Stumbled upon this little gem of a restaurant near the Alcazar…read more It is hidden and off the path which is crowded with tourists. We wanted to go where the locals eat. We were not disappointed. Sat outside, service was great and the food was AMAZING!! Even had my kids try and polish off food that was not chicken nuggets and fries. Makes a mother happy!!

Wandering around in Toledo at night trying to find a great little local Tapas bar or café we…read morenoticed that many were quite full and some were in very hot locations. We wandered down the streets and found this amazing hidden gem right behind the Alcazar. The food is delicious and at a great price. The chairs are comfortable with wonderful umbrellas and twinkle lights and water sprayers to keep you cool. (Check out the photos.) I ordered the chicken salad and it was delicious. Look at the photo but it has chopped up apples and was so refreshing yet filling. My friend ordered the Bibula hamburger. It is made from Galician beef (which I had to look up). Galician beef it is a unique style of meat from the Basque region of Spain which uses older cows. It is compared to wagu and many say it is even better. Look it up it is interesting. The staff is not overly friendly and it is pretty typical for Spain but the food is great. Just seat yourself outside at table and then go ahead and and order at the window.

Popped in for a quick standing tapas lunch at around noon. It happened to be Spanish mother's day…read moreand they hooked me up with a red carnation, swoon. A nice sized bar and plenty of tables in the front and back area. Tapas all are 2.5 euro. We sampled a bunch and they were all great. Pretty simple, but fresh and delicious. A high five to the thinly pounded, breaded and fried mushroom that was delectable. Their spanish tortilla was mainly egg based vs potato and was a little runny, I was into it. Small beers happened to be 2.5 euros as well, so it was a cheap, filling, delicious and quick lunch! I'd 100% come again and def recommend!

Spectacular food and service! Will return! This was a nice surprise after having walked for hors…read moretrying to find a place that was on my list to try.

Came without a reservation and the staff was welcoming! Tried the prawns, breaded cod, and quail…read moredrumettes with a glass of cava. All excellent. Service was excellent and the ambience was moderately noisy with what you would expect in a typical restaurant environment. Highly recommend.

I'm now a fan of lean cut steak, medium rare. Being an American I always think you have order…read moreribeye or some fat marbled derivation. Not so, if you order the sirloin offering at Zerain. Everything was delicious from the white asparagus to the Cardenal brandy, served after dessert. White tablecloths and impeccable service made the visit a high point of our stay in Madrid.

One of many branches, El Pimiento Verde on Calle de Castelló is a nicer restaurant for which you'll…read morewant to make a reservation ahead of time. With a decently sized menu, there will be no shortage of dishes to try. We elected to go for some Spanish classics and their featured dishes, which included their Creamy Rice with Lobster, Traditional Tripe Stew, and Aged Beer Rib-eye. The creamy rice with lobster is essentially a risotto, with the rice being cooked al dente. While the texture is nice, because of the smaller portion of lobster and the lack of flavor, by the end it feels like you're just left with a bowl of undercooked rice. The traditional tripe stew was quite good, with the beef being extremely tender and chewy. The rib-eye itself was a large cut, however, a good portion of the meat is fat. Additionally, it's only seasoned with a light touch of salt, so at the end of the day also lacking a bit. If you want to come to El Pimiento Verde, it's primarily for the ambience. The food itself is fine, though nothing to call home about. If you're short on time and looking for places to experience Spanish cuisine, this is probably one restaurant that can be skipped.

Great place for dinner! We had a reservation, which I would recommend. This place wasn't too loud…read moreand our server had great recommendations on the wine and around the food on the menu. Highly recommend the calamari and my cod was so light and flaky.

Great start, our hotel made reservations for us…read more We were greeted by Ananda, our server on arrival and she went through the entire menu with recommendations. Great classical music in the background. Excellent choice for winding down after a long hot day. Dinners start real late in Spain. I do enjoy starting the dinner "early" at 8 or 8:30 and it feels like you have the restaurant to yourself. This is Basque food and it is authentic and good. They focus on grilling and not putting on a lot of spices, keeping it simple and highlighting the food. There is also plenty of art from a Basque artist and it helps tell a story about the place and food. Our server did a wonderful job explaining the art and story about the artist and pieces Started with sourdough and olive oil and asparagus. The sourdough was excellent and soft, some of the better bread we have had in Spain. The asparagus was excellent, it is from its own garden and grilled nicely. They have an oil mix with red, green peppers and onions. Yummy. Minor critique is maybe a little more al dente on the cook. As I say this I am sure this is their preference. The main course arrived and Ananda did the work to prepare the fish, the piquillo pepper arrived with the main as well. It was a must. The sea bream was cooked nicely in olive oil and fried garlic. It was tasty but the piquillo peppers were the star of the night. So much flavor. Cheat code, add the peppers to the fish, wow what a dish. Once we found out about the desserts we had to complete the deal. The chocolate is a take on a decadent brownie and I got the the pantxineta. The pantxineta is a custard in the middle with a hint of lemon sauce. The desserts were super delicious. The pantxineta was a perfect pastry with custard and lemon sauce at the bottom with the perfect mix of sweet and sour. The chocolate was like a deconstructed lava cake with caramel encrusted bread toasties for dipping or eating on your own. Very chocolate forward that was also delicious. This is a solid 4.5, I believe the overall rating is low so going with a 5 for the experience, service, locally owned food and near story.

