For some reason, we kept gravitating back to the Sol district of Madrid. Perhaps it has something to do with the vibe of the area. I mean, the have a bar called the Dubliner, but we never went in...although I imagined a bunch of locals speaking Spanish with Irish accents. Our wandering brought us past here and the cheerful young woman convinced us to come in with her limited English.
It's a cozy place with a lively energy. All the workers were friendly and I was able to order paella for one. We also ordered a jamon y brie tosta and marinated loin with a bell pepper spread tosta to start. These came out on thick slices of good bread...muy bueno. The waitress recommended a great bottle of red wine which wasn't that expensive. We have not had a bad wine yet...even the house wines at 8-11E are good. We also noticed most tapas places had 3 - 8 bottles of red, ranging from young (joven) to older (viejo).
The partner ordered a chicken dish that looked like wraps when they came out and were drizzled with a spicy sauce...very good! My paella was okay. I almost felt it was made earlier in the day, then scooped up, put in a small pan, and then placed in the oven. I could be wrong, but I've had better. It was a little salty too.
Other than that, the ambiance is great! The only problem was that my credit card wouldn't go through for whatever reason. It worked everywhere else, so we had to pay in euros. I checked with my credit card company, and they said everything was fine, so maybe their machine wasn't working. I would still go back to try other things on their menu!
Me gusta Cocotito! read more