ekscrunchy

OOOH...hard decision!! I will wait and see if you try Haramboure soon. I read the Maribona review again and was swooning over the "lamb ventresca" with snails!!! And the rice with clams and "chips!!"
Looks as if they have a long menu, which Is good for me.

I see that Friday is "beef Wellington day" at Lakasa. Do I remember correctly that this dish has a large following among local diners? Would it be discourteous if I made a lunch booking and ONLY had a half-ration of that dish, with a glass of wine? Or maybe the restaurant has another dish that you think is outstanding (not the partridge).... You know I never have 2 meals a day, but if I could limit a lunch to just one dish, and do a skimpy breakfast, I'd still be able to continue with my dinner restaurant plan....

I never did get a confirmation from La Catapa but when I wrote to ask about this, they sent me an e-mail saying that I did have a table... I inadvertently asked for a high bar table, but can have the hotel change that wooden I arrive in Madrid. Although I like the idea of being the midst of the action....either place will be fine.

Maribel

About the beef Wellington on Fridays...yes, it has a large following among the Madrid food lovers, as it's not on many restaurant menus here. While Lakasa has many half porttion options on the menu, I don't think that the beef Wellington could be ordered in a half-portion, but you can always inquire.

About changing the La Catapa reservation from the bar to the dining room...I definitely wouldn't do that when you arrive. Reason I say that? We tried to have our hotel switch our 2-top at the bar to a 3top, when my BFF decided to join us. It caused a bit of difficulty, as the place is tiny, the chef owner always gives us the same 2-top at the front window ("our table forever"), and they were extremely busy that Friday night.
So either sit at the bar or modify your reservation to the dining room but do it now!

I would probably modify your reservation now to arrive at 8 instead of 8:30. The "boss" will then be awaiting you at 8, as he does wait for us at 8:30 at our window table, and you'll have more personal attention. It just gets really crowded starting at 8:30 because there are still stools around the bar where people can "drop in", either to sit at the bar itself or stand at the bar, and the staff tries to accommodate them.

Maribel

eks,
mea culpa. I just checked Lakasa´s web site and see that they DO indeed offer a half portion of the solomillo Wellington only on Friday-Saturday lunch only for 27 euros with a prior reservation, so go for it!
https://lakasa.es/es-solomillo-wellington-20

Lakasa gets an 8.8 rating on the Macarfi guide, very high, and is so very consistent; it's a Madrid food lover's favorite and one of ours.

ekscrunchy

Hola, Maribel!

Then LaCatapa booking is a little confused. I tried to change the time of the booking to 8:15pm, before I read your latest post, and I got this e-mail. Mind you, I've still not received a formal confirmation e-mail, but I suppose that this is proof enough that I have a booking. So I'm thinking that I will arrive at 8pm, not at the time of my reservation, and see if they can seat me then.
What do you think?

.......I did just now send them another e-mail to see if they can make the time change, and I'll keep the bar seating....

<<<<Dear erica xxxxxx,

sorry, we cannot confirm the reservation request, which you have submitted.


22/03/2024, Time: 08:15 PM - 10:45 PM
MESAS ALTAS DEL BAR

1 people

RESERVA DUPLICADA. YA TIENE SU RESERVA PARA EL DIA 22 DE MARZO A LAS 20:30 H. MUCHAS GRACIAS>>>

Taberna La Catapa
Calle Menorca, 14
28009 Madrid

Maribel

Just let your hotel call to straighten it out, and say that you simply want to change the Mesa Alta del Bar reservation from 8:30 to 8:00. They don't use Cover Manager, which send you a reminder the day before and a place to click on to cancel or to modify. Their reservation system is kind of quirky.

On a completely side note....if you every find yourself someday at the Gourmet Experience or Club del Gourmet of El Corte Inglés (not necessarily on this trip, as your dance card is quite full!!!), don't hesitate to stop into La Barra del Gourmet for a light bite.
Today we shopped at my closest ECI and lunched at its La Barra del Gourmet, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had the Fabada Casa Gerardo (they ship in it straight from Casa Gerardo in Prendes), and my husband had a lovely pierna de cordero lechal con curry rojo, and excellent bread. Both dishes were quite tasty and today, gloomy and cold, was an perfect day to enjoy fabada. Slight digression....

ekscrunchy

Please continue to digress, Maribel! I'd love to read a daily diary of your wanderings, and dining experiences in Madrid!!! xx

Vonse

Me too!

Maribel

Vonse

Ok, I'll digress a bit more because we discovered a new, moderately priced place where every dish looked just wonderful and we wanted to try them all and will happily return.

