Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Madrid. Some tips for serious foodies

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1) RavioXO. The Gourmet Experience, a restaurant area within El Corte Inglés in Castellana, is home to the latest culinary project of chef Dabiz Muñoz, named Best Chef in the World 2022, which shines a spotlight on pasta and dumplings in a gastronomic proposal that cuts loose from any cultural constraints. RavioXO was awarded one Michelin star in the edition for 2023 of the distinguished guide. Seating up to 45 people inside and 20 on the terrace, the menu at RavioXO pays tribute to the work Muñoz has been doing to craft exquisite dumplings since he first launched DiverXO. Each filling is created in accordance with the different types of dough they are working with. Recommended dishes: Wontollini soup, cold pickled ravioli, Chinese arrabiata. Dessert: Runny cake with choco and yolks. https://www.ravioxo.com/en/

2) Sacha. Running since the early 1970s, this small bistro is one of the reference restaurants in the city, which has maintained its warm décor intact since its opening. The peaceful outdoor terrace area, surrounded by trees has many fans during the summer months. The chef offers a menu that includes the salpicón de bogavante (lobster salad), falsa lasaña de txangurro (false spider crab lasagna), tuétano asado (roasted bone marrow), tortilla vaga (open omelet with chorizo) and raya a la manteca negra (skate wing with black butter and capers). The semi hidden entrance is located in a small garden behind the building. Address: Calle Juan Hurtado de Mendoza 11 (the entrance to the garden from Juan Ramón Jiménez street). https://www.restaurantesacha.com/

3) QÚ by Mario Sandoval (awarded 2 Michelin stars for his restaurant Coque). QÚ will offer Sandoval’'s emblematic lacquered 'cochinillo', which will be one of the star dishes of this new restaurant. The 'cochinillo', or suckling pig, is a piglet that is slaughtered at 21 days old. The JW Marriott hotel, at Calle Sevilla 2, is home to this restaurant. https://restaurantequ.com/en/

4) Joselito's for the best Iberico acorn-fed ham and cold meats. A modern bistro based on the world of Iberian pork with a tasting bar where you can try the brand’s products. Half portions allow customers to try more products. The added value of this gastronomic boutique is its cellar, located in the lower floor, a former coal oven of exposed brick transformed into a private room. Apart from the restaurant, they have a shop where you could buy any of their products, from prepared cold cuts to a whole Iberico acorn-fed cured leg piece to give as a present or enjoy at your own place. Recommendation: acorn-fed ham, cured pork loin, Coppa Joselito, croquettes. https://www.joselito.com/en/joselitos-en

5) Leña Madrid for charcoal-grilled meats by chef Dani Garcia (awarded 2 Michelin stars for his Smoked Room). Housed in the Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid hotel, the gastronomic offer at Leña is based on the theme of fire, flame-grilling, and smoky flavour. The menu consists of beef steaks —Chateaubriand, Wagyu, Ribeye, Tomahawk— The aged beef Burger is minced right before your eyes and once the staff have created your burger, it goes straight onto the grill. All you have to do is enjoy two baby burgers with Bull sauce, Pretzel and Havarti cheese. In addition, top loin of Iberico pork, beef tenderloin, chicken skewers and vegetable starters are also available. https://grupodanigarcia.com/lena/en/madrid/

6) Lakasa is one of the best restaurants in Madrid to eat game meat. Now, they offer fallow deer loin and roasted wild duck, but when the season for mushroom and game arrives in autumn, they can also offer wild boar, turtledove, grouse... But not only game meat, the menu includes dishes prepared with seasonal products. When available, you may find fish such as tuna, croaker, turbot or seabream; and if you decide for vegetables, they get them from an organic garden in Toledo. Lakasa has a bar area at the entrance, with several high tables where you can have a snack, a spacious dining room which has plenty of light thanks to the large windows and a show kitchen. The menu, which is the same in the bar area as in the dining room, offers most of its dishes in half-portions and full portions. Good value for money. As a starter, the Idiazabal cheese fritters are recommended. https://lakasa.es/the-menu-english

7) La Tasquería by chef Javi Estevez (awarded one Michelin star). Offal haute cuisine. They cook offal from beef, lamb, pork, rabbit, cockerel and duck; there are tripe, liver, trotters, tail, kidneys, head, tongue, tendons, heart, brains, cockscombs… Do you dare to try offal? The emblematic dish is 'cabeza de cochinillo confitada y frita' (deep fried and confit whole head of suckling pig for two people). Recommended dishes for beginners: taco cheek & red prawn, 'callos' (veal tripe, leg and snout stew) https://latasqueria.com/en/la-tasque...-javi-estevez/

