I haven’t yet been to the 4 on your list, although I have all 4 on mine. Interesting places all.
There have been this year so many new and potentially exciting openings it’s hard to keep up with them. (I have an 8-page dining list!)
Of the 4, the one I most want to visit is Bolboreta (also the most “affordable”) For a splurge, for elegant dining, we will go to VelascoAbellà in the fall, as this veteran husband and wife team come from Sant Celoni.
- Éter in the Arganzuela district (Legazpi barrio) has received lots of praise in the gourmet press. The Arganzuela district, due to its lower rents, has become a new dining “hot spot” where young chefs have opened their independent bistros.
These are 2 brothers who offer a tasting menu only, called “cocina viajera” and with only 5 or 6 tables.
(Other notable newcomers in Arganzuela: Lur, In-Pulso, Barra Fina & Bardero)
-
Bolboreta (“Butterly”), in multicultural Lavapiés, was opened by a Galician woman and her English partner who worked together in London. Again, it’s small with rustic, bare tables. There will be English touches in his dishes and the small plates (about 15) menu changes with each season. I sampled their cooking when they were at the now closed D’Speak.
-
Adaly, in the Salamanca district by young chef Eduardo Guerrero, offers 3 tasting menus and an emphasis on game dishes in the fall/winter. I can only do (short) tasting menus at lunch, never at night, so I plan to opt for the luncheon 59 euro “Essence” tasting menu. There is an a la carte option.
-
VelascoAbellà in the northern business district would by my splurge choice, and it’s on the top of my list. The husband and wife team do offer an a la carte menu in addition to the tasting menu. Montse Abellá’s desserts are supposed to be heavenly. And here you’ll also find one of the city’s best cheese carts, a carry over from when they headed up Santceloni. Elegant. Two Repsol suns, one Michelin star and impeccable service.
Another splurge choice I do know and highly recommend is Desde 1911, belonging to Pescaderías Coruñesas, Spain’s finest seafood purveyor. Our luncheon treat was perfection.
The menu is structured so that there are daily changing options before and two desserts after the main fish course, which the chef chooses–the best specimen that has arrived that day.
Of the daily starter options, one can choose 3, 4, 5 or 6 that are elegantly presented to the diners. I chose 3. After the starters, the maitre presents the fish specimen of the day.
To end the meal, diners have the dessert options plus the most extensive cheese
tray in the city, a groaning board, just phenomenal. And with coffee, a delightful box of treats that were taken home. And the wine list is exceptional. We only had wines by the glass.
Gastro critics rate Desde 1911 in the top 5 dining experiences in the city.
Semi-new, in the moderate price range that we enjoy very much:
Tres por Cuatro by Alex Marugán, in the Salamanca district
Quinqué in Salamanca
La Llorería in Chueca
Brutalista, near the Plaza Mayor, in Argüelles, if you enjoy escabeches
New, with a Michelin star from chef trained at Arpege: Pabú, also on my list.
A Michelin star “under the radar” that recently impressed me: Clos
Of course, there are the usual “stand by” spots that have been written up extensively here: Lakasa, Sacha, La Tasquita de Enfrente, La Manduca de Azagra (for Navarran vegetables), Fismuler, all the Retiro district gastro tabernas and the terrific high stools market dining but… you asked for the new and exciting places. 