It's very near the metro Embajadores at the southern end of Lavapiés.
It's USKAR.
At first glance it looks like a simple bar de barrio, but make your way through the very crowded bar, then round the corner past the open kitchen to the pretty back dining room with 38 seats. There you'll discover a real gem with a chef driven, market menu. The chef, José Miguel Valdivieso, hails from Huéscar, Granada (Uskar was its Muslim name), and he fuses Andalusian flavors with a touch of Asia and the Middle East. The sommelier, Raúl García, has a really great wine list, 70 labels, small producers, with 10 reds and 8 whiles available by the glass at very decent prices.

What we had:
excellent artisan bread basket accompanied by a little pot of AOVE from Jaén, Sierra de Segura.
berenjena asada con salsa teriyaki y anchoa ahumada (grilled eggplant with teriyaki sauce and smoked anchovies), paella de sobrasada y tirabeques, a wonderful rice-of-the- week dish with Mallorcan sobrasada (a spreadable paprika-infused pork paste) and sugar snap peas.
The 2-3 rice dishes, including a paella del senyoret are available in individual portions!
(We find individual rices served in a paellera only at Can Bonet, its sister Sa Brisa, Rochacho Plaza and Oh, Dèlice Bistro).

For dessert, tarta de queso azul con salsa de toffee con frambuesas, a blue cheese cake topped with salted toffee sauce and candied raspberries.
The dessert we didn't try and should have: tarta de limón (they just call it "lemon pie") con helado de lima, gel de limón, mousse de tomillo limonero y merengue.
There are also a dozen daily specials that looked especially inviting, including this winter, calçots.

This is a place I could visit often, and the price is right for gourmet dining in Madrid. It's good for single diners as well because many dishes are available in half portions, and the service is very welcoming, friendly, helpful--also great for vegetarians, as there are many intriguing vegetables dishes on the menu.
With 2 glasses of Sampayolo godello from Valdeorras, a shared starter, rice in paella for 2 and shared dessert, the final tab came to 70 euros, actually a bargain for gourmet dining these days in Madrid.

Here´s a review with photos
https://conelmorrofino.com/restaurante-uskar-madrid/

I'm on a mission to compile a list of the best new Madrid gourmet dining for 40+ euros/p. The district of Arganzuela and its barrio of Legazpi have become new dining "hot spots", says the press,where young chefs, without deep pocketed backers, open their own spots where rents are cheaper. More discoveries later...Barra Fina, Bardero, In-Pulso, Èter, Lur.

Vonse

Thanks so much, Maribel! Eskar sounds like a delicious gem. Looking forward to your gourmet dining list!

Maribel

Vonse and ekscrunchy,
Here is another personal favorite that fed us very, very well today, and satisfying my quest, got us in/out for under €45/p (harder to do these days in Madrid unless one wants a lunch menú del día, of which there are still plenty, including the €12 menú at Taberna Los Metales across the street)

LAS TORTILLAS DE GABINO Casa de Comidas in the Almagro neighborhood on Rafael Calvo. Eks, a 15-min. walk from your lovely hotel. It's a Michelin Bib Gourmand and Repsol recommended. It's an elegant space--tablecloth dining.
Yes, as you can guess, the specialty: their tortillas, with or without onion, in 7 different guises, which everyone orders, but also their large breaded veal scallop, their Armando, like a San Jacobo, which everyone also orders, or one can order it take away in an Armando bag.

We did share their classic tortilla Velazqueña, served in a clay cazuela, very different from Casa Dani's and totally different from the Betanzos style (very runny eggs) that one finds in Galician restaurants.
Along with that as a starter. plus excellent bread and plump, tasty olives (always a good sign), my husband had one of the best magret de pato, duck breast dishes he's ever had anywhere, accompanied by a salad with onions in escabeche and a huge bowl of extremely thin French fries. I had the chipirones, squid, perfectly cooked, with greens and delicious Ali oli.

Very, very filling, washed down with 2 glasses of Maruxa godello from C.V.N.E.
For dessert, we shared the sorbete de limón al cava, a favorite dessert during the Fiestas de San Fermín, although this version certainly held its own to any Navarran or Basque one. We couldn't find room for their famous runny tarta de queso, which is so popular it's even sold at the Mallorca pastry shops

The menu is fairly small, with the 7 varieties of tortilla, 14 other starters, 9 mains and no "off menu" specials today, as everyone comes here for the signature dishes. And the place was packed, since it's Father's Day. And the service was flawless. Two seatings, the first at 1:30, then at 3 (alas, not open on Sundays/Mondays).

This restaurant belongs to the well regarded La Ancha group, now in the 4th generation of the Redruello family, with sister restaurants, their first, La Ancha, popular with members of Parliament and close to Las Cortes with a pretty interior courtyard, plus Fismuler also in Chamberí, with a stark, industrial Nordic look, the restaurant of the Club Financiero Génova (private club now open to the public on weekends with rooftop with gorgeous views, facing Plaza Colón) and The Omar, a bakery-bistró, in the new Hotel Thompson (Hyatt), where they also have a basement "speakeasy", Los Hijos de Tomás and will soon open a rooftop restaurant based on the "hāngi maorí", called Tama.

