I moved out from Los Angeles a little over 2 months ago and one thing that I miss is Mexican Food.

I heard of a Restaurant called El Cuchi, but after 3 days of searching for it, I found out that it has been closed and is now a Belgium(?) restaurant or something.

I found a small one down the street from there, but I wasn't that impressed.

Does anyone know of one that offers really good Mexican food like back in the US? I would appreciate it!

BTW, I love Spanish food, but there are some foods that I miss from home.

A California friend, who now lives in Madrid, took me to a little Mexican place which he likes on Calle Mayor, 68 (near Plaza de la Villa) called "El Chaparrito". It claims to be 100% Mexican Food. The food was pretty good and relatively cheap. The place, very casual.

Keep in mind that they don't seem to have "American Style" Mexican restaurants in Madrid and they don't usually give you a free basket of tortilla chips upon sitting down at the table. (just as the "American Style" Mexican restaurants are nothing like the Mexican restaurants IN Mexico and the food is surprisingly different too, no doubt altered in the USA to appease the American pallet)

So far, in the 3 or 4 Mexican restaurants I've tried so far in Madrid, I've been a bit disappointed. Can't wait to go back to the USA where "they have what I like".

Saludos, MadridMan

Ok MM .. I´m going to start a debate here since you´re a champion of "authentic" Spanish food . Don´t you think it´s better that they serve Mexican food as it should be and not as the Americans want it to be ? I don´t mean to be agressive , of course not , just interested .

I agree 100%. Mexican food SHOULD be served as Mexicans would make it in Mexico - no matter where in the world they serve it, even in Spain. But marketing has a lot to do with it too. If Spaniards, whom tend to NOT like their food spicy, get served such food, they may not like it and never return. That's not to say that authentic Mexican food is always spicy, no, but some of it is.

Saludos, MadridMan

I agree with what you say too MM . I just have the idea that if you don´t want to eat spicey food then don´t go to an Indian restaurant . If you don´t want to eat raw fish then don´t go to a Japanese restaurant . I´m sure the Hard Rock Café here in Madrid does great Tex Mex food . as does Peggy Sue´s near me .
Wow it´s a hot one again here and I´ll be eating SPANISH food in Calle Ibiza jejejejejejejejeje

El Chaparrito was the one that I went to. I ordered a carne asada taco and a chicken hard shell taco. The soft taco was okay, but the hard shell taco was pretty much a frozen el paso rolled up taquito. Judging by those, I was a little suspicious about the rest of the menu.

I'll give it another shot someday with a real entree and report back once I've tried it.

I walked down a street on Fuencarral one day and saw a Mexican place, but didn't try it because I was on the hunt for El Cuchi at the time.

I think the Mexican food in Los Angeles is pretty authentic as half the population there is Mexican.

Also, in case anyone is interested, I heard that there is a Taco Bell at a place called Isla Azul Commercial Centro. An experiment o see if it catches on here (I suppose like Starbucks, McD, KFC, and Burger King). I need to find a way to get there...

Good reminder on Hard Rock. I recall they also had really good burgers there. It will come in handy when the time comes...

colenot,
I'm sorry for your sake that you searched for El Cuchi only to find it closed, but based on my experience there, it wasn't very good anyway. I went there a LONG time ago back in my semester abroad days, and it was rather average. I'm from an area with a large Mexican and Mexican-American population, so I really missed Mexican food, too, when I lived in Spain. Hopefully you find something authentic and delicious in the near future!

Well it's good to hear that I didn't miss out on El Cuchi. Seems like we both had the same craving for the same authentic type of Mexican food so I trust your judgement!

I miss Don Antonio's in Los Angeles!


Stay tuned. I'm on the hunt...

Just found a promising one here!

http://madrid.salir.com/taqueria_del_alamillo


I hope to give it a shot soon!

I know there is one on 3 Calle de las Fuentes. I've never been.
It called La Molida (Comidas y Bebido de Mexico)

You can see it on Google Maps.

It's just above Calle Mayor at Plaza de Herradores.

I may try it later this year. It's next to the flat I'm renting.

It'll be hard to impress as I'm Mexican AND I live in California.

colenot, I've been to this place too. Thanks for bringing it up because I can never remember its name. It's called Taquería del Alamillo and is on Plaza del Alamillo, 8, between Plaza de Andrés and the Calle de Segovia, about 30 meters from the Calle de Segovia.

There, they have indoor and outdoor (covered) seating. I think it's best to have a reservation as we had to wait (or be seated by the door). It's a popular and VERY out-of-the-way place. The food was good, as I remember, but it was because of this place which made me write my blog entry, "Americans Don't Like Spanish Food, and Vice Versa". THIS is the Mexican place I mention there. Most of my Spanish friends didn't like it but I was pleased with it. It was kind of expensive, I thought, and the waiters had to explain what MANY of the items were on the menu, even I'd never heard of them.

