Restaurants and Hotels

§ XII. Restaurants & Hotels

In order to begin to understand why Spanish cuisine is now considered one of the most innovative in the world^{^[1]}, you need to have an idea about (and, preferably, experience!) its diverse registers and facets: traditional Spanish cuisine in its many regional variations, nueva cocina española (or new-wave Spanish cooking, which creatively deconstructs, recombines, and lightens up traditional fare), and cocina de autor (pure innovation, the kind of highly personal, chef-driven cuisine associated with the molecular gastronomy of Ferran Adrià). To sample each, check out the Guía del ocio restaurant listings and particularly its schematic guide to the types of restaurant available in Madrid: for traditional cooking, try a restaurant listed under “tradicional,” “de mariscos,” or “de mercado” (most bars and tascas will offer it) or under regional designations (asturiana, castellana, catalana, extremeña, gallega, navarra, valenciana, vasca, etc.); for nueva cocina, try the restaurants under “cocina creativa” or “fusión;” for cocina de autor, see the restaurants listed under “de autor.” Take a break now and then from the eternal return of the bocata and the kebab and treat yourself to a menú del día at a good restaurant (even at the best restaurants in the city, they typically cost no more than 11 to 19 euros for a three-course meal). For an economical sample of cocina de autor in a small and beautifully appointed restaurant (casually elegant, very friendly, no snobbery whatsoever), check out Restaurante Lúa (Calle Zurbano, 85, M: Nuevos Ministerios, tel. 91 395 28 53). As is typical for restaurants de autor, they have no a la carte menu: instead they offer two fixed-price menus with a set sequence of courses (the shorter menú ejecutivo for 19 euros a person and the more elaborate menú de degustación for 39 euros), based on whatever happens to be in season and the chef’s inspiration that day. The menú ejecutivo is a steal at 19 euros a head and is offered Mondays through Thursdays, both in the afternoon and the evening (comida and cena or de día and de noche).

The Guía del ocio’s listings also offer a handy guide to the city’s many, varied, and excellent vegetarian restaurants. For a review in English of some of Madrid´s vegetarian restaurants (by a UK veggie magazine), click on:

http://www.veggieplaces.co.uk/vegetarian_madrid.html.

All the major dailies have food and wine sections, with regular reviews of restaurants. El Mundo’s print supplement, Metrópoli (available Fridays with the purchase of the daily) and its website are particularly useful for restaurant, café, bar, and club reviews. El Mundo regularly scouts the city’s restaurants for the best menú del día deals. Two other internet sources will help you navigate Madrid’s extraordinary range of culinary choices (and find out why the city is one of the world’s gastronomic capitals), check out menus (including menús del día) and interiors, locate places, and make reservations (if desired):

www.diningcity.com/madrid/, and

www.restaurantia.com/restaurantes/guia-restaurantes-hosteleria.asp.

See also the latest Time Out Madrid guide recommendations, which are generally interesting and reliable. Further information on restaurants, cafés, bars, pubs, and discotheques is available in the Guía del ocio.

The following restaurants are recommended for special occasions (visiting parents, etc.):

- Al Mounia
Recoletos
Moroccan
91 435 08 28

- Casa Botín
Cuchilleros (Pl Mayor)
Traditional Castilian (roast suckling pig, roast lamb)
91 366 42 17

- Casa Mingo
Pº de la Florida
Traditional Asturian (roast chicken, Asturian cider); inexpensive

- El Alcalde
Jorge Juan, 10
Basque, expensive
91 576 33 59

- El Asador
M: Pl. Tirso de Molina
Basque

- La Barraca
Reina
Valencian (paella, rice dishes)
91 532 71 54

- Artemisa
Tres Cruces, 4
Vegetarian
91 521 87 21

- El Bazar
Libertad 21 (Chueca)
Trendy and inexpensive
91 523 39 05

- La Finca de Susana
Arlabán, 4 (Sevilla)
(same management as El Bazar)
91 369 35 57

Some of the more interesting cafés and mesones or tascas in “Old Madrid” include:

Puerta del Sol / Plaza Santa Ana

- Café de la Fídula
c/Huertas
Classical music

- Café Central
Pl. del Angel, 10
Café Jazz

- Chocolatería San Ginés
Pasadizo San Ginés
Famous for its chocolate con churros

- Casa Patas
c/ Cañizares, 10
Flamenco, (reserve for the show: 91 369 04 96)

- Populart
Huertas, 22
Jazz

Bilbao / Malasaña

- Café Manuela
S. Vicente Ferrer, 29
Viernes: tertulias de poesía

- Maravillas
S. Vicente Ferrer, 35

- Café Comercial
Glorieta de Bilbao
The oldest café in Madrid

- Café Ruiz
c/Ruiz
Bohemian

Paseo de Recoletos

- Café Gijón
Pº de Recoletos
Traditional literary café

- Café del Espejo
Pº de Recoletos
Elegant Belle Époque atmosphere

A word of caution from past participants

We should mention that students warn against getting locked into the “disco routine,” which often means associating with Americans, speaking English, and missing out on other valuable experiences. Year after year they reiterate in their evaluations that the best way to enjoy the experience of spending a semester in Madrid is to spend as much time as possible with Spaniards and speaking Spanish.

A. Visiting friends and relatives

For an interesting, well-described, and reliable list of recommendations for hotel accommodation (given by location and price range), see the latest Time Out Madrid guide. Other recommended lodgings for friends or relatives who visit include:

- Hostal Lisboa
Ventura de la Vega, 17
€€€€
91 429 98 94 / 46 76

- Hotel Mora
Paseo del Prado
€€€€
91 420 05 64

- Hostal Santa Barbara
Pl. Sta. Barbara
€€€€
91 445 73 34

- Youth Hostal (Albergue)
Santa Cruz del Marcenado
€€€€

- Holiday Inn
Pl. Carlos Trías Betrán, 3
€€€€

- Hostal María Molina
Carrera de San Jerónimo
€€€€
91 429 66 38

- Hotel Regina
Alcalá, 19
€€€€
91 521 74 25

- Hotel Meliá Castilla
€€€€

- Hotel Velázquez
Velázquez, 62
€€€€
91 575 28 00

B. Apartamentos / hotels for longer stays

- Andrómeda
Almagro, 10
91 319 80 94

- Golden Brick
Lagasca, 67
91 431 72 40