I am spending four days in Madrid and four days in Barcelona in early November. I want to have one great dinner in each location and looking for comments or recomendations.
This is a splurge so price really isn't an option as much as a superb food and great atmosphere!! Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated!!

P.S I heard good things about Meson de Candido in Segovia and was wondering if anyone been there and is it worth? it?

Hi new york!! I'm sure everyone has a great Fine Dining suggestion for you for Madrid (except me, that is... I almost always eat at "home" with the family of my ladyfriend). You may also want to try the SEARH link above/right and type RESTAURANT MADRID or SEGOVIA CANDIDO to find many many previously posted suggestions, especially for Candido. I've eaten there once, but only for lunch, at it was great, but I understand it has slipped in recent years. Group, what's the OTHER popular fine restaurant in Segovia??

Mmm, I could just add my favourite restaurants in Madrid:

La Alpujarra (c/ Príncipe de Vergara) Great andalusian typical food, this is really one of my favourites, it has everything: Great food, great service, great ambience,... 5.000-6.000 ptas per person more or less

De María (near Plaza Castilla) The best argentinian cuisine in Madrid. Highly recommended restaurant if you like grilled meat, with some typical argentinian dishes. Superb. 4.000-5.000 ptas.

O Ferreiro (near Pº de la Castellana) Asturian typical food. Another great restaurant. Taste their fabada. Is terrific. 3.000-4.000 ptas.

Then I have cheaper and more expensive restaurants. It always depends on what you like. For example, if you like "marisco" (don't know the equivalent in english, I mean crabs, and such invertebrates) the best one is Combarro.

Other famous, and very expensive restaurants (which I'm sure you will enjoy) are Lhardy (typical Madrid's food), Jockey, Club 31, Asador Donostiarra, ... Beware: a meal in this places may cost up to 20.000 ptas per person.

Fernando

If your are thinking about eating in Segovia I wouldn't go to Candido, better try La Oficina. Candido just has the name and the people who eat there usually are turists, so if you don´t want to be just one turist more try La Oficina or Jose Luis.

Enjoy your time here.

Have a look at the Michelin red guide (for restaurants/hotels, as opposed to the green guide which is more general) for Spain. We used it last year and were really happy with the places we tried. Didn't use it in Madrid, as we were only there a few days and went almost exclusively to the tapas places around Plaza Santa Anna. However, the suggestions for Salamanca, Toledo, Jerez and a few other places were great. Hint - look for the "bib gourmand" suggestions - restaurants that don't have Michelin stars but are considered excellent and good value for the money.

Quick answer: La Valenciana on Paseo de Pintor Rosales (down past Templo de Debod). Elegant atmosphere. (Interesting crystal chandeliers.) Many well-dressed business people. Paella and rice-dishes featured. Everything was great!!

Oh, Jose Maria's is the newest "hot spot" in Segovia for dining on roast suckling pig. I'll check the address if you'd like but it's easy to find.

La Cabana on Ventura de la Vega.....I can still taste the Bife.....get a table in the cellar after picking out your steak and watch it cook on the range.Intersting sauces to go and desserts to drool over.im drooling again just typing this.Definately worth checking out when in Madrid.

I and a fellow Madridman member had a wonderful meal in Madrid last Sunday night at Restaurante Caniero on Calle Fernan Gonzalez in the block between Alcala and Calle de Goya near the Goya station on the #2 Metro Line. The price was very reasonable for such an attractive restaurant and the staff couldn´t have been any more gracious.

Try La Gallette (near Velasquez), totally unique cuisine, but lovely environment. Oh, and try NILO Restaurante, located at Ortega y Gasset, 8 Tel: 91 431 60 60. This is such a great restaurant, I had to get a card and place it in my rolodex. It reminds me of dining in a fancy Beverly Hills Restaurant.

Our favorite was the Restaurante de Botin near the Plaza Mayor on Calle de Toledo. The food was excellant. I read it was one of the oldest restaurants in Madrid.

Thanks everyone!!!
I wasn't expecting this kind of response!?
It is sure going to be tough to choose a restaurant in madrid that for sure!! But i naven't heard any responces on restaurnts in or near Barcelona? Looking forward on suggestions there?

I just returned from a fabulous trip to Spain. The food was probably the best I've had in Europe. I found that instead of trying to hunt down a particular restaurant from a book it's easier to just discover them on your own. Often times the restaurants in guidebooks are heavily frequented by tourists and have not been recently reviewed. You can also walk for blocks to a particular address to find it closed. I usually just try to venture down a few side streets, away from the big tourist draws, and look for somewhere interesting - usually without a menu translated in 5 languages. We found some gems on my recent trip.

All that said, I ate at Candides just 3 weeks ago and it was very disappointing. I felt like I'd walked into a big tourist trap. Food was mediocre, overpriced, and the service was surly. We had ate at Casa Duque the previous evening and it was wonderful. I guess I had to find out for myself!

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: CathyM ]

CathyM is right. Look for the places frequented by Spaniards, check out the menu (always posted outside) and, specifically, the menu del día (we found great selections at extremely reasonable prices), then enthusiastically proceed.

Our last afternoon meal in Madrid was a gem. Since we were heading for either the 5:30 pm bullfight or the Reina Sofia museum (free after 2:30 on Saturday), we knew we'd be walking through a particular area so we decided to look for a specific restaurant listed in the Rough Guide. Unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps), it was closed so we continued down the street, saw a small restaurant/bar, perused the menu, looked inside at all the Spaniards and entered. Although we ordered from the menu del día (good sopa castellana and wonderful veal chop), I spied a nearby dessert (ponche segoviano) which I just HAD to try. The waiter informed us that there would be a small supplement as it was not one of the postre choices. Well worth it!

P.S. Sorry, folks, but the bullfight won out over the museum but an excellent choice as it turned out to be the Gran Corrida de Rejones--with the toreros on horseback. The horsemanship was fantastic. I enjoyed it so much more than what we think of as the "traditional" bullfight. As an animal lover, however...well, guess I should save this for another thread.

If you are not a vegetarian I would go to "Botin" and try their "Cochinillo" (suckling pig) or their roasted lamb (cordero). The restaurant is situated in Cuchilleros st (not in Toledo st!) and it is not one of the oldest restaurants in the world, it is simply the OLDEST (check it out in the guiness book).

Have a good time!

[ 10-20-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]