ekscrunchy

I am headed to Madrid for four nights in January and am seeking ideas on how to make the most of my limited time in the Spanish capital. I had my first European restaurant meal at Botin, a long time ago, and have returned only a few times in the years since so I have very little idea of the dining scene.

We are interested mostly in traditional food, both Castilian and seafood, in a comfortable setting. I hope to try at least one seafood restaurant and , possibly, one restaurant/asador devoted to the suckling lamb known as lechazo. We do not have a strict budget but I am not interested in formal/stuffy restaurants or Michelin 3-starred places. We are looking for places favored by people interested more in great food than in fancy atmosphere. Do not want to spend 300 Euro for a meal. We will be staying near the Prado, so anything close by is a plus but we are more than willing to travel for great food.

My early research has turned up a few names; please comment on these and add your ideas.

Also, tell me your favorite tapas bars and their specialties, please.

Spanish-language only is fine.



El Gran Barril--seafood. Open Sundays, which will be our first night in the city.
http://www.elgranbarril.com/

La Trainera--seafood http://www.latrainera.es/

Alkalde--Basque. Recommended by Maribel but I have read a few poor reports on English-language online sites. Open Sundays. http://www.alkalderestaurante.com/


Orixe--Galician http://www.orixerestaurante.com/


And finally, three asadores (famous for roast meats) that get mentioned often in the context of lamb in Madrid--please let me know if you have any opinions on these:


Asador de Aranda--which branch is best, if any? http://www.asadordearanda.com/

Asador Aranduero http://www.asadoraranduero.es/

Asador Tierra Randa (no website?)

nini

We were in Madrid last May and loved the tapas at the San Miguel Market. It is a fun place and is very attractive with glass cases full of yummy tapas. Most were a euro or two each. Great place for lunch. There is a restaurant which the name translates to Museum of the Wine and the paella was excellent. I think it is on Santa Cruz--not far from Plaza Mayor at any rate. The ceiling is decorated with empty wine bottles.

zeppole

I was really happy at Bocaito, where I still remember a a tapa of really marvelous thin, eggy crepe covered in a papery slices of smoked salmon.

For super meaty and near-primitive Basque oxen and cider, friends took us to Kupela and it lived up to its promise

http://www.restaurantekupela.com/

I really liked El Combarro for Galician seafood. I didn't think of it as stuffy but swank -- and pricey-pricey

I'm not sure if Spain is like Italy, but in Italy, I wouldn't eat lamb in January.

Robert2533

ekscrunchy,
Please refer to Maribel's Guide to Madrid. She has more than enough recommendations.

El Gran Barril - doesn't make my list for several reasons.

La Trainera - haven't tried it as yet

Orixe - Good Galician cuisine and the tapas aren't bad either.

Asador de Aranda - Okay, but too early for Spring lamb!

Asador Aranduero - another okay!

Asador Tierra Randa - gets a decent write-up on Chownhound!

You can try Restaurant Couzapin, a great Asturian Cider House/Restaurant in the Retiro District.

www.sidreriacouzapin.com/english/index.html

amsdon

Hi Scrunchy. We liked Orixe alot but I would not say it was necessarily traditional. We went for lunch menu del dia upon arrival in Madrid last Oct. Be aware it had a modern feel to it both in decor and in some of ther dishes. At that time the menu del dia was about 15 e pp, for appetizer, entree, and desert plus included was a glass of wine (or bottled water). I do remember being very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the tapas on our visit a couple of years before. In any case it was a also not that busy during lunch, relaxing, and since we were so tired on day 1 the meal was not too heavy which was just right since we planned to turn in early. It was also a decent value.

Alkalde is on the list but have never been.

Coupazin sounds interesting though. I am intrigued are you going to be there during "white bean days? ".

zeppole

I've never found Maribel's taste buds matched mine, and I felt she favored restaurants whose main appeal was traditional ambience over memorable food. Some people feel one should just stick to her recommendations, but I moved beyond them and was happier.

kimhe

I never leave Madrid without having had the squid in its own ink and the famous cod at Casa Revuelta.
http://11870.com/pro/casa-revuelta

You should try the excellent salmorejo, a somewhat thicker variant of the tomato/vegetable soup gazpacho, in Según Emma just behind the newly reopened gourmet-oriented San Miguel food market. Lots of other goodies as well. http://11870.com/pro/segun-emma
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ma-Madrid.html

Txirimiri in Calle del Humilladero, 6 gives you an idea of why the Basque kitchen is considered among the best in the world. In the midst of one of the best tapas/restaurant districts in town, in and around Calle Cava Baja in La Latina. Beef tederloin skewer with roasted peppers and caramelized onions, shrimp croquettes with curry and basil, Black lasagna with monkfish and prawns, duck confit cannelloni etc. etc.
http://www.txirimiri.es/ingles/Txirimiri.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ri-Madrid.html

