If there is one dish at Los Xarmientos that sums up this entire philosophy, it is “the suckling lamb shoulder,” a true signature dish of the restaurant. Cooked for 12 hours at a low temperature before being finished on the grill, it has become the establishment’s quintessential dish. "Cooking it for so long at a low temperature leaves the meat incredibly tender and juicy," the restaurant told Aragón Digital.
ARAGONESE PRODUCE TAKES CENTER STAGE
One of this restaurant’s main hallmarks is its commitment to local produce. Los Xarmientos prepares all its dishes using products from the Aragonese region, minimizing intermediaries so that meats, fruit and vegetables reach the kitchen as fresh as possible.
The fruit and vegetables, as well as the cheese and meat, are all produced and purchased from local producers. Fish is the only exception, as it is sourced from a national distributor for obvious reasons. "We try to use zero-mile produce. The fewer intermediaries, the better. We want it to arrive as fresh as possible," they say.
One of this restaurant’s main hallmarks is its commitment to local produce. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
Among the products that most surprise customers is the Barbastro tomato served on the menu, an ingredient for which the restaurant is willing to sacrifice profitability in favor of quality: "It is a tomato that tastes like a tomato. It is one of the least profitable products for us, but when people try it, they always say the same thing: it had been a very long time since they had eaten a tomato like that."
AN AWARD THAT HAS BOOSTED ONE OF ITS DISHES
Without taking the spotlight away from the suckling lamb, another dish has gained prominence on the menu over the past year. It is the “oxtail timbale,” with which the restaurant won first prize for Best Oxtail Dish in a culinary competition held in collaboration with Las Moradas de San Martín winery.
The award-winning dish combines oxtail cooked for hours with pickled zucchini, a Grana Padano cheese tuile and a demi-glace made from the meat’s own juices.
All of Los Xarmientos’ dishes are homemade. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
This recognition was joined by the strong reception given last June to a spinach salad with burrata, mango vinaigrette and creamy avocado, created alongside the charitable initiative The MoveMen to raise awareness of prostate cancer. The dish became one of the most requested options on the daily menu that month.
A MENU WITH ARAGONESE FLAVOR AND INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCES
Los Xarmientos’ culinary offering is structured around three options. First, there is the daily menu, available from Tuesday to Friday, where local produce is combined with flavors from cuisines around the world. Examples include dishes such as Thai-style hake with coconut milk and tamarind, a recipe that incorporates Asian influences without losing sight of local produce.
The second option is the à la carte menu, featuring classics such as migas, an assortment of grilled meats, octopus, cod and the already well-known Barbastro tomato salad. This is complemented by a wide variety of homemade desserts.
Los Xarmientos offers an Aragonese Menu designed for those who want to discover some of the region’s most representative flavors. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
Finally, Los Xarmientos offers an Aragonese Menu designed for those who want to discover some of the region’s most representative flavors, as well as a Special Tasting Menu featuring the restaurant’s most popular dishes.
In addition, during festivities such as Saint George’s Day and Saint Valerius, as well as on various weekends throughout the year, the restaurant adds off-menu suggestions prepared with seasonal produce.
EVERYTHING IS MADE IN-HOUSE
Beyond the raw ingredients, the restaurant focuses on another aspect it considers essential: making everything in-house. From sauces to desserts, practically everything is prepared in its kitchens. "When a sauce tastes like pepper, it is because we cooked that pepper ourselves. Everything is made here," they explain.
Each dish requires different preliminary processes that are carried out daily at the restaurant, a philosophy that also extends to the desserts and which they consider one of the establishment’s great distinguishing features compared with other culinary offerings.
Alongside the kitchen, the Los Xarmientos team also places emphasis on service. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
THE EXPERIENCE GOES BEYOND THE DISH
Alongside the kitchen, the Los Xarmientos team also places emphasis on service. Their goal, they explain, is for every customer to feel cared for throughout the entire experience, from the moment they walk through the door until they leave the restaurant.
The combination of cuisine based on Aragonese produce, artisanal preparation and attentive service is, they say, the recipe that has allowed them to continue establishing themselves as one of the leading establishments for enjoying traditional cuisine in the heart of Zaragoza.
