This restaurant is situated at an interesting small town in the province of Girona. Roughly two hours from the capital city, Setcases literally means "seven houses." Its origin can be dated back to the 10th century when the seven houses were built by a father and his seven sons when they were stuck with their herds at snowfall. Throughout the centuries, the population kept its low rate, until the ski resort Vallter 2000 opened in 1997, which boosted tourism in this enchanted place. At the bottom of the mountains, Setcases becomes the closest stopover for visitors.
The town keeps its stone houses and winding streets, littered discretly with hotels and restaurants. Can Tiranda is one of them. It offers a magnificent view of the mountains. We had lunch looking at snow flakes wavered leisurely creating a lyrical blanket.
There are two sections, a bar and a restaurant. The restaurant is smoke free. For smokers they can go to the bar or simply go outside with the majestic mountains at the background. Service is fast and warm, typical of a small town. It was time to try some traditional Spanish mountain cuisine. For starters we were offered an assortment of local sausages and olives.
For the first dish, we shared a salad and trinxat, a typical Catalan dish, which does not sound much, made with potatoes and cabbage, but when well cooked it is fit for the most picky palate. Certainly they kept up the tradition in Can Tiranda.
For second, we chose civet de senglar, wild boar in a stew, which is available only during the first months of the year. It was the best I had tasted, though my favourite is still grilled wild boar that I had in Argentina. I have not seen it grilled in Spain though. This stew was strong and robust, and the potatoes were full of fragrant.
Other typical dishes worth trying are carn a la brasa, meat grilled on fire. They offer a mixture of sausage, lamb, quail and chicken, and grilled artichoke.
For dessert, I tried mousse de ratafia, which was nothing to write home about. The one that is definitely worth trying is their flam blanc, which is a flan made with milk and berries.
We had their house wine, which came in an unlabelled bottle with a stopper. It was surprisingly refreshing.
The air is clean and fresh. It is one of those places that worry simply disappears. Children roam the streets without any problems.
It is a good place to have lunch after skiing and getting down the winding mountain roads in the thickening afternoon fog. We were told that during summer months the surroundings were equally enchanting, famous for its trails and the scene full of green must look quite different then.
Beside the bar and restaurant it also offers apartment accommodation.
Hotels are beautifully decorated in every occasion.
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