I would call. I don´t believe, but not sure, that it would be for a minimum of 4 people.
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Well, I plan on doing a lot of walking when I’m there so maybe 
This looks like something I’d check out for sure, could spend the whole afternoon there 
Thanks!
Reservations advised, yes? It’s only a 20 min walk from my hotel! Excellent
Yes it’s best to reserve, at least on weekends, when they get crazy busy.
And Maialen and Sergio are wonderful people.
His tiramisu, prepared tableside, is a delicious ending to a meal.
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Maribel…Coincidence…I lunched today at EL CAMPERO; after my beloved sashimi of ventresca I had the facera de atun braised in Porto! I can never keep all those tuna parts straight but the restaurant kindly provides a nice illustrated souvenir
guide that explains them…
I mistakenly listed LA CASTELA on my Madrid eating plan; I’m going to LA CATAPA, not LA CASTELA. (But maybe I can try to keep up with all of you marathoners and go to both on the same night!!)
Thanks again! So many fantastic choices, and not nearly enough time.
@erica1,
Just mentioning that La Castela, La Castela Taberna (the new place next door), Castelados on Antonio Acuña, La Montería and its sibling La Monte all belong to the same family. And they’re all hugely popular.
La Castela is where the Queen took Michelle and is the favorite classic place to dine of the patriarch of our Madrid family. We’re taking them there next month.
Now with the new La Castela Taberna they have more space. The two spaces are actually identical in look, feel, menu.
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Among the “older siblings” La Castela (and I guess the new Taberna), La Monte, and Salino, and their “younger siblings” Castelanos, La Monteria, and La Raquetista, is there any reason to prefer one over the other? Are the only differences real estate and minor variations in hours and menus, or is it more substantial than that? (I tend to go for “younger siblings” when available, but usually the difference is more apparent.)
La Castela and La Castela Taberna next door are identical, as far as I could tell.
Castelados has a larger dining room and is located on another street. All are equally crowded and hugely popular.
La Monte, the new sibling of La Montería serves a different menu and is high tables only.
For more formal, quiet, relaxing dining I prefer the upstairs dining room of La Montería, very attractive with well spaced tables.
As to Salino vs La Raquetista, the menus are somewhat different with a few of Javier Aparicio’s greatest hits on both. The upstairs dining room of La Raquetista is tiny, only some 5 tables and not well space, whereas Salino’s dining room is larger, with well spaced tables in two rooms and more tranquil/relaxing.
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Thanks for the details, and for correcting my misapprehension of the relationship of La Monte and La Montería.
Marmitón or Barbitón? (Again, I tend to go for younger siblings, but maybe there is a reason not to…)
The tasting menus at La Montería look terrific.
Barbitón is known more for its cocktails and small plates, Marmitón for its French-influenced dishes.
It depends on what you feel like…
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I haven’t seen anything on DeAtún (Andalusian bluefin tuna specialist) on this board, wondering what folks think of it.
For our first time ever 5 day trip next month, based on Maribel’s suggestions above, already planning on La Monteria, La Catapa, Berlanga and Juana La Loca
Also trying to decide among DSpeak, La Bien Aparecida, Sala de Despiece, Sacha, Lakasa and La Llorería for some other meals.
And for a flamenco show, whether folks recommend doing the dinner and show at Corral de la Morería.
I had mixed feelings about Sala de Despiece, it’s a one and done restaurant in a city filled with much better restaurants. I did love Sacha though, highly recommend. Any of the Flamenco shows in the city will be great, save your dinner for somewhere else and just have a drink and the show.
I went to this show and it was excellent, and it’s very close to Casa Toni.
Book Flamenco tickets | Cardamomo Tablao Flamenco Madrid : CARDAMOMO TABLAO FLAMENCO
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@andygottlieb42
I haven’t been to DeAtún on Velázquez, as in Madrid I have almadraba-caught bluefin tuna at KULTO on Calle Ibiza in the Retiro district. Its owners hail from Zahara de los Atunes on the Costa de la Luz. It’s a staple of mine on Sunday nights when many of the gastro tabernas in the Retiro district are closed.
I imagine that DeAtún would be fine. Just never had the opportunity to try it. Tapas magazine recommends it. There is another DeAtún on calle Ponzano, “restaurant row” in the Chamberí district.
Another Salamanca district restaurant that features bluefin tuna is SURTOPÍA. The chef hails from Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
In the Mercado de la Paz in the Salamanca district, a new counter has recently popped up, ALMADRBA EXPERIENCE, PETACA CHICO. I haven’t stopped by but Petaca Chico is one of the companies that sells this tuna, along with Herpac and Gadira.
About D’Speak. It’s no longer in the hands of chef Diego Guerrero of DStage and is now closed I believe. So you can take it off your list.
