My hubby and I had lunch here. The main restaurant was full so we were whisked to the building in…read morethe back area. This area with white linen table cloths seems more private with limited seating. It felt very exclusive. We ordered their traditionally prepared cuchinillo, grilled vege platter, tiramisu with toffee, coffee ice cream with amaretto jelly and the traditional layered cake with vanilla cream and ice cream, capuccino and a glass of red wine. The service was impeccably attentive. When it was time to cut the roast pig, the owner, Jose Maria appeared. We were gathered around to watch him deftly cut the pig with a plate into several servings. The cuchinillo was perfectly seasoned. The skin was thin and crispy and the flesh was moist and melt in your mouth tender. Everything we ordered was delicious! Later on, Jose Maria came to our table for a short chat and to indulge us with a few picture with him. This was a really special experience.

What an experience! This is the most Spanish feeling restaurant I've been to surprisingly enough…read moregiven the ambience. The tradition of the cochinillo holds strong, cutting with the plates. The lamb looked amazing too. We enjoyed our cochinillo - the skin an amazing crunch in flavorful broth and delicious fries we ordered it with. Our waiter was friendly and funny as well as informative.

Well worth the taxi ride from our hotel on Gran Via, with outstanding food (and reasonable prices),…read morefast and friendly service and a local vibe that pulls it all together. So good that we will likely go back tonight. Go... you won't regret it!

Food (5/5): Fantastic place. My twin wanted seafood paella and I didn't so this place had…read moreindividual portions and stayed open late! I ordered the "pan fried" eggplant which ended being a large platter of tempura fried eggplant. Good! Service (4/5): Slow and a bit hard to get service but it's Madrid. Life is a bit slower paced. Ambiance (4/5): Cute crowded little place. Full of US tourists but cute.

Upstairs is upscale restaurant, most i paid for dinner during my vacation in Spain was here…read more I stopped by here during lunch earlier but they were all busy. I booked a table from the app "thefork" for dinner. Downstairs doesn't take reservations and it is more casual bar style restaurant. I started my dinner with croquettes. It was so soft in inside and crunch on outside. After this, I think I ordered croquettes at every time whenever I see one on the menu for the rest of my vacation in Spain. We shared a couple of main dishes, flavor bursted in my mouth from the first bite. Food was perfectly paired with a bottle of wine I ordered and I somehow finished the whole bottle by myself. Just ate food slowly while enjoying every sip of wine. Service could got a bit slow at a time but I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere, just enjoyed slow dinner. Stylish decor upstairs.

Beautiful setting in a location slightly out of the beaten path. Friendly service, great tapas,…read moregood wines. Very enjoyable experience.

From the owner: Restaurante de cocina tradicional fundado en 1979. En 2020 ha sido modernizado por la segunda…read moregeneración de ésta familia al frente del negocio. Su seña de identidad sigue siendo llevar a la mesa los sabores de toda la vida y platos típicos de la zona.

The food and service are both first class!…read more We both had the day's menu for E23 and it was well worth it. A pepper salad, gazpacho soup, partridge, and pork stew. Served with bread and a drink. It gets very crowded, so be patient and wait for a table.

tl;dr the regional tapas are paired with a side of snobbishness at this historic Toledo bar…read more Toledo is known for a handful of regional foods (hello, marzipan!), but one of the most comforting on a drizzly day is carcamusas. This traditional stew pairs pork with a tomato-and-pea broth, simmered down into a sort of ragu. Carcamusas is offered widely across Toledo, but its origin is attributed to Bar Restaurante Ludeña, whose owner, back in the 1950s, named it after his clientele of "carcas" (elderly men) and "musas" (younger women). The restaurant is barely noticeable on the ground floor of an aging multilevel residence. The "door" is simply a patterned curtain, and a glassless window beside it peers directly into the bar. Inside, the room feels storied but timeless. The wood slatted walls are decorated with Spanish artwork and historical designations bestowed upon Ludeña. The black-and-white stone floors, stainless steel bar, and retro jukebox each make the others feel anachronistic. I could count the number of tables in the bar on one hand, but additional, sit-down seating is available in an indoor back dining room and outside. The clientele includes a fair mix of locals and tourists. Spanish-language pop fills the air. My mother and I visited Ludeña during a day trip to Toledo. We were granted only 1 hour for lunch, but Ludena was a comfortable walk from Plaza de Zocodover. Be sure to explicitly place your name down if you're hoping for a table -- we simply stood near the dining area waiting, but another group "jumped" us because we hadn't joined the official queue. No matter; we slid into the first bartop table within 10 minutes (a stroke of good fortune that appears to be a relatively rare occurrence based on prior reviews). We ordered from the a la carte menu (the menu del dia is only available for dine-in). The "half-portion" of signature Carcamusas was loaded with slightly fatty, melt-in-your-mouth pork in a shallow pool of curry-thick broth. The tomato-y stew felt like a warm embrace and paired well with a spongy slice of bread. Meanwhile, the moderately large Ensalada Mixta (served without tuna, per my mother's request) paired crisp greens with a decent balsamic vinaigrette, but otherwise was mostly standard. Lastly, the house vermouth was served in a whiskey glass with two oversized ice cubes; the spices were somewhat muted, but the glass was still a hit. The general wait staff was dismissive, but the bartender made us feel welcome -- I'm convinced that he sneaked a double portion of carcamusas onto our appetizer-sized plate. Our bill felt pricey at 20 euros, yet it proved to be the light lunch we needed to energize us for a Toledo walking tour. While Ludena is by no means a "must-try" tapas bar, it will, at a minimum, be a serviceable bet for a bite of regional cuisine in the historic heart of Toledo.

