Madrid Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[vserna]

In March or April.

[gagit]

I have seen many suggestions on eating in Barcelona but not many on Madrid. 2 nights there and want to make the best eating choices.

[Rogelio]

The two best restaurants in Madrid nowadays are: La Broche and Santceloni. But if you take a look you can find reviews and discussions of these favourite restaurants: Sacha, Kabuki, Viridiana, Antojo, Coque, Aldaba, Combarro...

Also, acording to El Mundo's food critic Fernando Point Madrid leads the product based cuisinne being the best examples:

Casa d’a Troya (gallician), La Tasquita de Enfrente (modern), Lavinia (modern brasserie ), Dantxari (eclectic basque), Asador Imanol (roasted meats and more), O’ Pazo (fish and seafood), Támara-Casa Lorenzo (castillian), Aldaba (moderno

navarrian), Nicolás (market food), Arce (basque, game, mushroom, and offal), Sacha (modern gallician), Samm (paella rices), El Oso (Asturian).

[Brian]

Myself and the better half had a good meal at La Broche last October with some outstanding dishes. The restaurant is high on "concept" i.e. all of the decor (walls, floor, furniture, etc..) and the table covers are white. The staff all wore black, so the only colour is the food. I enjoyed this novelty, though I can understand why some may not. The cuisine is very refined and modern, with traditional roots. The restaurant is closed at weekends.

We ate at "La Terazza Del Casino" the next night, which is owned by Ferran Adria. This is pure theatre, with several El Bulli inspired dishes - including nitro cocktails, and the melon caviar. Several of the items were fantastic, including a dish of "ham air" - jamon with a foam. Some of the items looked inventive, but tasted pretty ordinary. e.g. a "pizza" tapa - a parmesan tuile on a stick with powdered tomato and basil.

I would return to La Broche before La Terazza, but I think I would be overruled by the missus! Both places cost about the same, at between €200-250 for two including fairly modestly priced wines.

[gagit]

thank you was considering La Broche, we are going to El Bulli on the weekend before so I think its enough of Ferria, Did you find any local tapas place, we kind of like one night of that.

[Rogelio]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=101477

[Brian]

I was drinking as enthusiastically as I was eating the night we did the tapas bars, so I can't offer detailed help here. It was very enjoyable though!

[ameiden]

Went to Santceloni a few days ago and will certainly not return.

There are a lot of waiters working there but the service gives a routine performance without any empathy for the customer. They work in quite a hectic way and we felt rushed. Our main courses arrived about three minutes after we had finished our starters. Not very pleasant!

The signature dish, braised lamb shoulder, is a huge portion of meat in not enough sauce and served with nothing but caramelised shallots that were still raw on the inside. No vegetables, no mash or anything else.

Prices are high and although the food is well prepared in general, it does not meet the expectations of a two star restaurant. No wow factors throughout the evening, instead we got some rather bland green bean pudding as an amuse bouche.

Although the setting is spacious and elegant, it has a few hideous features like copper pans hanging in the middle of the restaurant as decorative elements. Better save your money or go to a more traditional place for Cocido, for example to Taberna de la Daniela which we found much more enjoyable.

Edited May 16, 2007 by ameiden (log)

[gagit]

thank you for your reply, this was one of my choices in Madrid but will now take it off my list would rather go to simple tapas restauarant then go through that experience.

[vserna]

A strange experience - to say the least. No mash, of course...

[gagit]

Thanks to this forum I received mainly helpful tips for eating choices on my trip to Spain last week, which included a dissapointing food experience at El Bulli and further at Gaig in Barcelona.However all in all I did have some interesting and positive eating experiences which I would like to share. In Barcelona,thanks to this forum on Sunday Night, Mam I Teca, a sports bar with 6 tables and 6 stools who welcomed us even when my party increased in size from 2 to 4 at a moments notice. Yes, we only got a table for 2 but we managed unlike El Bulli who rejected this request when it should have been no issue at all .It was soccer night here and all the patrons were wearing there Barcelona Jerseys and we clapped to the Barcelona fight song on a 5 goal scoring spree. The wine was cold and with four bottles at 10 E, we really enjoyed the tapas, especially a codfish delight,ribs and beans, along with the standard peppers, codfish croquettes, and a few others that i cant remember, too much wine lol.The other Tapas restaurants I would recommend were La Clara,upscale Tapas at a reasonable price,Pinotxo Bar, at the wonderful Boquira marketplace , great local tapas, beans, squid, red shrimp. croquettes with peppers and codfish. many others washed down with cold beer and service with a smile.A so so for Bottefumiero , who need to learn how to flavor the Catalan Soup but did serve a wonderful Lobster Salad.

Now for Madrid,seafood is a must in Madrid and La Trainera is the best choice of locals. A great sole was eaten by all, with starters of Red Shrimp, Crab Legs, and Oysters, and a dessert of Trout Pie , yes Trout Pie try it to believe it.We needed meat the next day and the local Meson Txstu was our stop for meat at lunch Wow, the special House Steak a aged sliced local beef, koshered salted, and served on a rock tray surface heated with the beef fat by the server.a real taste treat that I could have eaten after my 30 courses at El Bulli .We started with great Iberico ham and ended the meal with complimentary , Lemon Sorbet with Champagne and raisens and cookies. I had to cancel our hard to get reservation at Le Breoche,although I heard they specialize in the same air and foam as El Bulli.I know there are many other great places to eat in these cities but these were the ones that we enjoyed.

