Hotel Le Cara Sol

The decor is smart, and the prices are reasonable if you enjoy tapas. But the old flair seems to have gone, and I much preferred the menu choices on my previous visit. Now everything is presented attractively on slates, but it’s all tapas, with cold cuts of meat and fish. There’s just one set menu as an alternative, a three-course meal that I found rather uninteresting. With those options, it seems there’s no need for a chef.

We were shocked by how poor the service was at a place with such a high rating. We’d booked dinner for Monday evening, but after an hour at our table, none of our food or drinks had arrived. There were six of us and the only water we got was two bottles, which we had to keep asking for. Just two staff members were serving, and with three children in our group, we decided to leave. There was still no sign of our order. When we told the waiter, he only said “desolé.” Apparently Cara Sol has new management, and our visit was atrocious. The male waiter also looked shabby and, to me, more suited to working at McDonald’s than at a restaurant that considers itself ‘high end’. Avoid at all costs.

The food was superb, and we had a fantastic three-course dinner outside on the terrace at sunset. I’d been here about five years ago and came back because I’d remembered that earlier visit so fondly.

The mountain view was stunning, and after sunset we moved into the classy dining room for dessert. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. The owner said he’d taken over only eight months earlier, which may explain why there aren’t more reviews yet. We can’t recommend Cara Sol enough. We picked the €27 set menu because our French is a little limited, and the owner took time to explain everything. The starter was a cold pea soup with seaweed foam, simply great. Then came an incredible egg, mushroom, and salted caramel combination. It sounds strange, but it’s been the highlight of every meal on this holiday. I can’t explain why it worked so well, but I can’t praise it enough. My partner’s salmon and mouse starter was great too. For the main courses, one of us had fantastically cooked beef croquettes, while I had a nice Marlin risotto. Fish and risotto aren’t usually all that exciting, but this was top quality. I finished with passionfruit and white chocolate, and my partner had chocolate ravioli filled with orange. That was a little odd, but the creativity was welcome. Of the two highly recommended restaurants in Elne, Cara Sol is a level above. The chef came up with inventive dishes and some novel combinations, and the food was surprisingly good for a reasonable price. The other restaurant costs about the same, but serves more home-cooked-style food than the well-presented cuisine here.