First stop of the night was catapa. Spoke with Miguel angel and mentioned that @Maribel had recommended the restaurant. He was kind and gracious and spent time chatting with us. He apologized that unfortunately they did not have lagrimas but he told me that he would take my number because he was getting maybe a kilo in the next day unfortunately we were only in Madrid for 24 hours. He gave us great wine recommendations and pours. His two port like wines were very interesting pairs with the meals.
Highlights were the fried parrot fish and jamon de mar incredible bites and special technique. The lovely gambas rojo were great but had a hard time scraping enough of the salt off. Potato truffle croquettes were some of the best croquettas I’ve ever had. Rabbit ribs were reminiscent of Chinese preparation salt and pepper with a hint of cumin.There were no misses everything was spectacular.
Second stop monteria. We reserved at the bar, we made the mistake last time of reserving a table. The bar area is much more lively but in order to reserve at the bar area you’ll have to make a phone call and can’t book online.
We’ve had both the atun salmorejo and the foie mango dish in the past so it did not amaze us as much as the first time. However both were as good as we remember. One note is that the atun was super rich so if you’re feeling full might be better as a starter we ordered it at the end of our meal.
The highlight of this stop was the scallop rice. It was impeccable with deep ocean flavors I just wish there were more of their delicious scallops!
Third stop la castela. Carbineros wowwwwwww, I believe just cooked and salted on grill. The platonic ideal of a prawn, i loved the gamba rojos from earlier but this was even better! Maybe the best bite of the night.
I love how castela offers jamon and other cured meats.
We had the cecina which was great as it is less fatty since we had already eaten so much through the evening. Oxtail was quite good great meaty wine infused flavors but was a tad salty which is to be expected.
Ended the evening with a passion fruit tart to cleanse the pallete from a memorable evening of feasting.
Thanks so much for the photos and report! So glad you enjoyed your Thursday evening Retiro moveable feast.
Yes, we were at La Catapa last week, and they didn’t have the guisantes lágrima, but they did have the rabbit ribs, which were terrific and as always the jamón de mar!
Once again @Maribel thank you for the recommendations! The sharing of your knowledge is greatly appreciated would not have had nearly as good of a meal without your help and recommendations.
Make sure to reserve at all locations it was crazy busy at all locations, if we did not have reservations I doubt we could have gotten into any of these restaurants. Monteria was turning people away at the door at 815 because they were so busy. Castela was super busy at 1015 and there’s no way we could have been seated without reservations. Catapa has longer operating hours so that’s something to consider if you’re stacking restaurants
Catapas off menu is fabulous, castela also has daily specials that are worth exploring.
If you speak/read Spanish it might be worth it to ask for the Spanish menus. The English menu I was given at Monteria was quite lacking in terms of translation, last time we were given Spanish menus and the descriptions were obviously much more indicative of the actual dishes.
For the morning before we left we stopped in at Mercado de la Paz for some pan and jamon.
Casa dani tortilla espanol very good but not as good as juana la loca.
Highlight of the morning was Alex CORDOBÉS tarta de queso . They also sell pequena sizes for about 14 euros that still maintain the runny center quality which I would imagine is difficult given the smaller surface area. Waited in line for about 15-20 min feels like they purposely create a line since there was only one worker at the front processing orders. We had lemon and original, the lemon had started to separate as we ate it on the plane about 8 hours later but nevertheless delicious. Both had a creamy center and a firm outside. So damn good, only critique would be that they both run slightly on the sweeter side. I would say that I enjoyed the one at la vina a little more but so happy that I bought two.
I´m so glad you were able to purchase a small tarta de queso from Alex Cordobés. When I went in to purchase mine pre-Christmas there were only two workers (or was in 3?) at the counter.
Isn’t it amazing how crazy busy the hugely popular dining spots in the Retiro district are at 8:15 pm???
When we went to La Catapa on Thursday, Feb. 29, at end of the month when restaurants are usually quieter, the joint was jumping at 8:30!
For those who are contemplating Retiro district dining, it’s both imperative to reserve and also imperative to arrive early, as strange as that may seem given the “traditional” late dining habits of Spaniards. Things are changing…
I will echo the hearty thanks for the reports and photos. Timely for me since I will have a 5-night stay in Madrid beginning in about 2 weeks, arriving from Andalucia. (I spent 5 nights in Cordoba, and am currently just beginning a stay just shy of two weeks in the Vejer area, with forays planned to Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, and in and around Vejer itself, among other places.)
I’ve got my Madrid meals planned and those include LA CASTELA, as well as:
TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE
LAKASA
LA BUEN APARECIDA
SACHA
Your take on La Castela is very helpful, as are your other reports. Good work!!
Aside from the other two restaurants I visited above I would also recommend la juana loca which I loved on our last visit. Would have tried to visit if it wasn’t so far from the retiro area.
La Castela–the bar high tables, when they opened at 8 were completely reserved, and not on a weekend!
Everything in the Retiro district, whether it be for lunch or for dinner, is totally packed these days.
We had reservations for lunch las week at La Monte, the younger sibling of La Montería, and it was packed to the rafters. We had a late reservation at 3 and had to wait.
We’ll be in Madrid for a week in April, staying near the Antón Martín subway station. I’ve skimmed this thread but will read it (and others) more carefully and take notes. While we’re willing to trek out to Retiro, we won’t want to do this for every meal. Any good addresses west of the park? How are the Mercados Antón Martín and San Fernando? Suggestions in Lavapiés? We try to eat casually but well, more in line with the original Chowhound ethos.
that’s basically what the wife did she was pretty tapped out after the first stop but we only had one evening there so I had to capitalize!
