Freixa Tradición-- Madrid's new contemporary bistrot

[Maribel]

We’ve dined here twice with our HO friends, but this will refer to our latest visit.

Being a Saturday lunch we began with a glass of Lustau Rojo vermouth from Jerez along with the house welcome dishes of Iberian fuet by Montaraz (Extremadura) with olives and a rich sea urchin cream.

Far too tempted by the beautiful display cart of the “specials of the day” that chef Ramón Freixa himself presented to us, and not carefully contemplating the cost of the finest of the wild caught fish brought in daily from Spain’s famous piers (Palamós prawns, turbot/seam bream from Getaria, Cantabrian lobster…), we threw caution to the winds, going off menu with only one exception.

We (or better still, I, the culprit) ordered the precious tear peas from the Maresme (as preferred by Catalan chefs, their “home” product), fried goose eggs with shaved black truffles, delicate verdinas, the small Asturian beans, with clams and spider crab (a regular menu item) and a quite large (2.1 kilos—-ouch!!) of grilled red snapper to share among three.
Having no room for his wonderful desserts, such as the flambéed tableside babá al ron añejo with whipped cream and chocolate caviar we enjoyed at our last lunch, we opted for only coffee along with complimentary almond cookies and chocolate clusters.

For this his new eponymous restaurant, Ramón has organized a large, snappily dressed, well honed staff who are all extremely attentive and super friendly.

While ours was a splurge luncheon given our expensive off menu items, one can dine much more reasonably here, as we did on our initial visit, taking care in ordering.
When sticking to traditional menu of classic haute cuisine (like the fabulous sea bass Wellington that can be shared among 4) one can enjoy the refined, Art Deco surroundings, elegant table settings and superb service of this newcomer on chic Calle Velázquez for around 90+/person for a special treat.

It receives one Repsol sun, a Michelin recommendation and a 7.9 Macarfi rating.

His 10-seat Ramón Freixa Atelier downstairs serving only 10 diners a 17-course dinner tasting menu (Wed-Sat only) has been anointed with 2 Michelin stars and 3 Repsol suns.

The elegant upstairs dining space

The chef taking our order

Amuse bouche

sea urchin cream

Tear peas from the Maresme

Fried goose eggs with black truffle

Our enormous red snapper to feed 3, pargo

The best part–the head!

Dessert treats with coffee

[martynartinez]

That all looks and sounds incredible, and along with Desde 1911, gives me two dining excursions to get back to Madrid to try. How heavily booked out are they getting?

[erica1]

They are about to get at least one person who plans to haunt their reservation site sometime soon!

I’m almost speechless.

[Maribel]

Our dear HO friend, who is extremely skillful with the reservation process, made this Freixa Tradición rezzie for us this time and for our previous lunch. At Tradición, do request the upstairs dining room with lots of natural light.

I do know Freixa Tradición is not at all as tough a table to book as Desde 1911.

Our friend also made our reservation at Desde 1911 in person during our lunch there last week for our next visit in November. It´s going to be a twice yearly splurge. It’s so very much worth the splurge!

[ssinny95]

That look great. Will definitely book for our upcoming trip. We have also booked Barbudo per your recommendation, Maribel.

[Maribel]

ssinny95,
I hope you enjoy both.
At Barbudo, the dining room is down a long flight of stairs and the two tops facing you as you enter are set close together, so I would request the more private, “romantic” corner alcove for more privacy. The sommelier/maitre is also a master of the cocktail, if you’re interested.

Freixa Tradición has two dining spaces, one down the stairs, that seemed a bit dark and the upstairs room filled with light and a huge bar, whose bartender makes some great cocktails (we just had vermouth), so book the latter. Well spaced tables in both rooms.

What want to order next time (and it’s best to share)…
for a starter, the potato ravioli with ‘butifarra del perol’ sausage and Ganxet beans (very catalán),
for the main, the three-meat roast cannelloni with foie, boletus and truffle (another Freixa family favorite-Ramón’s parent chefs retired from their Barcelona’s Freixa Tradició).
and for dessert, the creamy lemon pie.

On our first visit we 4 shared that Wellington of sea bass with champagne, which was fabulous.

[ssinny95]

Any suggestions for a non-Spanish food restaurant in Madrid? Maybe Italian or Mediterranean? Or Middle Eastern? We like to throw in a few places to mix things up a bit. Not an Asian fusion place, as my husband is not a big fan of those flavor profiles.

[Maribel]

ssinny95,
For Italian, we really like La Tavernetta on Calle Orellana (Justicia), Sicilian and Sardinian cuisine.

For Georgian–Nunuka on Libertad (Chueca)

Middle Eastern–Taberna Jam in multicultural Lavapiés gets fine reviews. On my “to do” list but haven’t yet been.

[ssinny95]

Thank you. They all look good.

[Estufarian (Alan)]

Booked for May!
Sadly, only waiting list for Desde 1911!

Thank you Maribel.

[Maribel]

@Estufarian
Yeah! Glad you’re booked for May!

[Maribel]

@Estufarian
And if you like bubbles, Ramón has a very nice sparkling wines list. He loves burbujas. His adorable dog is named Bubbles.

[ssinny95]

We are booked for May as well!

[Maribel]

@ssinny95
Hope you enjoy his very rich, wonderful cuisine, with lots of “chup chup” in the sauces.
Ramón is quite the host, if you meet him, a catalán, born in the Barcelona province, who has lived in Madrid for at least 15 years, and his and his partner’s home is literally around the block, on the corner of Jorge Juan and Lagasca (lucky duck!)

[tigerjohn]

I’d try Peruvian as there is a large population of Peruvians living in Madrid. Pucara Origenes, Quispe, Triperito and Callao24 (a bit farther out but it’s my wife’s favorite) are a few of our favorites.

[ssinny95]

@tigerjohn, thanks for these suggestions!

[Maribel]

@ssinny95
Ditto to tigerjohn’s excellent Peruvian recommendations! Peruvian cuisine has become quite popular here.

Triperito, far in the back of Mercado de la Paz is 12 seats only at a counter and gets quite busy at lunchtime now with 3 sets, 1:30-2:30, 2:30-3:30 and 3:30-4:30, so …
when I return, I’ll follow tigerjohn’s suggestion of going on a Tues-Wed-Thurs night at 8 with less market hustle and bustle, although at night it now has 3 sets, one hour each. But the atmosphere I suspect is more sedate in the evening.
It’s closed Sun/Mon.
It’s the new sibling of Tripea in the Vallehermoso market.
Their ceviche caliente mejillones al wok is my favorite dish.

Quispe is also a favorite of ours and is both stylish with lovely interior décor and offers great dining plus piscos.
We go there every time we have dr. appointments across the street, as our after check up treat. And what’s even better—it’s open on Sundays for both lunch and dinner (dinner being hard in Madrid to find a great place).

[ssinny95]

I think our food agenda for our brief stay in Madrid will be:
Barbudo, La catapa, Tradición, one of the Peruvian retaurants tbd, and Ita (been to Ita before, and really liked it). It’s always so hard to narrow things down in Madrid. Too many options.

[tigerjohn]

While it’s a bit higher in price (just a bit) I’d suggest Gurisa as an alternative to Barbudo. They cook everything over an open fire including the excellent guises (stews) that would focus on. I went to both and think that Gurisa is a better option. I think Maribel has reviewed it here but if not I can add some more details.

[ssinny95]

That’s interesting. I’ll look at Gurisa but I’m interested to know your take on Barbudo. I was thinking Barbudo for our first dinner because we will be traveling back from Asturias that day and not getting in until evening, and Barbudo is about a 3 minute walk from our hotel.