I only wish that my stay in Madrid had lasted as long as it’s taking me to finish this food report about my 4 nights in the Spanish capital.
My second meal here was on a Sunday which coincided with a puente (bridge) holiday, or what we in the US would call a “long weekend.” Many restaurants were closed, especially for dinner which is usual on Sundays in Madrid. So instead of dinner, I booked a table for the last time slot at SALA DE DESPIECE.
This miniscule and very casual (mostly bar seating; a few high-topped tables) eatery sits along Calle Ponzano, which in the past decade, has evolved into one of the city’s prime venues for tapeando. It’s a street of only a few blocks, lined with a dozen or more small eating spots: restaurants, bars, etc, interspersed with small local businesses catering to local residents (butcher shop, etc). The barrio is Trafalgar, within Chamberi, a gentrified district just north of the center.
The long, narrow dining room, white with blocks of lemon and teal-colored tiles, was packed when I entered. I was ushered to my tiny window table, reached by ducking under the bar and scooting to the right. First time I’ve ever had to limbo in reverse to be seated!
I loved this place. Modern and buzzy but not frenetic, with cooking that was creative without pretense, it was an ideal spot to pass a few hours on a quiet Sunday. It’s seated dining only, so no mobs of people crowding you along the bar at peak times.
Argentinian Manager, Paul, was as hospitable as could be and set the tone for the entire meal. I gather that this was a very hot spot not too many years ago and it’s still going strong, filled to the gills on the afternoon I was there with locals, plenty of European visitors from outside Spain, and at least one American female. I had a fantastic time! Ingredients are prime quality, sourced from all over Spain, and beyond (mussels from France; cod from Denmark, etc) put together in a way I’d not seen before. No foams, no fuss, but lots of fun, both in the place and in the food.
Baked olives, complimentary starter, served hot; do not recall the details, which were carefully explained by Paul:
“Product List,” or carta:
I began with the prettiest artichoke (from Tudela in Navarra, vegetable mecca of Spain) I’d ever laid my gaze upon. Dabs of avocado puree like khaki-colored Hershey’s Kisses tucked into the roasted leaves, a mound of black roe in the center,
a drizzle of lime…just superb.
A signature dish, the “Rolex,” consists of a long, flattened strip of “Iberian pancetta” (???) laminated with palm sugar syrup and bruleed. On top, a disc of foie crowned with one perfect jammy yolk sitting above a lawn of black truffle, all rolled up into one scrumptious bite.
“Chuleton,” raw Galician beef, pounded to a gossamer length, with black truffle and grated tomato:
Prawns from Huelva; their heads fried in light tempura batter that were so delicious I found myself eating the tiny black eyes, their meat sweet and dusted with maybe a tad too much salt:
Like the prawns, the navajas (razor clams were off menu; it’s good to ask for any specials of the day if you are after shellfish)
So good, I forgot to snap a pic. (But not as good as the navajas I would have the following night, when I returned to an old favorite in the barrio Ibiza.)
With a glass of Lopart cava (6.20e), my bill totalled 64.20e
Thumbs up for SALA DE DESPIECE!