The atmosphere is wonderful, a little bright but okay. Service is on point and they are very…read morecourteous. The waiter was good about answering questions and brought out exactly what I wanted, there was no regrets on my part. The sausages were amazing with a little hint of heat. The full portion of leeks was spot on and just the right amount of salt. The salad with the spring onions and vinegar and olive oil was just the right touch with the steak. The steak was beautiful and rare and melted in my mouth, with the pepper tapenade was marvelous. Overall a fabulous meal. I'm a fan and will come back, Basque food is my favorite.

I used to live across the street from Tribuetxe and always wanted to try it; I just never found the…read moreright time to pop in! Finally, after visiting the Mercado De San Fernando on Sunday, a few friends and I decided to drop in and try it out. It's definitely a neighborhood bar in its simplicity-- nothing flashy or trendy about it, which I love. The staff was really friendly, you get a real tapa with your drink (not stale potato chips), and they looked like they had a good variety of drinks and snacks. Any bar that has Txacolina is perfect for me! They also had mini bottles of beer from Bilbao that my friends really liked-- and it was a beer we haven't seen elsewhere in Madrid.

The best food we had in Madrid hands down, and that's saying something for a city with so much…read moredeliciousness to offer. I'm almost reluctant to review this place because I want it to be my secret place, even though I'm a tourist and I don't live here, and this place was packed to the brim with locals when we got here. It was definitely intimidating at first, because you can't find a word of English when you first enter. Ask the counter if they have an English menu, of which they seem to have only a single copy. Food is fantastic. We got the patatas, prawn/mushroom/seafood brochettes, and the tuna tartare, and everything was delicious and succulent down to the last lick. The chef has the sauces and flavors down. Masterful, yet approachable. Potatoes were soft and flavorful, and warmed us up on this cold day. The tuna tartare were honestly unlike any other tuna tartare we've had. Portions are generous, and any carbs that come with the orders go perfectly with each corresponding creation. There was only one waitress/bartender on duty, and one chef- and both of them were so nice too! So glad we decided to give this place a try on our last night in Madrid.

If you want to show off to your friends, you need to grab a bottle of blue wine. Spain is the only…read morecountry that serves it now, not sure when it will be imported to other countries. After my hunt in Barcelona and Madrid, I'm so glad that I found El Txoko the only place that I was able to find blue wine. Now buy a bottle and get some feedbacks like "Omg you found it, can you get me a bottle?" "How does it taste, does it turn your tongue blue? Now I want to go!" "I'm so jealous you got a bottle, man you're so cool" Aside from these praises, you also get a lot of thumbs up when posting on social media. Valentin is such a charm and very knowledgeable to talk too as well. Don't forget to try their exotic ice cream flavors!

A friend told me that this was the best ice cream they found in Madrid, so naturally, I visited…read more They had the most creative flavors! To name a few.... -poppyseed/honey -mojito (amazing- like a frozen mojito) -coco -pure poppyseed -green apple -vanilla (surprisingly not always easy to find here) The lady working the counter was cracking jokes, offered samples, and truly seemed like she enjoyed having customers. Great experience! They also serve tapas and have a part of the place that acts as a store (you can buy artisanal wines, cheeses, olive oils... good for gifts).

One more star on the Instagram trail and I'd agree--it's our fault for not being more discerning or…read morefor staying on the beaten path. But Juana La Loca has an aseos issue. We sat at the bar, and all we could smell was the semi-clean bathroom--and I say that not from visiting it, but from the sheer odor. Things went south when a burly German Messerschmitt sat next to us and compounded the smell. I'm not being Teutonophobic--I'm just telling it like it was ( said every xenophobic ) The tortilla that lured us here was fine, but too sweet for my taste--like the rest of the pintxos. Or maybe it was the side of Clorox.

Someone recommended this place to my friend so we stopped by, and wow! Delicious…read more The Spanish "tortilla" was packed with flavor. The onions were jammy and so flavorful; they made this dish amazing. Definitely different from all the other tortillas I had. Grilled beef sweetbread bruschetta, with melted havarti cheese and chimichurri was rich but not filling, so I ordered the Red tuna tartar with wasabi pearls. My friend had the oxtail fajita- which she loved. All of the food we had here was great. I only wish we had been told that we could only get the dolce de leche volcano if we ordered it at the same time as our food. I was really looking forward to it. Instead we had the carrot and ginger pie (cake) with yogurt and the lemon pie. Of note, this place is small, so be prepared to wait. You can sit and eat at the bar.