I've noticed that some of the reviews are quite older so I wanted to share my experience of…read moreRasputín. The food and service was incredible. The atmosphere gave off a very traditional feel with much culture and ambience. I ordered the beef straganoff and it was very tender and tasty. Although I'm not staying here in Madrid for many nights, I am trying to come back here again as it was that good!

From the owner: cocina Rusa e Internacionalread more

La Malontina is a very small restaurant. There may be 6 tables total. That said, we came without a…read morereservation and were able to be seated for lunch with the instructions that we needed to be done by 3:30pm - no problem (it was 1pm at the time...you have to love Spain). The menu del dia was a great value and included appetizer, entree, dessert, and a glass of wine for about 15e. The food was pretty good but the server was the best I've had in Spain (or maybe any where in Europe). There is no menu, the server is the menu. When he started to speak we tried to keep up with our limited Spanish and he stopped and asked if we'd prefer he speak in English. My wife told him she was trying to practice her Spanish so he offered to do the menu in Spanish first and then English. He spoke at a great pace and very clearly and then started joking with us, half in Spanish, half in English. It was really a nice experience. While the menu del dia is a fantastic deal, I think I'd go of the menu next time. The gentlemen at the table next to us had a stunning meal of jamon, a Spanish fried cheese, and then a beef entree which was cooked with a blowtorch at the table. Envious I was.

Maria and Sammy were great servers and gave us really good recommendations to order …read more We tried Grilled Octopus and Red Prawn pasta! Very delicious!

Great grilled octopus and artichokes. Beautiful terrace, friendly service, walking distance from…read morethe Prado Museum. Recommend by Giovanni at the Four Seasons.

Ramses claims to be gastronomy, and I think it provides a good attempt. It was refreshing to try…read moresome neo-classic Spanish dishes after days of eating very traditional Spanish cuisine. I enjoyed: * Strawberry Gazpacho * Cappelletti of Red Prawn, Mascarpone, Bullabesa Extract, and its Tartare * Grilled Octopus Leg, Black Garlic Aioli, and Fried Yuca * Mango Tartare, Strawberry Foam, and Crispy Chia Seed Chip The waitstaff did seem like they had a little bit of attitude toward non-Spanish speakers. It was almost like they were annoyed to serve tourists. I spoke a little Spanish, and tried to use as much Spanish as possible to avoid being on their black list. FYI The bread and amuse bouche are automatically given upon seating, and you will be charged. There is no such warning on the menu or by any of the waitstaff. The prices are very high for the quality it offers. I spent about 100 euros for my meal, and have definitely had much better gastronomy meals at other restaurants with better service (1 star off). If you don't mind paying the premium price to sit outdoors on the Plaza de la Independencia while trying hard not to be blacklisted by the waitstaff, then this restaurant is for you.

During a MASSIVE heatwave in Madrid, we stopped in for a late-morning bite before heading to the…read moremuseum which is across the street. This place is beautifully decorated, with a large outdoor seating area and classic jazz music playing. Service was very fast, polite and the portions were huge. We ordered the kids' chicken fillet meal; the chicken was cooked nicely and the fries were hot, but quite oily. They brought us potato chips when we sat down. I requested olives. I've had better olives everywhere else in Madrid. The menu is large, but there aren't many non-alcoholic drink options. I ended up with a pineapple juice while my husband enjoyed a glass of white wine at 11:30 a.m. Unfortunately, a fly died in my juice; I actually had to look up how to explain it in Spanish to the staff: "Una mosca se murió en mi jugo." They took it away for a new one. No hay problema. The sink in the ladies' restroom was also broken, so I had to sneak into the men's room to wash my hands. Overall, still an okay place, especially if you eat pork, but in Madrid everything leans heavily on ham and I don't eat it, so my options felt limited.

Understaffed and self absorbed. We asked whether we could sit outside, and were offered a table…read moreinside while there were plenty of options outside in the sun. The staff then asked us to rearrange the chairs compared to how the previous party had sat. We waited for 10 minutes for the staff to come with menus and clean the dirty dishes off our table before we gave up and left I would rather spend my money elsewhere.