El Cardenal - Hacienda del Cardenal Review

Booked this from reviews in Tripadvisor and weren’t disappointed. Service and food were excellent with very large portions, so much so we couldn’t even share a dessert. I’ve never has suckling lamb before and it was a real treat. Sue asked for her lamb chops to be served “sin sangre” and they were served just right. It’s a shame that the restaurant was so quiet, our fault for eating so early but it livened up with a big group arriving about 9. We left for a good hike up and down hill to our hotel feeling pleasantly full. A wonderful building and location, super quality and value for money.

One of the best in food & ambience not only in Toledo but in Spain ???????? . Best kept secret. The food is fantastic specially the roast lamb ????

Very nice ambiance of the palace, interesting selection of the meals, and good quality of what we tried.

We booked a table in the restaurant for an 8pm fine dining experience. Instead we were shown to a table in the bodega, the restaurant area proper being closed. Then told that the kitchen was closed till 8.30. The soup we had was nice, but my wife's main dish was missing it's vegetable and was told that she had been given potatoes instead. However, potato was already on the menu for this dish (venison). My steak was rather gristly and fatty, but tasted ok. The only dessert available was marzipan cake, which neither of us like. When it came to the bill, no reduction was offered for my wife's dish. Not a fine dining experience.

The restaurant was closed despite a confirmed booking and we were instead directed to the hotel bodega, assured that the food ‘ is the same’ We ordered two starters, stuffed artichokes which were delicious, filled with sundried tomatoes. The second starter was Iberian jamon, bizarrely served with little wheat crackers shaped like almonds and a tiny bowl of tomate. The main course options were divided into three sections, Woodfired roast lamb or suckling pig, with potatoes. Alternatively, fish being either Hake which had sold out, or grilled octopus. The third section was grilled venison or lamb cutlets. There was no vegetarian option, and no vegetables except potatoes to accompany any of the meals on offer. The Hake had apparently already ‘finished’ despite being only half an hour into service. The general ambiance was very nice, though noisy as the bodega was popular with a largely American clientele. Overall it was ok. Not the amazing dining experience anticipated from reviews.