Sala de Despiece will be moving from its current quarters on Ponzano to a new space on Alonso Cano, also in the Chamberí district, but I don’t know exactly when.
So catch SDD on Ponzano before it closes.
The owner, Javier Bonet, will move the one on Ponzano to Alonso Cano, keep the one on Virgen de los Peligros and open a new one on calle Ayala in the Salamanca district, called SDD0.
Sacha is always a great dining destination. It takes reservations just 2 weeks in advance. It should be on the top of your list, I think.
Lakasa is also extremely consistent and it’s close to “restaurant row”, Ponzano, but around the corner on a large square with large terrace. There is also bar seating.
I loved my experience at La Llorería, and it`s just been awarded a Repsol sun, much deserved. And the owner/chef José Certucha is charming and will guide you well. and you stop when you have had enough of these very original dishes. You control your tasting menu.
La Bien Aparecida is my staple for gourmet, fine dining on Sunday nights, when many of the best chefs take the night off. It´s Paco Quirós’ most upmarket restaurant of his Madrid projects. José de Dios is a fine chef, a bit underrated.
Yes, the dinner and show at Corral de la Morería will be a solid experience, as the Basque chef David García has brought to this tablao a Michelin star. (We enjoyed his cooking at the now closed, Michelin-starred Albora). He was recruited by the del Rey family specifically to make the dining as stellar as the flamenco.
The Corral de la Morería has had the very best performers over its many years. It launched the careers of Antonio Gades and Antonio Canales, among the great flamenco artists who have performed there.
My mother first took me there as a young girl to see Lucero Tena.
And many famous faces have graced its tables, including US Presidents and recently the current King of Denmark (well, that’s another story…).
An anecdote from the current owner, Blanca del Rey:
The Shah of Iran first met his third wife, Farah Diba there when she was a graduate student of architecture. She asked the owner, Manuel del Rey, to introduce her to the Shah, and they were married shortly afterward (although they “officially” met in Paris at the Iranian embassy).
And supposedly Ava Gardner had a spat with Frank Sinatra there, says Blanca.
It´s a true classic, 68 years old, the most prestigious, still owned by the del Rey family, not a newbie, and widely considered to be the best tablao in the city. And the artistic director, Blanca del Rey, is a recipient of the Premio Nacional de Flamenco.
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Andy, I’ve dined at four of your six “possibles.” I’m planning to write a report on my meals in Madrid (just returned a few days ago). I ate at Sala Despiece a year ago, the others last month. I would recommend Sala Despiece. You might not become a regular there but it was certainly a very good experience for me and all of the dishes I tried were excellent. It’s…unique, but in a good way. And it’s also a lot of fun.
I had a solid and very good dinner at Lakasa; it’s the kind of space where you might find yourself, as I did, immediately at home and immediately welcomed by the lovely staff. They are one of the few places that I remember that will prepare not only media raciones, but cuarto (?) raciones— one quarter-sized portion of a dish. That’s a place where, If I lived in Madrid, I could see myself frequenting often. However, apart from the 'bunuelos de Idiazabal," fried round bonbons oozing with that wonderful Basque/Navarran cheese, there was no dish that I imagined myself dreaming about one year from now. (Hope that makes sense, but when I eat certain dishes, I retain their taste memory for years; mention El Campero, for example, and I can feel that sashimi di ventresca in my mouth and will likely be able to feel it for eyes to come.
I very much enjoyed my dinners at La Bien Aparecida and Sacha but I am convinced that I should have asked for more guidance here so I would have known better what to order at both places, although the bulk of the menu at Sacha changes daily. I will write up my experiences as soon as I get settled back home
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@andygottlieb42
Sala de Despiece for me was very entertaining and quite delicious, and we did take a video, but as PedroPero has said, “a (very entertaining) one and done”. it’s not a “regulars’ place”. But because it was featured in “Somebody Please Feed Phil”, it attracts many who have seen the video.
So since you’ve never been, DO GO, but since the menu never changes, it’s not one that food-obsessed madrileños return to time and again, as in weekly, as they do to Sacha and Lakasa, both of which have a very loyal madrileño following.
But it is excellent and has enough of a following to have opened a second branch on Virgen de los Peligros and will open a new place in the Salamanca district.
@erica1
I do hope you have time to write your wonderful report on NOOR here.
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Maribel, Yes, I will write a report on both Cordoba and Madrid!!! NOOR was one of thee most incredible dining experiences I’ve ever had. The food, of course, which was spectacular, but how Chef Morales manages to so deftly intertwine the tastes with the history of each of the components of the dishes and to do so in a way that was fascinating and exciting. I cannot ever remember encountering that intertwining in any restaurant I’ve been to other than NOOR.
Thanks!
NOOR needs some love here on HO.
