We will be in Madrid in April . What is everyone's favorite things and places to eat in Madrid.

Bocadillo de Calamares (fried squid sandwiches) at El Brillante bar on the Glorieta de Atocha!! Mmmm.. Can't wait. 4-weeks and counting and I'll be eating them there myself.

Saludos, MadridMan

The chorizo and morcilla on oven roasted potatoes with salsa at La Zapateria. (c/ Victoria 8)

Any pork products that contain the word "Iberico".

Hey MadridMan, what are your dates? I'll be there 4/16-4/26. Any chance you will drop by The Adriano?

I'm ALSO looking forward to eating those deliciously spicy patatas bravas at the OLD Las Bravas bar on/near the corner of Calle de la Cruz and Calle de Alvarez Gato just south of Puerta del Sol and near Plaza Santa Ana. This tacky, little place (which is ALWAYS PACKED) is one of my favorites. They cook the potatoes right there, the place is tiny, and there's only valuable bar/wall-bar space available. ONLY locals hanging around in this particular place. LOVE IT!

MadridMan's Madrid Dates are on Sunday, April 4th and leaving on Sunday, April 18th. You can expect "THE PARTY ANNOUNCEMENT" very very soon but looks like you'll be there when it'll take place. I'll finally meet the famous Mongo!

Saludos, MadridMan

Um, I'll have to check my calendar

Hey MadridMan!
I'm still looking for a contemporary Madrid restaurant to take my wife (a chef) and our restaurant manager to in May. We've only got two nights in Madrid before we head down to Denia. First night, I'm taking them to Possada de la Villa, because they both love lamb. So there's my traditional choice. Now I'm looking for the exceptional modern Madrid dining experience, with a stronger emphasis on meat as opposed to fish. Would you look over my tapas hit list as well?

Casa Paco
Casa Antonio
Taberna Los Huevos de Locio
Taberna el Tempranillo
El Abuelo
Lhardy
Las Bravas
La Trucha
Casa Alberto
El Cisne Azul
El Bocaito
Bodegas La Ardosa

We're staying near the Plaza Mayor. Your suggestions are much appreciated. Ernesto

Wow, thanks for the tips. We'll have to stay at least a month to try all these places

Hey, go see Joaquin at the Asquinina Bar Gallego. The address is Plaza Puerta Cerrada, #3

It is this bar just to the left, (if you are walking out of Casa Botin), about 80 yards and across the street. Another reference point is across the street from "Casa Paco", and 1/2 block up the street.

Tell Joaquin that Pedro sent you. He'll treat you like GOLD!! I was just there last week and surprised him on an unplanned business trip.

He is a true gentleman and great food and VERY cold beer!

Have fun!

Anyone else have feedback about Ernesto's list above? I haven't been to any of them but Las Bravas and they're just a tapas chain and not what I'd consider to be "fine" but it's definitely near the top of my list for cheap-n-good. :p

To El Abuelo I may have been. Where is that? If it's the same one I had a very good 4-hour dinner there. :p

Anyone else? Saludos, MadridMan

El Abuelo is short for Casa del Abuelo. It's on c/Victoria where it runs into c/ de la Cruz. They specialize in gambas-al ajillo, a la plancha and cocidos. They have their own heavy, sweet red wine from, I believe around Toledo. They refer to it as a "chato". They have a sister place around the corner on Nuñez de Arce with a bigger menu and more space. Neither place serves sit down meals. Great shrimp though! There is a nice picture of El Abuelo in the first few pages of the "Eyewitness Guide Madrid".

Been to Casa Paco, nothing special. Casa Antonio is typically Madrileño. I disgusted my Spanish friends by eating callos there! I've been to Lhardy for the first floor consomme only, a unique experience.

La Trucha has a great tablao de ahumados with caviar, smoked trout and salmon. Also, the one on Nuñez de Arce has the best calamares I have had anywhere. It was cooked just enough to be crunchy but tender inside with a great batter.

The others, maybe I've been to a few, but I rarely look at the sign above the door.

