Lol. La Lloreria was our other favorite, too.
You might even be right that it was better.
But those oysters at Barmitón - just wow!
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@marksound
I forgot to mention that among the many restaurants that I mentioned on very upscale Calle Ortega & Gasset in the Salamanca district, the Rochacho Plaza does offer beef from arguably Spain’s finest purveyor, Bodegas El Capricho in the León province, where erica and I have both dined. It’s the only Madrid restaurant that offers “the world’s best beef” (say some press articles) from El Capricho.
It’s a fun vibe and the food and service is excellent!
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I agree 100%, and José Certucha is a wonderful host who will walk you through the menu and allow you to order as much or as little as you please. And he will ask you if you have any dietary restrictions (with me it was no offal, por favor! )
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@Maribel - This is the exact intel I was after! Thank you so much. Have booked a late lunch at Lobito De Mar on Saturday. Will do some pre drinks and snacks somewhere around there and then head to the Ibiza area at night to check out Laredo, Catapa, Castela etc…
I cancelled Botin and have booked El Lando for Sunday lunch. Plans are starting to come together now!
By the way, how bad is the rain in Madrid nowadays? Is it a torrential downpour with full on rain gear? Or would we be fine with normal clothes/shoes and an umbrella?
The torrential downpour rain has stopped for now but you will have some rain this week.
Spaniards use www.aemet.es for the weather.
See the prognosis for this week’s weather here-
Thank you. We will just try to use taxis as much as possible. Looks like the “freenow” app has taxis that fit 8 people!
We had dinner at Casa Amadeo and the snails were delicious. We particularly enjoyed the hint of chorizo flavor in the sauce. Other items were not bad but not outstanding. Callos were a little too salty. Really good prices. Very filling dinner for 85 euros for 5 adults and 3 kids.
The hot chocolate at San Gines was silky smooth and hot, but at the new Bordadores branch, the churros themselves are not freshly made to order and were served at room temperature or lukewarm at best! Maybe we should have gone to a different location?
We found the gambas at Casa del Abuelo quite expensive at 18 euros for such a small “large” portion. We went to the branch near Plaza Mayor so maybe the other branches are cheaper or have bigger portions? We enjoyed the garlicky sauce though but don’t think it’s the best because the shrimp were kinda small and mushy.
No the Casa del Abuelo, as far as I can remember, has the same prices and same portion sizes in all of the locations; it’s just now a very tourist-centered place, thus the higher prices and not a particularly good value.
I don’t know about the other locations of San Ginés, as we went on NY day to the Bordadores branch simply because the others were jammed and there was easy seating in the new branch. Some of my friends have said that San Ginés has turned into somewhat of a theme park, as it takes up now several blocks.
If you want to have more churros and try another place that may be better (our churros here have been freshly made), go to Chocolat at Calle Santa María 30 or Huertas 59, both branches in the Barrio de las Letras.
If you want another dish of gambas al ajillo you might try Casa Toni on Calle de la Cruz 14–9.50 a plate
https://casa-toni.res-menu.com/menu.
We had the same experience with the churros at San Gines near Puerta del Sol last year. I wasn’t impressed. But we found another spot (wish I could remember the name) and they were piping hot with tons of chocolate for everyone. If I can figure out where it was I will report back.
Chocolateria 1902 Madrid, it looks like. Nothing special in terms of atmosphere but delicious.
Yes, my friends here have said that San Ginés is resting on its laurels.
During the Christmas season they do set up a pop up stand on the Plaza de España next to the skating rink and a food truck up at at El Corte Inglés at the Castellana, but the mother ship, I think, has become just too over popular.
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That’s very important, to watch them being freshly fried in the kitchen as we do when we stop at churros stands in any city here, especially the stand in front of the Jerez de la Frontera municipal market.
The problem with San Ginés are the massive amounts of tourists. They can´t keep up.
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I will post a more detailed trip report later, but after a few days in Madrid, I think we figured out what we really enjoy.
So far, we liked Taberna Skala in Toledo, particular their lagarda iberico. The caracamusas was just okay - reminded us of Philippine menudo.
The cochinillo at Jose Maria was very juicy and the service was attentive. The ponche segovianos cake was just okay for us.
We really liked the atmosphere at Casa Toni but the gambas were still quite small. The pimenton peppers were also delicious. The morcilla was more of a blood pudding than a blood sausage. Is that always the case?
We tried the regular Ortiz bonito del norte. It was solid but not outstanding. Maybe we need to try better brands or varieties?
Loved the unpretentious and lively vibe at El Brillante. I liked the simplicity of their bocadillo.
The fried cod and torreznos at Casa Revuelta were too salty! I think we’re starting to get tired of fried food.
We walked in at La Perejila and I really enjoyed the fresh squid in ink with white rice! It’s been a while since I’ve had white rice and loved eating it will all that sauce! Would love to have this dish again at another restaurant. Their pan con tomato was also excellent. Bread freshly toasted, bowl of tomato puree to put on top, and a small container of olive oil with some salt. Exactly what we’ve been looking for.
About the morcilla…it depends on how has made it. I prefer it more of a sausage.
About the Ortiz…the ventresca is far superior to the bonito, although expensive.
And gambas al ajillo…in Madrid taverns, like Casa del Abuelo and Casa Toni, the gambas al ajillo are almost always prepared with small, white shrimp.
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La Canibal was disappointing. The pulpo and grilled vegetables were great, but everything else was bland. We ordered the tuna pie, angus steak, hake, and tortilla. Not recommended. Quite expensive and atmosphere felt like any other city in the world.
The Casa Dani tortilla received mixed reviews from our group. Some people liked it but some people also said it was too heavy on the potatoes and needed more flavor. We also had their rabo de toro which was just okay.
The Alex Cordobes cheesecake was nicely done. We got the original and pistachio. I liked the nuttiness of the pistachio but most in our group liked the original better. Might have to try the Fismuler cheesecake next.
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So in general, it seems we like the crowded, local vibe places. Places like Casa Toni or La Perejila. Places that could only exist in Spain - unpretentious, lively, simple. Any recommendations for our final dinner in Madrid with this vibe near Plaza Santa Ana?
Also, where can we find the Bonilla a la Vista chips? Somewhere in Seville or Granada is fine too.
Forgot to mention, we also stopped by Queseria Cultivo and grabbed some truffle cheese, galmesan, and manchego. Next door is Obrador San Francisco where we picked up a loaf of their sourdough. Everyone really liked their bread which we had everyday for breakfast with the cheese and some jamon we got from Jamones Julian Becerro.
