treat it. The rest of the dishes were excellent too, but the lechazo alone makes this place worth the trip. Elegant atmosphere, top-tier cooking, and a team that genuinely cares. A must-visit in Salamanca.

Joseph M.

Recommend by our Hotel and it did not disappoint! They made a reservation for us and would recommend you also make a reservation , we arrived at 7:30 pm when they open and the restaurant filled up fast . We started with the cheese plate and bread. We had the sirloin steak 250g and was excellent, very tender and full of flavor:) We added French fries since the steak comes without accompaniment. We ended with the creamy Cheesecake with strawberry ice cream:)

Rhicke J.

We were driving from near Madrid to Porto on this day and we stopped in Salamanca for lunch. El Mesón is a Michelin recognised restaurant so we made a booking before leaving our resort at El Santo Reserve. We were delighted with our au fresco table, fab service and delicious food.

I had a sashimi fusion dish with tuna that was amazing and popular. We shared a fried calamari and shrimp starter. We also had beef meatballs, fish and chips, and ribs. We were so full we could not touch the desserts.

We want to revisit this cool town and come back to this popular restaurant.

Andres V.

Great place, with a very friendly service and good food. Only comment or advice is to try not to use the tables that are so close to the street since there are a lot of locals that approached us asking for money or food…. Maybe a table inside would be best.