We've tried all of the existing ones and can recommend each.

So eks, the next time (but not this time, as your dance card is quite full), you may want to try one of these.

Photos to follow...

Maribel

Photos from today's lunch, Father's Day

Las Tortillas de Gabino menu

Tortilla española con cebolla

Magret de pato

chipirones con ali oli and greens

accompanying shoestring potatoes

sorbete de limón al cava

Final bill

Vonse

Oh my, that looks delicious! I'll add it to my list.

Maribel

It really was, Vonse.
Everything that the Redruello family touches just turns to gold. They're just a great restauranteur family, now in the 4th generation, with a tremendous group of restaurants and great respect for classic cuisine.

I forgot to mention that they also have 2 outposts in Barcelona, el Molino de Pez in the Eixample, and another Fismuler.
We love their food.

ekscrunchy

Maribel, I'm about to begin my second full day in Madrid. So far have dined (cena) at:

LA TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE
LA CATAPA (I was given the little table in front of the window to the right as you enter....perfect spot!). The man who took me under his wing was a very tall and handsome bearded fellow, and he was lovely. (Who was that?). And once again, as has become routine now, I got lost and confused walking back to the hotel, but nothing too serious. Getting lost is fun because you get to see new areas, new streets, etc. And Madrid is that far city where a female can meander at 1-2am without one iota of fear...is there any city safer than this one??



I will write about all the Madrid meals once I get past the Vejer section of my report.
But so far, nothing has dissuaded me from my opinion that Madrid is one tremendously fabulous eating city. Only my capacity is holding me back!!!!

I was in Corte Ingles yesterday, as I mentioned. (long discussion with lovely salesperson about how real estate prices are skyrocketing with the infusion of capital from Venezolanos, Mexicanos and others. And how this. is pricing out so many locals.... I spent about an hour talking with her; I guess that's why I never seem to fit in repeat visit to The Prado and so many other cultural highlights of the city...

I did not realize until then that the store, Corete Ingles, Serrano) is home to STREET XO. I am wondering about trying to get a space at 1pm, opening tine, tomorrow (Sunday). From the photos, the scene reminds me a little of TICKETS in Barcelona, where I happened to find myself on their opening night about 10 years (or more) ago. Only the reports of the music at STREETXO, plus the many photos of the "bros" with their backwards baseball caps, make me wonder if its good spot for me to have a few snacks at lunch, a meal I usually skip....

I'm sure you've been, and you know me very well...should I go..or should I stay (sorry for all the oldie musical references, not sure what's gotten into me with those!)

I could stop by for a dish, or two.....(??). Or not...(??)

Maribel

Eks, you’ll have to get to Streetxo before they open to grab a seat outside on the red leather bench. No reservations.
Then once inside, you’ll sit at the bar and have a cocktail and wait some more.

At La Catapa,
The handsome man who took you under his wing is my buddy, Miguel Angel, the owner. He’s a sweetie.

ekscrunchy

I'm not feeling a ringing endorsement for StreetXO!!! Wait, and then wait?? I could get there at 1pm, or before, but don't want to waste time if the food is not super....it looks as if I am a few decades too old to be eating there but again, I could care less is the food is worth waiting for.

I guess I'll see how early I can get up tomorrow...

I went to Alex Cordobes for cheesecake the other night but arrived about 10 minutes past closing time.
Went again today (Saturday about 3pm.....about 30 people waiting in line ahead of me!! And the line did not seem to be moving.....I waited about 3 minutes and then walked home to open the RioFrio. I think I will develop a habit with that!!!)

Maribel

It’s a long wait and the music is very loud. Next time you’re in town get a reservation for his RavioXO in the Gourmet Experience of El Corte Inglés on the Castellana at Nuevos Ministerios. It ‘s noodle and pasta centric and one can reserve.
About 100 euros/p.

Maribel

Eks,
The trick to Alex Cordobés is to be there in line between 9:30 and 9:45 before they open at 10.
Inside it’s a tiny place with one long counter and glass cases on each side, showcasing his various types of cheesecakes. I purchase the smallest tradicional to take home.

Maribel

Eks,
Since the gorgeous, jewel box, La Duquesita by Oriol Balaguer is an easy walk from your lodging and it has a lovely tea salon now, look for the Monas de Pascua for your Easter sweet treat.

My inbox this morning included where to buy monas de Pascua in Madrid, and I’m sure you’ve seen them in pastry shop windows already.
Another Easter treat—-We had torrijas and pestiños with Shawn (Azahar Sevilla) yesterday at Salmedina, by the Guardiola family, whose pier on the Cádiz coast supplies their fish and crustaceans to the restaurant and to Cañabota.
Put it on your Sevilla list for your next trip.

You had our regular table by the window at La Catapa. Hope you enjoyed La Bien Aparecida last night and Sacha should be coming up soon!