Just wanted to share with you this place which already has quite a reputation in Madrid . "La Tosta" in Calle Victoria ( Off of San Jeronimo ) . As the name suggests , it specialises in toast ! With a huge variety of toppings . Sort of large sizes Pintxos ( Basque tapas ) .
I was at a birthday party ( got back 5:30 this morning aaargh ) , and we had a table of about 12 people . The bar is smallish but has a cellar area where we set up and were joined by another large group .
They served us 4 large tortillas with bread ( delicious ) , Then plenty of croquetas ( potato and ham ) , Then the "tostas" topped with Jamon and esparragos , Prawns and mayonnaise , Mushrooms and spinach with cheese ... etc.... Large jugs of Sangria kept coming to the table ( This place is reknowned for the quality of the sangria - It was WONDERFUL ! ) .At the end , the "chupitos" ( shots ) were on the house ... Various types including the omnipitous "Hierba" and "Pacharan" .. The wonderful Dominican waitress just left the bottles on the table for us to finish !
It's a great place and the staff are friendly and welcoming and efficient .

As a footnote - We finished the night at a club on San Jeronimo called " Bourbon Cafe" .. Live bad , great music and an hilarious drag queen who i persuaded to have photos taken .. The young staff there work very hard but always cheerful .. It really makes a difference to an evening .

Left the bar at 5am and decided to walk home ( 30 minutes ) down Alcala to Cibeles and then to O'Donnell , past Retiro Park , back to my apartment ...Madrid was STILL rocking !!

Steve .

Steve, thanks for sharing, be sure to take us there when we return next summer!
I don't know which part I envy more--the yummy food you ate, the pacharan and sangria, or walking home at 5am in my beautiful Madrid!

I am in and out of 'La Tosta' several times a day when I'm in Madrid. It has become a tradition for us to have drink there if we arrive early and have to wait for our rooms at Hostal Adriano.

They also have a great menu del dia and it's a quiet place to have a mid-morning coffee. They serve Cafe Pozo torrefacto, which is my favorite.

Well , Laduque , As i've mentioned in a previous post , it was great seeing you recently in Madrid ... I really enjoy your company .. It was a shame your husband couldn't have joined us for the second round ! ... So I look forward to seeing you guys again .... !
Mongo , thanks for the tip about good coffee at La Tosta ... As I said in my post ,the staff are great and that makes a big change as the cafes in el centro can be a little impersonal . Steve

Oooh, I love any sort of tostadas in Spain. I certainly ate a lot of them around Plaza Santa Ana this summer! Thanks for the recommendation, and while I might not be back next summer, I will be sure to check this place out the next time I'm in Madrid!

And, I'm glad to hear that life has come back to normal in Madrid after a long month of vacaciones!

quote
Left the bar at 5am and decided to walk home ( 30 minutes ) down Alcala to Cibeles and then to O'Donnell , past Retiro Park , back to my apartment ...Madrid was STILL rocking !!

well you are very brave i wouldnt walk after 5.00 pm at the moment with all the violence going on in britain

Steve,a little story about "La Tosta". On my last visit I went there for lunch with our gracious host, MadridMan. After a decent Menu del Dia, I was talking with the owner Rafael on the way out. He's friend of several years as are most of the staff. I happened to mention that my lunch companion was none other than MadridMan. Not only was he familiar with him, but gave him a hearty handshake and spotted us a couple of chupitos!

I hope MadridMan approves!

Hahahaa.. That was something. I was humbled that he'd heard of "MadridMan"!! Good lunch, sure enough, but the company was even better.

I walked by there just today, looking for a lunch spot, but they are apparently closed on Tuesdays, according to their window-banner. That was a shame. My bad luck.

Saludos, MadridMan