I'm nominated expedition leader for the Friday Night Club's (remember our Cordoba weekend we had in November?) forthcoming weekend trip to Madrid and I have to book a restaurant for the Saturday night.

I don't know Madrid very well, so I'm looking for guidance from you knowledgeable chaps! We are five couples, who will be looking at having a nice "cocina castellana" type meal in a restaurant where we can relax, with no tie and jacket required.

I saw in one post something about Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas (a favourite of MM?) and imagine that this is the sort of thing we are after. One guide has thrown up a few names, such as Los Galayos, again near the Plaza Mayor, La Quinta del Sordo and also Casa Paco, near the Puerta del Sol. If anybody can tell me anything about these, or indeed any other restaurant which would be good for a bunch of us to enjoy a good meal, I would be most grateful.

Forget about "Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas" is very expensive, not good quality and it is a very "turist" place. All the feedback that I got from that place is bad.

This may not be what you are looking for, but Botin's would certainly have tables big enough to accomodate your party. I found the staff to be helpful, but the place is always crowded and loud. When we went, there didn't seem to be any type of a dress code, and you just need to go there once to say you've had the Madrid experience. Calling ahead for reservations is a must, however, and I'd make sure I had the name of the person you spoke to when making the reservations with a party of that size.

I have to disagree with Nuria. I LOVED "Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas"!! Yes, it's kind of touristy, but the restaurant itself is really special with its brick domed ceilings, waiters/waitresses in period costumes and strolling minstrels, old wall murals, and I found the food to be just fine. I was even invited back into the kitchen to see how they roasted the cochinillo in the wood fired oven! It was SUCH a cool place (in 1998)!! We were a table of about 10 people too!

Buen provecho, MadridMan

La Truca's good - and the downstairs can easily accomodate the group. Nothing like your Cordonban gastomonical feast - but definately good. Let us know where you end up

Thanks folks. Food for thought certainly! Botin's is mentioned on a regular basis, so I'll bear that in mind, Artie. Do we have any more fors and againsts Las Cuevas?

Where is La Truca, Puna? I did a search but this appears to be the first time it's mentioned. We're not really looking for a feast, although the size of the tummies in some of our crew may make me out to be a liar!

Rather than a pure gastronomic extravaganza, we are looking to spend a couple of hours in a good atmosphere and nice surroundings, which is why MM's post appeals.

Isn't it LA TRUCHA?

As for the Cuevas: I vote against. Much too hokey and touristy for me, and huge, and I didn't like the food that much.

Anchovey - I can't remember the street name - one of the many off of Plaza Santa Ana - just Puerta del Sol side of Santa Ana and, if you looked at a map - sort of "leaning" at an angle towards Gran Via -

Lousy discription of a location - but good food and wine

rgf - probably! Thanks for the spelling and/or typing correction! Have a good weekend all!

If i weren't lazy I'd get out my map and find La Trucha, which, if I remember correctly, is on the same street as LACON, which I also recommend for large groups. THe last nite i was in spain (sniff) there was a group of at least twnty in there. In fact, they have special menus for groups of 4 or more: it's gallego food (pulpo, empanada, pimientos de padron, etc). If you want me to be un-lazy and check out the street and phone, let me know. We loved LACON. We didn't go to La Trucha because, if I am remembering the place right, it was Andalusian food and we had just come back from Sevilla. Just writing this is making me miss Spain. Tho I have to say (not that you all want to KNOW this), i am still, um, feeling the effects of that bout of food poisoning and now have to go see a doc!!! que triste

Ok, La Trucha is great, usually very crowded, as it is near Plaza Santa Ana, but great food...Also, this last time we ended up at a place called El Chotis, immediately down the street from El Botin...While I absolutely love Botin, this place is family run and the food was extremely good...We had the good fortune of going there (8 of us) with an American friend of the family. I don't think it was our connection that got us the great service and food, as there were only Spaniards in the place, in a relatively touristy area of town, (and the fact that the owners did not show up until we were almost finished with our meal)...Anyway, we all loved the food and the prices were very reasonable...
I would recommend there, or, as the others have previously stated, El Botin, if this is a special night!!!

Busy, busy week...no time to get near the board until now! But, thanks for the help everyone.

It seems that Botin is the place to go to at least once in a lifetime, so last night I booked our table for ten at ten on Saturday 3rd, so anybody in there that evening who sees a boisterous bunch wearing blue and white striped shirts, hats and scarves - oops, I forgot, that's the attire for the next day at the Santiago Bernabeu - give us a wave, shout "¡Hala Malaga!" and we'll buy you a drink!

I found a page with menus and photos too .... http://www.gomadrid.com/rest/botin.html
and it all looks great. I'll report back, so watch this space.........

[This message has been edited by Anchovy Front (edited 01-31-2001).]

The only suggestion I have is try to get your table downstairs.
We were seated way upstairs and not much going on except to observe the other large groups!All the food is brought from way down up the winding stairs! Try to be near the action,where the food/pigs are prepared and the waiters are scurrying around!The tuna also stops by downstairs.......

Thanks for the tip. From looking on the site for Botin http://www.gomadrid.com/rest/botin.html I take it we want to ask for the Bodegas then?

Absolutely!If they won't seat a group of ten then humor them and say 2 5's next to each other-try slipping a tip- the house wine is great!
By the way ,did you know the owner's son opened a similar restaurant -are you ready for this one? In MIAMI !

OK, todays' stupid question (from mois) is - Just how big is a suckling pig?

