Hacienda Los Lingues

It rained the whole afternoon I spent at Hacienda Los Lingues, and I cannot now imagine eating there in any other weather.

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 wedge of iceberg with blue cheese, 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. Cut through it and you found that deep, beefy, almost iron-tasting interior that only comes from time and dry air. 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 a slab of New York cheesecake, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

It is not cheap. It is, in this case, worth it.