Came here for a delicious and leisurely lunch. The grilled squid with caramelized onions and squid…read moreink was a fantastic starter; the squid was not too chewy, and the saltines paired very well with the sweet onions. The grilled Iberian "secreto" was tender and juicy and flavorful. The paella had plenty of squid, prawn, clams, and mussels, and the rice itself had a very strong (in a good way) seafood aroma. The waiters are friendly, and you are not rushed through the meal. Highly recommend.

We came here after visiting the Royal Palace, and the location couldn't have been more convenient…read more What really impressed me, though, was the dining room downstairs. It feels like you're eating inside an old wine cellar, with beautiful brick-vaulted ceilings, stone walls, and a cozy atmosphere that makes the experience feel very traditional and distinctly Spanish. We ordered the Iberian ham croquettes, the grilled goat cheese salad, and a charcoal-grilled steak with roasted potatoes and Padrón peppers. The croquettes were okay, but they were easily the least memorable dish of the meal. The goat cheese salad was excellent, with creamy, lightly grilled cheese that paired perfectly with the fresh vegetables. The steak was the standout. It was cooked exactly as requested, flavorful, tender, and served with delicious roasted potatoes and peppers. The staff were friendly, attentive, and never rushed us, making for a relaxed dinner from start to finish. I'm giving it 4 stars because one of the starters didn't quite live up to the rest of the meal, but the atmosphere, service, and quality of the steak more than made up for it. If you're looking for classic Castilian cuisine in a unique cellar-like setting near Madrid's major attractions, La Mi Venta is definitely worth a visit.

BEST PULPO IN THE CITY (and yes, I've tried quite a few). This swanky locale has a great ambiance -…read morelow lighting, gente maja, and personality to boot. Seating can be a little tricky as the restaurant seems to have its share of loyal customers, so see if you can call beforehand to get a reservation and make your life easier. We didn't have one when we visited the other night, but the staff did its absolute best to accommodate us. Props to the owner, by the way; he was incredibly personable and made dining there a pleasure. The star of the show, undoubtedly, was the pulpo a la brasa. It was a sizeable portion and just plain melted in your mouth. Pair it with some bread and oil/spices, and we had ourselves a winner. Definitely worth your troubles to try it out when you're in the area. Actually when you're in Madrid in general. Pulpo like this is worth the trip!

My wife and I were in Madrid for only one night and wanted to have a nice dinner. Unfortunately…read moreour siesta lasted a little bit too long and we weren't ready to go eat until 10:30 PM. We called Alcaravea to get a reservation and they fit us right in at 10:45 on a Tuesday night (kitchen closed at 11 PM). We didn't have too much time to peruse the menu so we simply asked the waiter to bring us his favorite dishes (telling him to steer clear of lamb and goat cheese as the wife doesn't like these). All we could say was "Wow!"...every dish that came out was amazing (fried asparagus, a veggie plate, tuna, and the toblerone dessert). It was also pretty exciting to not know what else was coming until the food came out to our table. We've been in Spain for 10 days and this has been our favorite dining experience so far!

I had a just okay experience. I ordered a soup and the fried eggplant with honey. I received the…read morewrong soup, and it was a bit bland. The eggplant had no honey. I was never offered water or a second drink, and after the salty eggplant I was so thirsty. Service was pretty typical for Madrid. There are so many restaurant options in the area, I probably would not return to this one. Nothing terrible, but also nothing special.

Excellent seafood at very reasonable prices. Javier was an outstanding waiter. We ordered way too…read moremuch food thinking that the plates would be small. We had the Ensalada Cazorla, Fritura de la casa (mixed fried shellfish and small fish), Ensalada marinera, and Revuelto de trigueros, setas, and gambas. We also enjoyed vino tinto and café descafeinado. The restaurant opened at 8:30. Luckily we arrived by 8:45 as it was packed by 9AM.

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.

This spot was the one for our first Tapas dinner for this Madrid visit. Roomy inside with some…read moreoutdoor seating. Empty as we were early for dinner around 7 so we took a table outside. They do have a Sister location next door -difference is less Tapas and Paella is on the menu. We started with Sangria and the Alhambra house brew. The Beer was billed as an IPA but tasted more like an Ale-very good. The Sangria was a bit sweet and refreshing. Complimentary Manchego cheese was a nice touch. Our Server warned us that their Tapas are larger than the typical size and she wasn't kidding-more like Tapas on steroids. We started with the Goat Cheese with onion and blueberry sauce. I don't think I've had fried Goat cheese and this was delicious. Blueberry sauce takes it over the top. Tortilla Omelette (Spanish Omelette) was filled with eggs/onions-very good. Last Tapa was the Cured Iberian Loin. Again, big portion. The surprise was the flat chicken breast and peppers under the Loin. This one was ok. Decided to share the Rice with 1/2 Lobster. Sauce was tasty mixed with the Rice as well Lobster. Not much Lobster though. Service was excellent with our Server patiently answering all of our questions. They've been around for almost 100 years. Don't miss the Goat Cheese Tapa!

Lovely place - really good array of beer, mostly Belgian which is great!! Lovely tapas with every…read moredrink!!