Hacienda Los Lingues

Some rooms tell you exactly what to order the moment you sit down. Hacienda Los Lingues, in San Fernando, is one of them.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: 16th-century hacienda, slow Sunday. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with a half-dozen oysters from the raw bar, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered a quiet Brunello from the back of the list, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: lomo vetado, the dish that puts Hacienda Los Lingues on every short list. There was a thumb of butter melting into the cross-hatch, and a single sprig of thyme on top, and not one thing more. The signature touch — the open hearth in the colonial courtyard — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for wild mushrooms in butter and broiled tomato with a breadcrumb cap. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was the bread pudding with bourbon sauce, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

Some places earn their reputation. Hacienda Los Lingues earns it twice over.