The service was excellent!!! And considering that it's really a small place the hustle on the…read morewaiters was on point! The food was delicious and we went twice during our trip! I didn't take pictures of the other dishes - I'm an idiot I was so hungry I devoured the paella and the Ropa Vieja, (phenomenal) plus the and hubby got the pork medallions with the moscatel sauce. WOWzah! All of it was amazing PLUS fresh housemade bread. I highly recommend trying the vermouth with an orange slice. Soooo good! 10/10 wish I took pictures of the other dishes!

We just had an okay experience here. We arrived early and there were still plenty of tables open…read more(though the space was small), and it seemed like mostly locals. I had a mojito but it was so sweet I could barely drink it. We ordered the seafood paella which was decent, but seemed super salty to me (though it had a good amount of mussels and squid). We also had the Lomo Bajo (strip loin) and the taste was flavorful, but it was very tough/hard to chew. The staff was friendly and quick, and it was nice that they brought us two free liquor shots at the end of the meal.

Great tapas and Spanish food. Full menu with all the must have dishes. The chipirones were…read moreespecially great. Friendly service.

We truly enjoy this very popular Galician tapas place! I recommend making reservations. We have…read moretaken friends here and loved every dish. Our faves: * Ropa Vieja - my son's fave - he almost didn't share this cuban style shredded beef * Bacalao confitado - creamy and decadent * Prawn Risotto - yummmm * Pimientos de Padron - mild and reminds me of shishito peppers * Pulpo a la plancha - Grilled octopus Next time I plan to try the Paella de Mariscos...

Hit this joint with my wife in Madrid (Spain). Super cool spot, everyone was super busy, but that…read moredidn't impact the awesome service we received. Food and drinks were all excellent! If in Spain, check out this joint for sure!

Located just outside of Puerta de Sol. This is a great place to enjoy Espana tapas and a drink!…read more The tapa portions are very large: the small size anchovies, contains two pieces of bread with 5 white anchovy fillets, diced onions, green olives, drizzled with olive oil. For a savory entree, I recommend the oxtail stew: 10 pieces of delectable oxtails in a brown gravy sauce. This tasted more like a beef pot roast, rather than a tomato style gravy. The oxtails are paired with thick cut fries.

One of the better meals I had while in Madrid. I had the salmon tartare, asparagus and Love Cheuca…read morecocktail. The salmon was refreshing - the fish, mango and avocado were a great combination. The asparagus arrived hot and crisp and was essentially a vegetable tempura. My cocktail was light and balanced I really liked the hint of vanilla. The place was small and intimate with a neighborhood feel to ti. Service was quick and friendly.

My favorite meal/experience during our visit to the wonderful city of Madrid. Many reviews highly…read morepraised the tapas so we decided to see if we could get in. As foreigners, we arrived earlier than the locals which worked out well. By the time we finished there was a crowd waiting outside. We loved the casual atmosphere and the elevated flavors of the tapas. The wine was perfect and we chose just the right amount of dishes that complimented one another. We felt like this was someplace special and were happy to have experience it.

Food is outstanding Service is fantastic…read more Ambiance. Hasn't since my first visit in 1971 Overall. An amazing establishment

Alright, as I continue to try to catch up on all the review drafts I wrote while on vacation, at…read morethis point a whole 5 months ago... I know this one was exactly 5 months ago, because we touched down in Madrid on New Years Day, and this was the first place we ate (sounds like they've been here for aeons, so I doubt they've changed significantly since January.) My plan when we landed had been to just go down the list I'd made before we left of the best quick food places near our hotel, and eat at the first one that *was* open on New Years. I was worried there wouldn't be any and we'd be eating snacks from a convenience store, but nope! This place was indeed open. Open, and an absolute *madhouse*. I'm not sure if it was just because it was New Years, they were open, and much of the street wasn't, or if they're always this crazy - but it was a decent wait to order, to the point that it wasn't *entirely* clear whether we were even waiting correctly to order, since the line had kind of turned into a blob. Ordering and picking up our food was slightly nerve-wracking with how crowded it was, and there didn't really appear to be anywhere inside to sit, so we figured we'd sit outside at the tables... that we got immediately yelled at for sitting at, because it turns out all the tables right outside their entrance, actually belongs to their next door neighbor. So if I were ever back in Madrid, I *would* totally consider getting food here again, but I'd just probably plan on bringing it back to the hotel, vs what we ended up doing, finding the closest nearby flat non-private surface and eating it standing up in an alley. It definitely felt like a cool historic building inside, though, would've loved to dine in, if it hadn't been wall-to-wall packed, which it sounds like they might just always be. Food was great, though. We shared (this was plenty of food): An order of the cider-braised sausages - wonderful. Bonus, we learned from personal experience, you definitely want to get an order of these sausages, as not only are the sausages themselves delicious, the resulting au jus was also great for dipping the other items into.) An order of the ham and cheese croquettes - pretty tasty, though they did fall apart. Even tastier dipped in sausage juice, though then they *really* fell apart. Worth it though. Didn't look like you got a lot per order, but looks are deceiving - they were *rich*. An order of their famous mushrooms - I was a bit surprised, given the name literally means "the mushroom bar", that they only had a single mushroom dish, though given the sheer volume of that one item they clearly sell nightly, I can see why. Anyway, as a mushroom fan... they were certainly tasty mushrooms, perfectly cooked, but in my opinion, just a bit oversalted. Also had a glass of sangria for 2.50 euro - it is extremely good sangria, though the glass for 2.50 was pretty small. They also sell it for a better price by the larger container, but sadly, while I absolutely loved the European spirit of trusting people to be responsible after leaving with a to-go alcoholic beverage... they don't sell the *larger* sized sangria if you aren't dining in. Was too bad, as I absolutely would have loved twice as much of that sangria, but it clearly wasn't worth standing in a long ordering line a second time for it.

