I tried on my last trip to Madrid(2022) to book a ticket at Corral de la Morería without dinner, without success, I even went to the website today to see if there were any tickets available for my upcoming September visit, but no seats available without the dinner package, except for a 3;30 pm show. Are the evening performances dinner and show only?
That’s exactly why I went And you’re right, it was very fun and whimsical ,I just had a problem with one of their dishes and I don’t think they handled it well, hence the “mixed feelings”
@PedroPero
I don’t think the evening performances are dinner and show only. I see “espectáculo” (show) only available for 7:30 and 9:30 this summer.
Thanks, I’ll check again.
I’ve been on a quest lately to compile a list of solid sit-down places where a couple can dine very well for €40-45-50/person (with a glass or 2 of wine each or a modest bottle) and that have an excellent RCP (relación calidad/precio) or good value for the price, like many of the Michelin Bib Gourmands.
With all the new, “hot” openings with soaring prices, this has become my mission----
So far I´ve tested
La Llorería and Morgana in Chueca
Uskar, La Lorenza, Tatema and La Caníbal in Lavapiés
Brutalista in Argüelles
Trèsde and Barmitón in La Latina
Sagrario Tradición, La Tajada and Cachivache Taberna in Chamartín
Los 33 and Casa Orellana in Salesas
AskuaBarra and Casa Mortero in Cortes
La Montería, Marcano, La Castela, Castelados, Salino, La Raquetista, Berlanga and La Catapa in Retiro
Las Tortillas de Gabino and Taberna Garelos in Almagro
Vinoteca Moratín in Letras/Huertas
La Maruca, Ocafú Taberna Gallega and Bar H Emblemático in Salamanca.
Plus there´s all the great value market dining I’ve mentioned here.
Just a little list for those who may be looking for solid value, sit-down dining (not tapas) in Madrid.
Just when I thought I narrowed down my list of restaurants, here you are with another amazing list!
So far my must try’s are La Lloreria , Fismuler, La Canabal Casa’s Toni and Dani(repeats) La casa del Abuela( another repeat, love those shrimps)
Maybe try’s- La Tasqueria, Casa Macareno for menu del dia(any other menu del dia suggestions are welcome) and maybe a food tour that I might combine with a tapas crawl which I’ve enjoyed in other cities(Lisbon/Barcelona/Valencia) .
I will definitely check out your new updated list. I don’t want to overload my days with too many reservations, which I know are essential these days especially when time is limited and want more of a casual, fun vibe. Stars aren’t important to me these days, I’m not seeking them out, but if they have them, that’s great.
How about Juana la loca that offers tapas and also sit down dining?
That was going to be on my La Latina list but I forgot. It’s always so busy I didn’t know whether the table seating would be comfortable because we usually just have tapas at the bar.
Absolutely try La Llorería and listen to José’s recommendations. The only item I told him I didn’t want to eat was offal. I live in the land of offal and just don’t like it, with some minor exceptions. That’s why I’ve never been to Casa Toni or La Tasqueria. La Tasqueria has a new location, BTW. Its younger sibling, El Lince, has less offal.
Fismuler is always a safe bet with me, as are La Ancha and Las Tortillas de Gabino, which belong to the same Redruello family.
We go to La Caníbal for octopus. It´s just the best, not rubbery,and the accompanying potatoes are equally delicious. It´s loud, crowded, filled with families on the weekends and despite being close to the Reina Sofía Museum, you won’t find many tourists there.
On my list there are no Michelin stars but a few Repsol suns.
Casa Macareno does a very good menú del día for lunch only on weekdays, as does Ponzano 12 (a classic, for 18 euros), as does Badila and El Lugarcito in Lavapiés as does the Andalusian Casa Orellana in Salesas. And there´s Bogotá in Chueca.
There´s the executive 35 euro menu at La Cocina de Frente (owned by La Tasquite de en Frente) in Retiro on Calle Ibiza, upper end that they call “Bullbiza”. José Andrés is one of the investors in the Bullbiza project.
The newish Garelos Furrancho at El Españoleto 11 in Chamberí, Almagro area, does a great menu for 23.50. It should be on their QR code or just ask for it. It´s one of our favorite Galician taverns. Always bustling because the well heeled neighbors in this hood know a good value when they see it. Even without this menu, Garelos, either the new one on Españoleto or the original on Blanca de Navarra, represents a good value. It´s always packed and the seating upstairs is preferred.
We find that we prefer to spend at least 18 euros to insure better ingredients, not just cheap cuts of meat and fish.
TreZe moved its menu from the mothership to TerZio across the street and it’s just not the same. This place is best for sandwiches.
Thanks again for all the great information and recommendations, you and everyone else on the Spain thread is making my planning much easier. I should really spend more than a week in Madrid, so much do see and eat, but I really wanted to spend some time as well in Malaga this trip. I don’t eat a lot of offal here, so I might pass on La Tasqueria even though it does sound intriguing. I might end up eating menu del dia every day for lunch, they all sound excellent.
@PedroPero
I just returned from the last part of Holy Week in Málaga, and because of the crowds, we did make reservations for each and every dining spot.
Here´s where we ate and enjoyed our meals-
Anyway Wine Bar in its new location near the Muelle Uno (small plates, great wine list, inexpensive), a great value for 62 euros for 2, total.
La Cosmo, the new entry by the chef of La Cosmopolita and Michelin-starred Kaleja.
Refectorium Catedral, always a must for us for seafood
Matiz in the Molina Lario Hotel for their indoor courtyard dining and yummy canelones de chivo, a signature dish that won the award for best goat recipe in the Málaga province.