For the bar the Galicians go to for Galician food, try Maceira, c/ de Jesus 7, just off Huertas & Paseo Castellana. You won't hear English and you can't get a coke.

I am a chef also.

Madrid Man-We need to get you up the hill more often!

It's nice to talk about tapas again.

For tapas, my favorite is Casa del Abuelo II, or whatever it is called on Calle Nuñez de Arce.

For fine dining:

Casa Santa Cruz
El Cenador del Prado
Meson Sixto

I would also second Maceira at 7 Calle de Jesus.
Get the pulpo...everyone does.

Mongo, we are staying at Hostal Adriano from April 8 until April 19th.

Perhaps, like MadridMan we will get a chance to meet the famous Mongo...

A buen provecho.

I arrive the 16th of April, although the staff at the Adriano is very adept at guarding my privacy, what with the throngs of admirers and groupies.

They know me as Matt, but Mongo works too.

I hope to see everyone at the MadridMan party!

I forgot another favorite, El Lacon on Manuel Fernandez Gonzalez. The have a salad of red peppers and anchovies that is great and a chuleton de buey cooked on your own grill.

Hi hawntraveller,

You MUST try "La Negra Tomasa." It is just up Calle Espoz y Mina from the Puerta del Sol. (If you are coming from the P. de Sol, it will be on the right.) It is a great Cuban-themed restaurant and tapas bar with a great friendly staff and cool atmosphere.

Have fun!!

Hey, please go see Joaquin, across the street from Casa Paco, (1/4 block up the street, too), at Asquinilla Bar Gallego, #3 Plaza Puerta Cerrada. He has wonderful traditional Tapas, and is sooo gracious. Tell him Pedro sent you. He is truly a wonderful person and would get a thrill out of knowing he has visitors from this message board.

Let me know how it is, although I know you will LOVE your experience there! Wish I could go for the Madrid Man party, but I was just there and probably won't be back until Summer.

Madrid Man, will you be there during Summer at all?

hi Peter San Diego,

is Joaquin near Sol? How much do you pay for your tapas meal there? Am really enticed to visit Joaquin.

Madridman, please have the party April 8 or April 12-15. HAHAHA, thanks for accomodating. I want to be there!!!

I like a bar called La Cazorla on the corner of Padilla and General Pardiñas in Barrio Salamanca. They're generous with their aperitivos and they're raciones are good. Chopitos with lots of lemon, almejas, gambas all washed down with a rioja, or whatever your fancy. I think I'll go there now actually I've made myself hungry.

Always worth asking what's good by the way, they're always happy to advise.

Madridman-
When are you going to announce the party dates? I'll be in Madrid April 3rd and April 10th and would love to meet up with some of the people who have helped me plan my trips over the last couple of years.

Hey Fishball! Glad you want to see Joaquin, I can't tell you how genuinely Spanish and cool he is! His tapas are average price, but his Pulpo, (octopus), is wonderful. His Gambas Ajillo are wonderful too, everything is good!

He has a whole list of tapas there, but just seeing him is why I go there. I can't explain it, but I never fail to stop by every day when I am in Madrid. (Which has fortunately been 3 times in the past 9 months!). If you tell him Pedro sent you, he will just smile and treat you like family, I am sure!

As far as his location, not too close to Puerta Del Sol, (closer to Plaza Mayor), actually if you walk out of Casa Paco, go left 50 yards, cross the street, you are there, right in front of his bar. Asquinina Bar Gallego.

Wonderful man, great tapas, cold beer, and wonderful ambiente!

Please tell me how it was, I am just dying to know!

I am jealous, because I am ready for another trip, but can't go yet!

Peter

Mongo!

Are we on the same schedule?

I will see you at ADRIANO again!

Yes, you are a most loved person at ADRIANO.

I will for sure join the Madridman's Party.

Also, although you are such a popular/busy guy, we could set time atside for coffee!

See you there!

Hola Epaulino! I hope your flight goes better than the last time! (Mine too!) I have nothing but time this trip. 10 days and not a thing planned except the MM party, so coffee should be easy.