[BlAuGrAnA]

We needed meat the next day and the local Meson Txstu was our stop for meat at lunch Wow, the special House Steak a aged sliced local beef, koshered salted, and served on a rock tray surface heated with the beef fat by the  server.a real taste treat that I could have eaten after my 30 courses at El Bulli

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Not to disagree, but really Txistu is a normal average place in Madrid, meat is not so good if compare with THOUSAND of restaurants all over Spain and even in Madrid. It's a football players star hide out for dinner. With Fabio Capello as the main embassador, like it could be Asador Donostiara and many others in Madrid. To be honest paying the price they ask for their meat i would rather go to places like El Sahillo in Vigo (Galicia) or many other places in Valencia where i would find the same meat or better, with a better service and a better price.

Well if i was Beckham service would be for sure best at Txistu.

So yes Txistu is an expensive quality/price even for Madrid. But we won't deny it's a typicall place to go.

Edited June 26, 2007 by BlAuGrAnA (log)

[Rogelio]

Indeed, next to Txistu is Ansorena who is serving one of the best quality meats in Madrid nowadays. Serious stuff without all the football celebrity gossip.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Rogelio (log)

[gagit]

Biaugrana, Thx for your comment I am sure you are probably right but as I told Rogelio the quality of the meat does not compare to US aged prime which is not only better tasting but cheaper than the $78. . I am sure this is true for all of Spain.I only went for meat since I needed to chew something after eating foam and air at El Bulli . lol

[vserna]

La Trainera is not the best saefood choice of locals, US prime beef is different but certainly not better than well-aged Spanish beef, and Txistu is not just a footballers' tavern but does offer some of the best steaks in Madrid, i.e. in Spain, not far from Ansorena's or Imanol's in quality.

[Reignking]

Not to disagree, but really Txistu is a normal average place in Madrid, meat is not so good if compare with THOUSAND of restaurants all over Spain and even in Madrid.

Most food in the rest of Spain is better than Madrid's

[vserna]

Most food in the rest of Spain is better than Madrid's

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This is an extremely misinformed and misleading statement. Madrid does not have a bevy of Michelin three-star restaurants like San Sebastián, but it's the undisputed mecca for three types of restaurants in Spain: 1) 'restaurantes de producto', i.e. restaurants based on simple, high-quality foodstuffs like steak houses and seafood places; 2) traditional, regional restaurants (from any and all regions, BTW) and 'tascas' (taverns), 3) foreign cuisines.

Edited June 28, 2007 by vserna (log)

[Reignking]

This is an extremely misinformed and misleading statement.

No it's not. I've lived in Madrid and Barcelona and traveled the entire country, except for Galicia.

[butterfly]

I've also lived in Madrid and Barcelona and traveled the country extensively and vserna hit the proverbial nail on the head. I'd also add that Madrid has wonderful working class, everyday food. Even the food in my five-year-old's public school is (almost unbelievably) excellent. Madrileños DO eat very, very well.

[vserna]

Oh, what the heck, butterfly, what do we know? - I'm just the longest-serving restaurant critic on any national newspaper in Spain, so I'd better shut up and concede defeat against superior knowledge...

[BlAuGrAnA]

vserna,

It's wonderfull for you to be a good critic on restaurant, and i think it's a very nice job. But i think butterfly has just exagerated on his comment. I still can argue that Txistu is not the best place IMO to eat meat in Madrid but it's MY opinion and a forum is to share opinions, i prefer Julian de Tolosa in Madrid than Txistu. It's true that i just went 2 times to Txistu and maybe it was a bad day.

And if i compare Txistu with EL Sahillo in Vigo for me their is no colour.

I think a forum is not a competition of "quien la tiene mas larga" but a nice and friendly place where we can share our views. And i have to recognise that all your recommendations are usualy wonderfull and i try to follow the places.

Regards,

Blaugrana

[Reignking]

It isn't as if I'm asserting it as fact.

[gagit]

Only your opinion a fact unto you and you alone.See Biaugranas comments they are fact.

[luizhorta]

"I think a forum is not a competition of "quien la tiene mas larga" but a nice and friendly place where we can share our views."

But unfortunately is, frequently. I've read "I am so and so" more than I think to be healthy...

Edited June 29, 2007 by luizhorta (log)

[vserna]

I still can argue that Txistu is not the best place IMO to eat meat in Madrid but it's MY opinion and a forum is to share opinions, i prefer Julian de Tolosa in Madrid than Txistu.

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Goodness. My English must be going down the drain. I am afraid I 'm not coming across clearly.

Who ever said that Txistu is the best place for steak in Madrid? Who ever denied you your right to assert that you prefer Julián de Tolosa? Heck - what I wrote was that there were at least two places that are better than Txistu!

Please re-read my post, or just read it again here:

Txistu is not just a footballers' tavern but does offer some of the best steaks in Madrid, i.e. in Spain, not far from Ansorena's or Imanol's in quality.

OK?

What I can't put up with, on the other hand, is with perfectly inaccurate, unfair and even preposterous statements such as "Most food in the rest of Spain is better than Madrid's" - which, BTW, was not made by you, so you don't need to feel concerned.

(And, by the way, reading now that "it isn't as if I'm asserting it as fact" makes me go back to my early schooling in logical discourse and scratch my head in confusion. If "most food in the rest of Spain is better than Madrid's" doesn't sound like stating a fact, then my own understanding of English is going down the drain, too.)

P.S. Your nickname, for some reason, makes any comments you make about Madrid - or about Barcelona, for that matter - look suspiciously biased to me. I wonder why that would be...