It has been a while since my last visit to Madrid. So thanks to my company I could return on a business trip and I have the chance to go to a wine and tapas guided tour by Gourmet Madrid. One of the best tours I have had where a native Madrileño shows you the best places to have the typical Spanish treats and a bit of history behind these places.
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| Madrid city centre |
Our first stop was for jamon y queso. Jamon Iberico de Bellota yes! The place Casa Gonzales, vinos, quesos y fiambres. The place is open since 1936 and specialise in wine, ham and cheese. The history behind the place is that they didn’t have alcohol license so they were a speakeasy until they finally got their license. The highlight was a wine from Murcia (Do Yecla) Hecula really nice. The Iberico was spot on as usual, and the cheese Afuega’l Pitu from Asturia took my attention.
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| Gonzalez Vamos! |
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| Quesos |
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| Iberico |
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| Hercula |
Casa Gonzalez
T: +34 914 29 56 18
Spanish Cuisine
Madrid
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Second stop was El Lacon. The place is as old as 1911. Amazing décor with paintings on tiles by Manolo Jean around 1960s. The tapas to order are baby squid and beans, don’t get me wrong but Spaniards have a way to slaughter the innocents such as suckling pigs, baby squids, etc. The squid was excellent, crispy and extremely nice. Also don’t leave without trying shark, it’s marinated in lime, cumin, and then battered, really good and it didn’t taste fishy! With all this great food we got a great wine Mestizaje a blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz.
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| El Lacon |
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| The place |
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| Shark |
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| Squid and beans |
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| The group |
T: +34 914 29 60 42
Spanish Cuisine
Madrid
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Third stop La Trucha, the specialty here is the tortilla that it’s made to order and to die for, I will fight anyone trying to take the last bite of that amazing tortilla. According to our guide tempura comes from Spanish monks that went to Japan and fried seasonal (Temporada) vegetables, and the word temporada evolved to tempura in Japan. Also on top of the tortilla you have to try the eggplant tempura with honey it's just amazing. The wine we tried was a Tempranillo Condado de Oriza, I will apologise but at this time the alcohol levels were too high, anyway the wine was excellent as the previous ones. A final note here, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly, imagine a group of 12 noisy and almost drunk English speakers is not an easy mob.
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Third stop La Trucha, the specialty here is the tortilla that it’s made to order and to die for, I will fight anyone trying to take the last bite of that amazing tortilla. According to our guide tempura comes from Spanish monks that went to Japan and fried seasonal (Temporada) vegetables, and the word temporada evolved to tempura in Japan. Also on top of the tortilla you have to try the eggplant tempura with honey it's just amazing. The wine we tried was a Tempranillo Condado de Oriza, I will apologise but at this time the alcohol levels were too high, anyway the wine was excellent as the previous ones. A final note here, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly, imagine a group of 12 noisy and almost drunk English speakers is not an easy mob.
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| La Trucha |
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| Tempranillo |
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| Eggplant |
La Trucha
T: +34 914 29 58 33
Andalusian Restaurant / Spanish Cuisine
Madrid
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Final stop was in Los Galayos. The place is in a corner of Plaza Mayor. A bar similar to a pub as soon as you get crowded with locals watching the champions league. We went downstairs towards a wine cellar to come back up to a more quiet dining room and bar. The place opened in 1894 and was frequented by writers, poets, and apparently even The Beatles. The tapa here was a tuna and spinach gratin quite nice. Wine wise we got a grape from Madrid (DO) Malvar. We ended the night having shots of Patxaran an anise and endrinas (red berries) drink.
T: +34 914 29 58 33
Andalusian Restaurant / Spanish Cuisine
Madrid
View Larger Map
Final stop was in Los Galayos. The place is in a corner of Plaza Mayor. A bar similar to a pub as soon as you get crowded with locals watching the champions league. We went downstairs towards a wine cellar to come back up to a more quiet dining room and bar. The place opened in 1894 and was frequented by writers, poets, and apparently even The Beatles. The tapa here was a tuna and spinach gratin quite nice. Wine wise we got a grape from Madrid (DO) Malvar. We ended the night having shots of Patxaran an anise and endrinas (red berries) drink.
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Great night of tapas. Just remember avoid places with pictures on the menu, and also if they have the word tapas in the name, those are not good signs. I’m sure you wouldn’t go in Istanbul to a place called King of Kebab.
All these Spanish adventure reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Puffy Shirt”
Kramer: Well, I was excited because Jerry was putting on the puffy shirt
George: My whole life is ruined because of the puffy shirt
Jerry: It didn't do me any good either! That benefit was the worst show I ever did. Some of those heckles were really uncalled for Avast ye matey! What the hell does that mean? 20 degrees off the starboard side the Spanish Galleon! There's no comeback for that
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