If gourmet dining is what you seek while in Madrid, Restaurante Villa Magna is the place to go. Creating a gastronomic adventure using local ingredients, Executive Chef Amalio Prados builds culinary masterpieces with seasonal, fresh products.
I was delighted with the opportunity to indulge in the cuisine of Villa Magna for a solo lunch one afternoon. With three outdoor terraces to enjoy your meal on nice days, along with an interior dining room that's both elegant and relaxed, the restaurant design and great service from the staff contribute to the overall experience.
This is not ordinary food - it is a full embodiment of flavor, artfully crafted to be as visually appealing as it is mouth-watering. From the tapas menu, I began with the Santoña 000 anchovies served with tomato and celery marmalade, spheres of Las Garmillas cheese and capers. There's so much going on with this dish, yet each flavor combines in harmony.
I also sampled an appetizer of grilled octopus with Creole chilindron, purple potato, cilantro gel, and onion tears. The variety of colors in this dish alone are enough to whet your appetite, but the expertly grilled octopus was delicious. Keeping with the flavors of the ocean, I opted for grilled sea bass, sautéed vegetables and surf and turf creamy sauce as a main dish.
I followed with a shoulder of Iberian suckling pig at low temperature. An interesting mix of textures, with crisped skin and creamy boletus morels filled with chutney grapes and shepherd's breadcrumbs, this course was a true winner for me.
It was hard to find room for something on the sweet side, but I knew I had to. I decided on a fruit parfait, Greek yogurt cream and mint sponge cake, which was fluffy, creamy, and just a tad sweet. Absolutely incredible! read more