Excellent dining at El Mentidero de la Villa:
http://www.mentiderodelavilla.es/
http://11870.com/pro/el-mentidero-la-villa

And you should have a plate of Jamón de Jabugo at the exclusive Mesón Cinco Jotas chain. Started in Jabugo in the Huelva province, the jamón capital of the world. A nice branch in Plaza Santa Ana, and also some great tapas such as Solomillo ibérico al Pedro Ximénez: http://www.mesoncincojotas.com/

ekscrunchy

Mil gracias everyone for the help.

Robert & Zeppole: It never even occurred to me that there was a season for lechazo--silly me! I did know that abbacchio is served in Rome in the spring but I did not carry that idea to Spain, I guess. Of course, spring lamb!

Just curious--where do they get the lamb, or what is the age of the lamb that they would be serving at the asadores in winter? Or do they not have lechazo on the menu?

Also, Robert, would you please tell me more about why you do not recommend El Gran Barril? I am asking this because it was recommended to me by a (foreign) person who lived in Madrid for a while...please give me the real scoop!

Couzapin looks great and I will add it to the list.

Kimhe: Thank you so much..I will now read all about the places you mentioned! The food pics of Mentidero de la Villa look scrumptious and we will definitely head for Meson Cinco Jotas for the bellota, and Txirimiri for many pinxtos!

Also I think there is a place famous for some type of sandwich of fried calamari (??)

Many, many thanks...

ekscrunchy

Ana: I am not sure about the white bean days but this sounds intriguing enough to pursue!

I did read Maribel's guide to Madrid and a couple of the places I asked about are listed there..


http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madrid-06-09.pdf

flsd

Bookmarking this one!

danon

San Miguel Market is great fun..it was jammed at all times
when we were in Madrid in late April.
Most tapas bar on Cava Baja were hard to get into in the evenings. Casa Lucas is our favorite - small, hardly a place to sit down, good tapas and vino.

Robert2533

We dropped by Alkalde a couple of weeks ago. The prices have go up quite a bit since our first lunch there a few years back when we first discovered it. It's very popular with business types and those out for a day of shopping in the Salamanca district.

Regarding El Gran Barril, there's nothing wrong with it. It gets decent reviews, but just not not somewhere I'm interested in dining, maybe because it's a little too industrial.

ekscrunchy

Robert, thanks once again. I would much prefer a more cozy place for a seafood meal, so I will defer to you to recommend another place for seafood that it not too fancy or formal....judging from their website, El Gran Barrill does seem rather harsh and industrial in ambience...

Smeagol

Eks when I went Madrid a few years ago we used a fantastic outfit called adventurous appetites who did a great walking tapas tour think we went to 3 different places sampling local fare along the way!


We loved it and good value too considering we got a a bit of a city tour thrown in too.

ekscrunchy

Thanks, Smeagol! I am looking forward so much to this trip!

Here is one more possibility--Casa Rafa--any comments?


http://www.marisqueriarafa.com/galeriadefotos.asp

ekscrunchy

Never mind the link above--it is a different Casa Rafa! I cannot find a website for the one in Madrid..

ekscrunchy

Any opinions on this restaurant, El Pescador, which appears to have reopened after a renovation:


http://www.marisqueriaelpescador.net/el-pescador/

Aristotle

After 74 years I have given up being a foody, in search of the perfect meal and/or bottle. We had several delicious meals stopping by likely looking tapas places on Rambla Catalunya.

Aristotle

Sorry, I thought we were talking Barcelona.

Robert2533

Seafood in Madrid! There are a number of excellent options, and most are in comfortable settings. For dining on the upper end, there is Goizeko (www.goizekogaztelupe.com/) in the Hotel Wellington, great Basque cuisine. There is also La Broche (www.labroche.com/), but again on the expensive side.

For a good Navarran restaurant (excellent meats and fish), you can try La Manduca de Azagra, Calle Sagasta, 14.

For something a little different, but not always less expensive, we usually try to head to the area just east of Retiro Park. There are enough good restaurants between O'Donnell and Calle de Ibiza to keep us going for weeks, a different restaurant, wine bar or tapas bar every night. There are several on C/Menorca alone, including Barandales, which has a great lunch menu, and Neguri Etxea, very Basque. There are also a number of great Austrian restaurants/Sidrerias in the neighborhood, including Carlos Tartiere and their second restaurant, Couzapin, Casa Portal, on Ibiza, and La Hoja on Doctor Castelo.