Maybe I should have a party with Mongo night.
Nah, that would be redundant!

Dear hawntraveller, hola everyone!

I´ll be in Madrid by end of April and I was about to ask the same question! I am thrilled about the many possibilities and cannot wait to try them. I won´t be in town for the Party with MadridMan but I´ll try the Asquinias Gallego for sure.
Does anyone know, whether Tinto de Verano is as popular in Madrid as it is in Andalucia?
Anyone with a good suggestion for a flamenco aficionada where to go and see a good dance or hear a good singer? Has anyone been to take some classes at the Amor de Dios by any chance?

From Prusiia with Love,
La Calma

Everyone I know in Madrid that works during the day drinks tinto de verano with lunch. I think it keeps them from drinking too much and going back to work tipsy You see it on tap in many places and there is always the ubiquitous bottle of La Casera next to the beer taps.

I think I'll have one now! I can drain my precious stash now that I will be returning to Madrid in 2 weeks

Dear Mongo,

cool! Glad to hear it. I am sick of explaining arrogant waiters in hip bars back home what exactly a tdv is...
I tried to establish the tdv as the new hip summer drink in Berlin, Germany ( I am sick of caipirinhas, too), but so far no luck.

Enjoy!
La Calma

To La Calma,

The only flamenco place I know is La Corral de Pacheca. It is a dinner show, but you can go in just to see the show. The food is mas a menor. It's a tourist destination. A little pricey, but for the flamenco afficianado, and I'm very literal about my ametuer status, I thought the dancing y guitarra was muy bueno.

For the best service and the best seafood: Las tres Encinas near the Puerta del Sol! Pricey but the best sopa de mariscos ever.

I must apologize to people who have asked me questions here in this thread - I haven´t followed it as closely as I should have but the pre-trip preparations (and now I´m here!) has been an understandable distraction.

Regarding places to eat in Madrid: You can be sure you´ll get lots of reviews of the Cervecería San Andrés on the Plaza San Andrés after the party on April 16th. I looked over their menu this morning and wow, I was impressed with their selection and CHEAP PRICES!

Peter San Diego wrote:
No. I AVOID Madrid during the summer. I know. I know. But it´s WAY too hot for me.

Mongo/Matt, you can be sure we´ll meet this time around.

I´m still looking forward to going back to the famed and favorite EL BRILLANTE on Glorieta de Atocho, 8.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hello (again), All!

I thought I'd add my comments about my/our Cocido lunch at Lhardy (web: http://www.LHARDY.com ) last Friday.

We made 2:30pm reservations (NECESSARY!!!) and they asked upon making the reseverations IF we'd be ordering the Cocido. I thought this interesting but now not since Lhardy is FAMOUS for their Cocido if only for the history of serving cocido madrileño at this 150+ YEAR OLD RESTAURANT on Carrera de San Jerónimo, 8 - just east of of the Puerta del Sol.

WOW. WHAT LUXURY! WHAT ELEGANCE! WHAT HISTORY! Really. This place is just incredible. While Botín beats this place on history (Botín is the OLDEST operating restaurant on the planet) and rustic-ness, Lhardy is like dining in a palace.

You arrive at street-level and a suited doorman smiles, nods, and open the door with his white-gloved hand. You pass through the foyer to the stairs where you go up to the next floor. There, someone meets you and asks if you have reservations. If you do, they seat you in one of their two dining rooms. Apparently, there are 6 dining rooms but the others are for private gatherings. We were seated in the front, street-side main dining room, called "Isabelline" (see photo on their website), which was nicely illuminated, large mirrors and paintings, beautiful place-settings, and tuxedo-wearing waiters (all men). I was surprised to appear to be the ONLY non-Spaniard in the place. I was certain it would be full of tourists but I was very wrong. In fact, 2 men wore suits but some younger people, apparently there with their families, were wearing jeans and T-shirts.