I understand from previous posts that Botin may be:
touristy
overpriced
crowded
difficult to get in

But, after checking the web-site, the place I would like to see/eat in is Botin (Bodegas!), if only for the ambience.

I visualize a HUGE serving of food. Isn't a whole suckling pig too much for one person?

Sol

Sol:
I think you will find the average weight of a suckling pig is from 6 to 8 pounds. As to eating all of one, I doubt it. They are incredibly rich--and can be laced with more fat than many people care to eat at one sitting.

Some places serve a pig by the quarter--chopping it into sections with the edge of a pate to demonstrate how tender it is. Don't expect it to taste like the pork you get in America. It has a flavor all its own.

Some find it too rich to eat late at night, preferring it for lunch. If eating late, I suggest the cordero asado--the most delicious stuff I've ever eaten. Also very young, and not tasting like American lamb.

Touristy? Yes, it has an active tourist clientele, but many Spaniards eat there too.
I've seen very little change in the ambience over the years since the first time I ate there in 1956. Except for the continuing rise in prices, of course.

AS far as I know, Botin is still classfied officially as a second class restaurant. If that has changed, would someone advise me?
Many thanks.
Cantabene

Okay, I'm back at work and just about recovered.......I am going to sleep all this coming weekend though!!

A fabulous three days started with the comfortable Talgo train from Malaga to Atocha. From there we took three cabs to our hotel, with prices ranging from 600 Pts to 1.500 Pts - interesting fares structure! Dumped the bags and then we got our 10 trip Metrobus ticket, caught the Metro and got off at La Latina. From there we "grazed" in several tapas bars on the way up to Plaza Mayor, where the girls went off to the shops and the boys decided to take a look inside several more bars - just to see if the beer was the same good quality in each of them, of course!

Back at the hotel, got ready to go out, LOCKED the door as I left (!) and had a drink at El Cuchi before the restaurant. All agreed it was a really off-beat interesting place and liked by all. The only snag was that one of our party asked for a Malaga Virgen (there are not so many left now, but this was the sweet wine he meant!) but the barman said he couldn't open the bottle on the shelf, as not many people asked for it! He did add that we could buy the bottle at 4.700 Ptas (it's less than 1.000 Ptas in the shops), which we declined to do, so asked for a Cointreau and Lemon instead. Back came the reply, "Er, we don't sell much of that, either. The price of the bottle is.....". "FORGET IT", came the anguished cry. "I'll have a San Miguel!"

I'd took the advice of Chopchi and rang the restaurant before we left the coast in order to ask for a table in the Bodega, but unless we were going to sit on each other's shoulders there was no way we could get downstairs, so we made do with a table on the next floor up and have to say that it made no difference. The atmosphere was great and just before the end of the meal the tuna came upstairs and played as we sang along with them.

The meal was very good. Interesting starters and very nice main meals, which tended to be either suckling pig, lamb or fillet steaks of mad cow. No complaints from anybody, although I was a bit disappointed to see the pig come ready prepared, with three or four chunks already on the plates, instead of being cut at our table with the plates, as has happened on previous occasions whenever we've partaken. But very tasty, all the same.

No room for puddings, but a couple of glasses of Pacharan plus coffee rounded off a good meal, which was not as expensive as I thought it would be. We paid 58.000 Ptas for 10 of us, plus the tip and we all thought it was extremely reasonable, given the amount quaffed as well. Incidentally, there are two house reds, priced at 700 Ptas and 1.500 Ptas and unless you stipulate they will bring you the dearer one. We tried a bottle to see what it was like and it was very acceptable so we had one or two more......!

A nice dining experience. Yes it is touristy, but we were tourists. Many Spaniards in there too and after a quick stroll we were ready for the nightlife........

Cantabene

I thought my question was silly. 6 to 8 pounds! Yes, WAY too much for any one person.

All that fat would definitely not be good for me. I think I’ll have to pass on that selection. The cordero asado sounds more suitable.

Is it also served for lunch? What time do you think is the best for lunch there?

I think your comment of Botin as second class is at least the second time I’ve read that. Do you have a suggestion for a place also with a high level of ambience?

AF

Your description of drinks, locking the door and dinner made me want to leave the computer and start walking over.

I ate there once and noticed there were actually a lot of Spaniards -99% of which seemed to be businessmen entertaining foreign businessmen (no slur against against the female sex - we just didn't seem to be well represented). A fair number of tables with Spaniards and Japanese having earnest discussions followed by more and more enthusistic toasts as the night progressed.

It's a great people-watching venue ...

Sol:
I'm sure you can get suckling pig at Botin anytime. My reference to Botin being a second class restaurant had nothing to do with the quality of the food or service. The government for many years had a system of rating restaurants and hotels according to a number of factors--mostly the luxuriousness of the physical accommodations--not the qaulity of the food.

At one time (I don't know if this is still in effect) the prices a restaurant or hotel could charge were limited by its classification.

I'm not up to date on Botin's hours. I would think that between 1 and 2 o'clock would be about right.

If you have a dining partner, I suggest one of you try the cuchinillo, the other the cordero asado, and sample both.

My impression is that Botin has always been a consistently good restaurant, but you can find better. Restaurants abound in Madrid. But then I tend to be picky. IMHO it's as good as any place to begin your culinary exploration--and better than some. Ask for a table downstairs in the cave-like "bodega." That's where the ambience is.
Cantabene

Catabene-

Thank you for all your help

Sol