Some photos...

Sounds good. Thanks for the breakdown. Too bad the waiter had to explain many thing on the menu. That tells me that it's not what I'm craving for, but still worth a shot!

There is a good mexican restaurant in Claudio Coello just north of Calle Goya. It is a bit dark inside, but the food was good when I went there a few years ago.

Thanks! By any chance, is this called Rosalindas? I was doing a Google search and saw the name come up, along with one or two others.

I can't remember what it is called, but it is only about 100 metres from Calle Goya.

Well . I´m going to La Taquería del Alamillo for lunch today with a Peruvian friend . I´ll report back .

Can't wait to hear back! Have a great time.

Yeah, me too, steve robinson. How was your lunch at La Taquería del Alamillo?

There is a good, but expensive, Mexican restaurant very close to Plaza de España called La Mordida.

It is really bright and colorful inside, and the food has been great each time I've gone.

Its located right before Plaza de España, in the square that has a McDonald's, Starbucks, and a few banks.

I remember now that this restaurant was named after the plant that they use to make Tequila (I can never remember what it is called)

There's a fairly cheap and cheerful one on Calle de la Libertad called "La Panza es Primero". I thought it was pretty good when I ate there, although one review says "Buena comida, servicio INFAME" and I have to agree.

If you think Mexican restaurants in Spain are bad you should try them in England! I've never had anything as good as I can make at home.

Daniel-Madrid, is it called La Leyenda del Agave? I've never been there, but I know the agave plant is the plant from which tequila is made. I googled it, and it looks like it's at C/Núñez de Balboa, 37 which is near Calle de Goya and the Velázquez Metro station.

A Google search tells me that a plant called Blue Agave is used to making tequila. Does that sound about right to you?

Yes that is true. The agave nectar is used in the making of tequila. Here in San Diego, is an elegant Mexican restaurant named El Agave which has the largest selection of tequila in the States. My hubby works there once in a while. Anyway, they have 200 dollar shots of tequila. It's mindboggling how many tequilas there are...sort of like fine wine...an acquired taste.

Steve, please tell us what you ate at the restuarant.

@ la historiadora, yeah that's the one - i mixed the streets up, but got the area right!

Laduque .. It was a great lunch . My flatmate wanted to toast his father who died in Perú ( Lima ) exactly a year ago . We had 5 rounds of "banderitas" where you drink the sour lemon juice , the tequila and then tomato juice .. The colours of the Mexican flag ( Green , white and red ) . Wow , they were great .
We had a huge amount of nacho chips with a couple of great spicey dips and a big bowl of guacamole . Then we had tacos .. 3 different types but a good amount .
Wow what a day that was . Next up is that My flatmate is going to take me to a traditional Peruvian restauraunt ... I can´t wait !!

Sounds like you had a great time. I'll have to remember the "banderitas" when I go there.

Were those tacos soft tacos or hard shell tacos? Do they offer both? Also, did you get a chance to see if they had refried beans, rice, burritos, etc...

Yeah the banderitos are great . They were soft tacos to roll up ...and no idea to all the other questions .. I would imagine they have refritos as they are pretty much a staple food , as well as arroz .

I just tried one branch of this little Mexican Restaurant chain called La Mordida (The one on Valle Princessa- www.lamordida.com)

I wanted to test the waters so I just ordered their nachos with guacamole. They use those Tostino style chips (not authentic) and it was a little heavy on the pico de gallo and guacamole and not enough frijoles (refried beans).

I asked if it came with beef or chicken and he said only chorizo, so I opted without meat as chorizo is too tangy for nachos.

I would give the nachos 3 stars out of 5. Nothing I couldn't do at home.

I didn't have enough room for anything else, but I'll give it another shot someday with something else on the menu.

It started to get busy as I was leaving (around 9pm) so maybe their other entree's are pretty authentic tasting. Who knows...

colenot, thanks for that tip about the La Mordida chain. It looks much like the typical over-the-top American Mexican restaurant but maybe they're more "authentic" than their photos convey. I'll give it a try too as a couple of them are within striking distance (by bus).

By the way, did they offer FREE chips-and-salsa as they do at the USA restaurants? I'm guessing not since they typically charge for bread in restaurants in Spain.

Saludos, MadridMan

There used to be one called Pancho Villa out in Almeda de Osuna (i.e., 28042 Postal Code). I believe it was owned / operated by a retired USAF Sergeant.

Eddie, when i used to lived in Madrid back in the 70's I knew a USAF sargeant that when the Torrejon de Ardoz US Base was closed decided to stay in Madrid; maybe he open this Pancho Villa place. DO you his name? He used to umpire the baseball league at La Elipa park, and the USAF had a team of kids of service personnel that played against us in the Madrid league. I was with the Real Madrid (yes they also sponsored a baseball team back then)::)
thanks