8) El Señor Martín is a place to enjoy the best grilled fish, freshly caught pieces from the Spanish coastlines. The restaurant offer classic species such as the San Pedro (St Peter's fish, John Dory), rodaballo (turbot), lenguado (sole), besugo (seabram)... but also lesser known fish such as the borriquete (rubberlip grunt). El Señor Martín has two spaces with two different experiences. At street level, the sophisticated prow-shaped Kitchen Bar where you can watch the chefs cook the fish and have your food served to you directly from the coals. Downstairs, it’s more fine dining. Well-stocked Sherry cellar. https://srmartin.es/en/home/

9) El Pescador. This seafood restaurant was created in 1975 to offer oysters, clams, small crabs, goose barnacles, prawns, mussels and the best fish. Here they have been offering, for years, the best and freshest products of the Galician coast that reach the table without masking the original flavor. This establishment carried out a full refurbishment in 2010 that has given greater importance to the central bar, conserving the essence and emphasis on the product. Recommended dishes: txangurro gratinado (gratin spidercrab meat in a sea urchin shell), almejas gordas de carril a la sartén (big grooved carpet-shell clam fried), gamba blanca de Huelva (white prawns from Huelva), cigalitas de Isla Cristina (sautéed small crayfish). | Restaurante El Pescador, Marisquería, Madrid ? T. 914 021 290

10) Berlanga is a restaurant that specialises in Mediterranean dishes with rice as the star dish. They serve some of Madrid’s best paellas. The spacious restaurant has two rooms connected by a bar; the first room is the main dining area; the second is a more relaxed area for tapas and drinks, with more intimate lighting and earthy tones adorning the walls. Recommended dishes (must be ordered in advance): Valencian paella, the original recipe made with chicken, rabbit, beans and garden vegetables; Arroz del Senyoret —literally, Gentleman's rice— a seafood paella in which all seafood is peeled or shucked and ready to eat. https://restauranteberlanga.com/cartaen/

11) Nuevo Horno de Santa Teresa specializes in the traditional 'cocido madrileño'. This Madrid-style stew is a full meal. It consists of soup, chickpeas, potato, vegetables and meats. The restaurant is only open for lunch from Monday to Saturday, from 13:30 to 16:30. Address: Calle Santa Teresa 8, Metro Alonso Martinez. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063577150677

12) Casa Dani. Located in the lively Mercado de La Paz, Casa Dani is even busier than the market itself. It is rumored to be the bar where the best tortillas in Madrid are served. The Spanish tortilla has nothing in common with the Mexican variety except its shape and its name. It is made with thinly sliced potatoes, onions, eggs and salt. Cooked with a little bit of olive oil just to moisten the pan, is best served at room temperature or even cold. It can be an appetizer, a snack or even a light meal. In addition to the bar inside the market, Casa Dani also opens a terrace at Calle Lagasca 49. https://en.casadani.es/

13) La Huerta de Tudela is the perfect restaurant for a party where some of the diners are vegetarians. The restaurant serves fish such as 'ajorriero' cod and meat such as 'carrilleras' (veal cheeks with red wine sauce), but what you have to pay attention to are the dishes with vegetables they grow themselves in their vegetable garden of Tudela, Navarre: alcachofas (artichokes), puerros (leek), acelga (chard)... There are several tasting menus: the vegetable one, the one they call 'gastronomic' which includes 'menestra' (vegetable stew) and fish or meat, and a special menu for vegans and celiacs. Á la carte dishes are also offered. https://www.lahuertadetudela.com/

14) La Ancha is a restaurant with classic Spanish home cooking, but on the rather expensive side. The old-style dining room is often packed with locals and politicians from the nearby Parliament. The star dish is the "escalope Armando" which is a thin and large breaded steak, actually it's huge! Some recommended dishes: ensalada de colas de cangrejo de rio (salad of rivercrab tails with vinaigrette), ensalada de pimientos rojos asados con ventresca (salad of roasted red peppers with tuna belly), pisto con huevo (ratatouille topped with one fried egg), lentejas estofadas (stewed lentils), tortilla con almejas o callos (potato omelette with clams in sauce or beef tripe stew), escalope Armando, gallo (flatfish). The staff is friendly but sometimes a bit slow. https://www.laancha.com/

15) Tapas and wine. A few steps away from El Retiro Park you'll find an ideal area for tapas, small plates to share and good wines by the glass; however, prices are higher than in other places. Doctor Castelo Street and surroundings is one of the areas with the highest concentration of taverns and restaurants in Madrid. The wine bars offer quality tapas and plates which are more elaborate than in other popular areas of Madrid. Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...nkNBMFEdSJM8JQ