Beluga, for its lovely rice dishes. The chef hails from Alicante. We had two rice dishes, the rice with foie, duck and pumpkin and the rice with Iberian pork loin (pluma), tender green onions and baby limas. Lovely service, we sat in the covered terrace with heaters. Repsol recommended.
For drinks and bar fare, we enjoyed Balausta inside the Hotel Palacio Solecio twice.
You do need to be very careful about where you dine in Málaga these days, as the city has become increasingly filled with tourist restaurants of poor caliber.
This the hotel I’m staying at, and my booking includes half board, which I never do, but the deal was too good to pass up and I mean crazy good(I just hope it’s not a mistake). I get breakfast and a choice of lunch or dinner at Matiz, which is great because I arrive on a Sunday afternoon from Madrid, so it might be tricky to find a non touristy trap restaurant that’s open. I plan on at least one lunch on the beach at a Chiringuito ,I mean how can I not? :D. La Cosmo, Beluga and Kaleja(my one big splurge dinner) are on my list. Your other recommendations look great as well. I think Refectorium Catedral or Malagueta just jumped to the top of my list! Looks wonderful.
Many thanks again.
We did enjoy the Hotel Molina Lario. Our room faced the official procession route but we weren’t able to see the Sunday procession that was cancelled due to the torrential rains.
Our room can equipped with robes, slippers, chocolates on our pillows, nice bath toiletries, a Nespresso machine and was quite spacious. And there are umbrellas at the door for guests’ use (which we needed!)
Be sure the order the canelones de chivo, which will be finished off tableside and topped with béchamel. I was pleasantly surprised with Matiz. We had two lunches there.
If you do take the bus out to the Pedregalejo beach and have lunch at one of the Chiringuitos, such as Andres Maricuchi or El Caleño, do know that the sardine season is May to October. They do the espetos all year but that is the season.
I’ll be in Malaga the last week of September, so hopefully I’ll catch the tail end of espetos season. Andres Maricuchi or El Caleño look great, but I’ll make sure not to order the giant prawns at the waiters behest
The bus looks like a easy way to get to the area, but I’ll probably walk back to the hotel.
Also, my brother in law recommended Lo Güeno for “traditional fare”, do you know the place?
I do indeed now Lo Güeno de Strachan. It’s a very short walk from the Molina Lario . It’s a Málaga classic “mesón” turned “asador” with a large terrace that serves excellent grilled red meat. It’s a tradition to come here for Carnes a la Brasa.
Perfecto! thanks!
Well, I know have another lovely dining spot to add to my list above in the Chamberí district, just off Calle Ponzano (restaurant and bar row), on Bretón de los Herreros. It’s AGARIMO (“agarimo” means “affection” in gallego)
Rather than a traditional, very typically Galician tavern, this is an intimate 25-seat, all white modern Galician bistrot, serving not Galician classics but instead very creative dishes created from Galician ingredients but with a much more ambitious approach. Here you won’t find the typical caldo gallego, tortilla de Betanzos (runny egg style), etc.
Instead the dishes here are more original, more adventurous.
The menu is divided into 6 individual starters, 10 mains mean to be shared and just 3 desserts.
We started with a croquette of salpicón and viera (seafood medley and scallop) and a fritter of marinated chopped chorizo redolent of paprika.
For our mains we shared duck meatballs (no filling just delicious shredded duck) on a bed of fried potato bits and carrot purée and hake Galician style, which was translucent, perfectly cooked accompanied by carrot purée and grelos with caramelized onions.
For dessert we shared a blue cheese and white chocolate cheesecake. Was it as delectable as the Alex Cordobés version? Actually, I thought so, and it wasn’t runny, just extremely rich.
With two glasses each of Godello white, Ponte da Boga from Ribeira Sacra, bottled water, wonderful and plentiful Galician bread accompanied by calçots butter (original and delicious), and petit fours on the house (tiny rosquillas, like doughnuts), our bill. came to 97, just under the 50/p mark.
No coffee but the couple seated next to us at the 5 seat counter did ask for a large carafe of tap water, which we didn’t think to order.
Other dishes we’ll try next time,
crepes (filloas) filled with cocido in an emulsion of greens (grelos)
tartar of Galician beef served with a blue cheese hollandaise and smoked whipped cream (Chantilly)
razor clams in a pil pil sauce
and their star dessert----a Tarta de Santiago topped with an orujo cream and dulce de leche
So I will now add this little gem to my list.
The service was very, very friendly, very eager to please, our waiter did speak excellent English to my husband, and they do have an English menu.
It is tiny, just 20 seats at the low tables and 5 at the counter, so it’s essential to reserve in advance.
It’s also Repsol recommended.
I think of it as a small, much more casual and less expensive LÚA—highly creative Galician but without the Repsol sun (and former Michelin star) and more sophisticated ambience.
@PedroPero
While walking today from north of Sala de Despiece (which was packed to the rafters at 4) down to the Plaza de España, my walk took me by Casa Macareno in Malasaña. Although extremely popular do you want to make the trek down to quite grungy San Vicente Ferrer in Malasaña just for their menú del día?
There are other menús that would take you to far more attractive parts of Madrid during your stay. Just a thought, since it’s now on my mind.
Looks excellent! Adding to the list.
This is already on my list! Can’t remember who recommended it, it’s a very short walk from my hotel and I have no problem trekking to grungy neighborhoods for good food. For some reason, I can’t view their website, very strange.