This is another place I wish I could give half stars, in this case 4.5. On one hand, it's the…read more*exact* sort of quietly-pretentious cocktail bar experience I absolutely love, where all the drinks have been carefully curated with a bunch of small-batch ingredients, most of them, in this case, made in house. Each drink we ordered had an absolutely precisely perfect, super-unique presentation, and you could tell they were all carefully designed. I especially loved, while they don't advertise being a distillery, several cocktails even use their own in-house spirits, which if you ask about it and you're ordering a bunch of cocktails, you can just try a tasting flight for free. That was just super cool - you can buy bottles of some of them, too. Bit pricey at ~40 euro for a half-bottle, but they also distill some seriously unusual stuff, including one, used in their now-my-gold-standard bloody mary, distilled from a variety of mixed vegetables, the first time I'd *ever* seen a spirit distilled entirely from vegetables. On the other hand, with the exception of that bloody mary, all the drinks we had, especially for the price, were just... good. I loved the attention to detail on all of them, I could tell a lot of intention and effort went into each one, and again, it's always cool when you're drinking something that was distilled specifically by and for the bar you're at. But I also feel like I remember, mostly, a lot more about the presentation of the drinks and how much work went into some of the ingredients, than what most of them actually tasted like. On the third hand... that bloody mary. Seriously probably the best bloody mary I've had, as you'd expect from a place that hand-crafts literally everything including the base spirit. Assuming they still have it and it wasn't only on a temporary/seasonal menu... I'd go back for more of those, if I were ever back in Madrid. (If it was on a temporary/seasonal menu... too bad for me. I'll be savoring the half-bottle of the spirit I absolutely brought home with me, anyway! Though I still won't be making their bloody mary, which also used their own mix of several fresh-made stocks, for maximum flavor while also being totally clear still. That was super cool, and again, absolutely delicious.) Would I put it in my own personal "best bars anywhere on the planet" list? Probably not - that's a... lot of competition. Is it the best cocktail bar in Madrid? Also in my opinion, no, if I could only recommend one craft cocktail bar in Madrid, it'd be Salmon Guru. But if someone just asked me for recommendations for Madrid cause I'd been there, I could recommend any number of places, and they liked fancy, not-cheap craft cocktails? This would also go on the list, if that hypothetical person had time for two, as we did. Definitely do make a reservation, though. When we got there right when they opened, we were the only ones there... but that definitely didn't remain true.

Angelita had pretty good food, cocktails, and ambiance. I visited around 9 PM without a reservation…read moreand we got a seat in the basement bar. We had a few drinks and dinner. They serve the same food menu downstairs as well as upstairs. I liked the decor a lot; dark but comfortable. FOOD Smoked beef ham croquette - €3.5 each - pretty good croquettes Organic "ratatouille" with egg yolk and rosemary mayonnaise - €17.5 smaller portion - it was a little like ratatouille. It was not very attractive looking -- it was a vegetable mush. It didn't seem like a full dish on its own; it needed meat. Oxtail stew cannelloni with Sherry hollandaise - €10.5 - pretty good; get two if you are sharing They also gave us some olives (tasty) and then later some nuts (bad because they were unsalted / unseasoned). DRINKS Apio y Citricos - tequila with celery etc - interesting and tasty Resina y Sombra - mezcal with mushrooms etc - also interesting and tasty Moscow Mule Citronela - it was a moscow mule. not very interesting. Topinambo - whiskey, chicken skin etc They were all €13 or €14 We liked two of them a lot, less so the other two.

The shrimp at La Casa del Abuelo was melting in your mouth, really amazing, not like your usual…read moregarlic shrimp. It's served sizzling in a clay dish, a dish I actually first knew about from Mark Wiens, and it lives up to the hype. The sauce, perfect for dipping bread, was incredible, rich and full of flavor. This is clearly their famous signature dish, and it's easy to see why. A must-try in Madrid.

We went here for a late lunch, maybe 3 pm., after an exhausting day of walking and sightseeing…read moreMadrid. As we left Plaza Mayor, I spotted this popular restaurant. My wife and I sat in the back. It wasn't full, thankfully. It's a nice old restaurant that reeks with charm and history. The servers were real friendly. It had outdoor seating, but we stayed in the back to relax. We had 3 dishes., Gambas Al ajillo, Tortilla Español, a small one and Orejas (pig ears) à la plancha. They were all so good, perfectly seasoned and cooked well. The tortilla was creamy. The Gambas were garlicky...used my bread to sponge in the olive oil infused with garlic. The Orejas was tender and crispy at the same time. Food is sublime and service, first rate!