There were only about 12 well-spaced tables in this dining room. We, of course, had the cocido madrileño and ordered a bottle of Crianza Rioja with the meal. Everything was good. But we joked that we (that is, my ladyfriend) could make the same good-tasting meal at home for about 10% of what we were paying at Lhardy. Hehehe... So yes, the cocido was good but we were paying for the 1.5-hour experience more than anything.

Below I'm itemizing the bill NOT to brag about how rich I am (because I'm not. And besides, my ladyfriend was going to pay the bill. ) but more to show how much this place really is, for a typical meal there. I think people often shy-away from places because they don't know how much things really cost.

Here we go.. prepare yourselves....

2 Pan y Mantequilla (bread & butter): 4.20 € ($5.56)
2 Cocido: 55 € ($72.84 :eek )
1 Tocino Cielo (desert): 7 € ($9.27)
1 Soufle Sorpresa (desert): 10 € ($13.25)
1 Agua Mineral (bottled water): 3.50 €($4.64)
2 Quinta (2 aparetifs of sherry): 6.00 € ($7.95)
1 Azpilicueta Crianza (Rioja wine): 18.00 € ($23.83)

Subtotal: 103.70 €
I.V.A. 7%: 7.26

Total: 110.96 € ($146.87 )

Here's the funny part. While talking during the meal (I was careful NOT to put my one hand on my lap under the table, by the way - how rude! hehehe...) I mentioned to my ladyfriend (who was paying for the meal at her invitation) that I doubted if they had waiters who spoke English, menus in English, or an English version of their website . She said, "I bet they do!" SO WE BET THE MEAL!! Wwe called over the waiter and he said yes, they speak some Spanish, they have an English menu (he brought it over to me), AND their website has an English version which includes prices. WOW. HOW WRONG I WAS! $$$$ €€€€ OUCH! I PAID DEARLY!!! Hehehehe.. Thank goodness they accepted American Express. Cha-Ching!

So do I recommend Lhardy? Well, SURE, if you have that kind of money to spend and want a special, elegant dining experience. The food is good and plentiful. I suppose they're open for dinner too but they're more "famous" for their lunches as you wouldn't (I don't think) order Cocido for DINNER. I doubt I'd go back again, though, UNLESS someone else was paying the bill. hehehe...

Is this place a "Can't Miss Place to Eat"? No. One can miss Lhardy easily and without repent. You can certainly buy a lot of good meals at other restaurants for the price of this one meal at Lhardy. This is the kind of place for something SPECIAL, something memorable, something elegant and historical.

So that's that! Hope it helps someone in the future.

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks MadridMan for a detailed review of Lhardy\'s ! I really appreciate it! I have passed Lhardy's gazillions of times, but never dined there. In 1980, one of my professors, Aurora de Albornoz , a known poet and authority on Juan Ramón Jiménez, used to speak of Lhardy (to us poor students )with such respect for the authentic old world atmosphere and over-all dining experience. It was really great to relive the experience with you, MadridMan!

Hi, 4 days to go before 13 of us arrive in Madrid and having read the reviews on this topic I can't wait! Madrid Man and others - I hope there isn't a closed season for these places - would be heartbroken if we couldn't visit at least a few of them ..... You mention booking at L'Hardys, not likely to go there, but would we have to elsewhere on a Saturday night for that number of people? Also, though all the seafood sounds fabulous, what would you say is your favourite bite for what might be a chilly night?

Try Tres Encinas (near Callao) as Booklady mentioned. I showed up there (without reservations) with a group of a dozen or so on a Saturday night in September 2003 and we were very pleased. All the "mariscos", appetizers, wine, dessert, coffee and licores you could possibly want for 60 euros per person. There were shellfish from the smallest gambas up to lobsters.

I did Tres Encinas again several weeks ago (March 2009) and would probably rethink my recommendation. The food was good with the exception of a cold spot in the txangurro, but the food and service doesn't really justify the price (56 euros per person for the parrillada de mariscos ala plancha). My friend commented that the service made him "feel like he was in Barcelona". His biggest complaint was the lack of licores after the meal. Try Portobello instead

El Abuelo is a place that I've ate at before. Pretty good food.