Bistro Madrid is a Spanish Tapas restaurant at Forbestown Center in Manila, Philippines. The location of this eatery has good surroundings. Sitting upstairs in the restaurant, one has a lovely view of the brightly lit street and its side walk cafes. We ordered several dishes. The gambas (shrimps) with garlic and olive oil was very good. Soaking the accompanying crostinis in the oil takes you to a better place. The ham and potato croquettes were also well received. Nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The potato wedges had texture and flavor, while the salad with quail eggs was tasty. Baked oysters were done well. The taste of parmesan and the grill were apparent, and the oysters were moist and satisfying to the palate.
Then came the disappointing dishes. We ordered both a vegetarian paella and a seafood paella. The latter only had shrimp and some squid. Where is the fish, clams, mussels, etc.? On questioning the server, we learned that this is all they put in their seafood paella. In addition, the paella lacked any intense flavor and was partially dry. Then after ordering Churros with chocolate for dessert we were served french toast sticks in place of the Churros. When we agained questioned this serving, we were told they dont serve the churro sticks. These facts (like the seafood paella), need to be shared with the customer who desires to order these items. The chocolate mousse concoction was tough to get into, but the good taste resurrected this dessert. read more