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.

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.

An absolutely fantastic place for dinner - small, charming, and intimate with an obvious local…read morefollowing. The staff was friendly, engaging, knowledgeable, and spoke English very well. It was just far enough of the Main Street to be removed from the noise and chaos that you see in many Madrid restaurants, but close enough to not feel isolated. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. There was quite a variety of dishes and they obviously make a priority of using locally sourced meats and vegetables. Highly recommended!

So I'm told San Sebastián and Barcelona are where you hit when you want to experience the cutting…read moreedge creative styles that have given contemporary Spanish cuisine its GOATED reputation for the past few decades. Madrid, on the other hand I quickly came to realize for the most part leans into traditional styles, to the point that some could deride it as verging on tired and stuffy. That being said, you could do far worse than getting a taste of Madrid here, where said traditional dishes are presented in updated and fresh ways in an extremely lively convivial atmosphere, in a gorgeous sultry dark wood barroom setting. I originally popped in here during the height of lunchtime, the Spaniards most important meal, if not overall part of the day. Perhaps not surprisingly the place was packed to the gills and electric, with a typically fashionable Madrid crowd gathered around the bar nibbling on tapas and sipping on Tinto de Verano and vermouth with chatter and laugher filling the room. We came back a few hours later (Madrid proved to be the exception to anywhere else we traveled in Spain in that a good number of places were actually open during the traditional siesta hours of 3;30-7:30 whereas most every establishment elsewhere would be completely shuttered) to find the place pretty much empty and were able to steal ourselves a very nice snacky meal. I am in general a sucker for chorizo of all stripes from the soft and spreadable Mexican vartieties to the more solid traditional Spanish version and the simple presentation here of thick slices of thee sausage served in its own thick, syrupy delicious juices and topped with a fat green pimiento pepper were as lovely as any I can remember, I gobbled the dish down way too fast. Also scrumptious as hell was the squid sandwich or calamari boccadillo. A smallish yet well stuffed sandwich on a soft roll, packed with perfectly lightly fried yet wonderfully crisp squid and smattering of aioli alongside some house made potato chips, this is apparently curiously one of the landlocked cities signature dishes, despite the considerable distance from the sea. I've heard that mediocre versions of the dish are quite common so if you want to sample it when in town I would certainly recommend stopping off here for one. This place is very centrally located to tourist heavy Centro district yet still manages to retain an authentic and sophisticated, decidedly non touristy vibe and clientele and the staff was uniformly gracious and professional. Definitely worth a stop in and if you want to partake in the lively lunchtime bar scene maybe arrive as early as possible in hopes of securing a coveted bar seat before they are inevitably quickly snatched up.

Excelente servicio de parte de Fernando. El desayuno…read moresencillo pero delicioso, la tortilla española y el jamón ibérico con buen sabor. Súper recomendado

Bait band switch don't go. Says one thing on the menu and upped it by 10 euros and then dydht give…read morechange . Tipped himself

Lots of freebies! Warm friendly service despite the server having to manage many tables. They were…read moreable to accommodate us without a reservation and groups. I especially enjoyed the tomato salad, the chorizo, olives, and bread. The grilled octopus could have used more flavor other than just olive oil and the chocolate cake slice was dry.

Gambas Rojas exquisitas, el bacalao, las croquetas de jamón, la tarta de Santiago, la leche…read morefrita... la atención excelente.. muy buen ambiente.