Let me put it this way....La Fragua was the first restaurant we went to on our month long journey…read morethrough Spain. We came back to Madrid two days early so we could visit La Fragua one more time before we flew home. This is a very simple restaurant plopped down in the middle of a Madrid suburban neighborhood. From the outside it is only a door in a wall of an office building but inside it is a delightful restaurante serving a great version of Cocido Madrileno. The patrons we observed on both of our visits appeared not to be strangers which made us believe the quality of food brings locals back time and again. The English here is limited to non-existent but communication is easy. On our second visit the house was full and we arrived without reservations but they made a table for us anyway and treated us very graciously. To be sure we sampled other dishes during our two visits but the Cocido will have us coming back. Their house wine is Ramon Bilbao and the inventive tapas that accompany every meal are not only tasty but mini works of art. We came here twice...we will come back again.

They have this smoked salmon dish (one of their tapas) which is just plain amazing. It's one of the…read morefoods I couldn't stop thinking about after coming back from Spain. The servers are helpful, if a bit abrupt during busy hours. I personally liked the bartender/server who joked with me to finish my almost-full beer when my boyfriend had finished his already. A nice, casual place a bit off of the main road in Arganda. Definitely worth a stop if you're hungry.

El pasado viernes, el 28 de enero, asistí a vuestro curso de Tapas del Siglo XXI dirigido por Diego…read morey me pareció una experiencia buenísima. Llevo un tiempo interesándome en este tipo de cursos y me he apuntado a varios similares en diferentes sitios, sobre todo para aprender nuevas técnicas de cocina, pero también para comparar establecimientos, personal y experiencias a cara de elegir el que me parecía mejor para enfocar mis futuros esfuerzos. Aunque todas mis experiencias con los diferentes cursos han sido buenas, la combinación que he encontrado en El Gusto es Nuestro ha sido superior, especialmente por la técnica didáctica empleada por Diego y, simplemente, su profesionalismo con una muy buena dosis de cercanía a los allí reunidos para aprender. Sin ninguna duda ha sido muy agradable en mi opinión, refrendada por los comentarios de los demás asistentes que he oído al salir del local, y eso que varios confesaban al comienzo de la noche que venían "arrastrados" por su pareja. Me parece claro que cuando salían ya no se sentían tan arrastrados.

What a great dive to hit up for a night cap. We stumbled in after a great meal at Fragua en Rivas…read moreand immediately were glad we did. This local watering hole is as indigenous as it gets. They have a quality line of tapas and the price of the drinks are very blue collar. The atmosphere can be a bit boisterous but that adds to the color and character of the joint. We had the gambas which were delicious. Don't expect fine dining but do expect to be served well and leave with a good feeling of having sampled a bit of the local culture. We will return.

From the owner: Tapas variadas y cocina caseraread more