For a super touristy restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised by how eatable the food was. Botin is…read morethe world's oldest continuously operating restaurant, with the world's continuously operating oven. People line up before opening to get a table. It is required that each guest orders at least one main entree. They are known for their suckling pig, which I am not a fan of, so I ordered their roasted chicken instead. The chicken was moist and tender, slightly under-seasoned, but not bad for a weeknight dinner. The vegetables it came with were overcooked, kind of like those you would get from a cheap cafeteria. That's okay...it is not a fine-dining restaurant. I think it's fun to come here once, just to say that you ate at the world's oldest continuously operating restaurant. Order some classic dishes, have low expectations, and you will be pleasantly satisfied.

Herded a group of 14 cats to Botin while on a tour of Madrid. The restaurant did not disappoint…read more Impeccable service, very nice Spanish wines, a wide array (and quantity) of appetizers, and the tastiest suckling pig I've ever had - even better, said to say, than what I've made at home. I guess they've perfected their recipe over the past 300 years! Price for the Menu 1725 was 90€, very reasonable for the quantity and quality of food. I was afraid it would be a tourist trap (it was #1 on our tour's list) but was very happy to see local families dining. And a bachelor party from Australia that we out-rowdied. Yay USA! If you get a chance, go!

While in Madrid, I decided to have my splurge meal (i.e., one I usually cannot afford) here: at…read moreRestaurante La Mi Venta. I am so thankful I did, and yet wistful that I didn't have it sooner. I decided to eat my meal in the restaurant, and they led me to the basement (spooky!). It was a much nicer atmosphere than I expected, and surprisingly cool. The subterranean walls kept the room at the perfect dining temperature, even though it was 33º (92ºF) outside. I started with the "Una de Veneno" that is, the Jamón Ibérico. It was the first time this trip I had it, and it absolutely blew me away. Although I ate this meal alone, I nonetheless ate the whole appetizer... Wisest decision? Maybe not, but it was so good I couldn't stop. Each piece of jamón was an explosion of flavor and left me wanting to eat more and more. If the rest of the meal was like this, I wouldn't leave! Next up was the "Secreto de Bellota 100% Ibérico a la Parrilla de Carbón". Definitely a mouthful, but hopefully, with a name like that, it would be good. This was the plate that floored me. The pork was perfect, with enough salt to complement the fat and bring out more flavor. The pimientos de padrón (the green Spanish peppers) were seasoned perfectly as well, and the potatoes were just as good. Perfectly cooked and with incredible flavor. At this point, the meal was already the best meal I had in a VERY long time. Not that I haven't eaten good food in a while. No, this good was just that good. I decided to end it off with a dessert, the "Torrija de Toffe con Helado de Vainilla". In comparison to the other food, it wasn't as good, in my opinion. But I will also admit that, thanks to growing up in the USA, my sweet tooth is naturally much more elevated than most Europeans. Even so, it was very, very tasty. My one complaint about the restaurant would be the service. It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong. But I will admit that it was not on par with the level of the food. A little slow at times, especially when I wanted to pay. Overall, definitely my favorite meal I've had in Spain and in Europe. Maybe even in my life. If you are in Madrid, PLEASE make an effort to come here.

Close to the total Palace, quick, attentive service. Iberian…read morejamon, padron peppers, croquettes and vermouth were all good . Dined Al fresco on a warm Pleasant day

This is a spot that feels like a little bar but is actually more like a casa with some food items…read more Here, they are big on pig and there are Iberico hams located on and around the bar for easy access. If you are vegan, coming here will only piss you off. In fact, a vegan in Madrid in general is ill-advised. The setting feels historic and rustic with exposed brick and stone that appears to be centuries old. They seem to make everything (both food and drink) behind that cramped bar which explains why most of their menu items are cold, pre-made, or easy to assemble from short lists of raw ingredients. This does not mean that anything is bad. It just means it is like producing charcuterie in a dorm room bar. A large number of items involve Iberico Ham and one of the barmen is constantly shaving off thin pieces for service. In fact the freebie snack they send out from the kitchen had some Iberico ham and Manchego cheese on it which was a really nice warm up of what to expect. Over the noonish lunch hour, I was the only tourist in the place surrounded by many locals that clearly know about this spot. I liked those odds for assuring me of a genuine authentic experience. It was an accurate predictor. I'm not the most experienced when it comes to true Spanish tapas but this seemed to be a very genuine depiction of what the locals look for in a rustic Iberico ham experience. And frankly, even if it wasn't I can't find anything to really complain about. It was a cool historic setting, there was ice-cold vermouth from a tap, and I spent an hour shoving local Morcilla (blood sausage) and Iberico pig parts into my pie hole for the better part of an hour. It was a great experience any way you choose to look at it.

Everything here was perfect: prices, quality of food, service and the authentic touch of Spain!…read more Gracias Sara!!!