This is a 3.5 star joint with some 4-star dishes masquerading as a 5-star because of over-enthused reviews. I'm not sure how much other reviewers have eaten in Spain but I am here 1-2x a year, in settings rural and urban, and am not as easily wowed by a good cut of pork or beef as I used to be. We had the chuletón con tartufa y tomate, tomate de la huerta con albahaca frita y crujiente (unsurprisingly frozen in December), bacalao sushi "crujiente" (I found the nori-dusted puffed rice entirely arbitrary), and solomillo (beef tartare). Nothing stood out as spectacular. The tartare and sushi were both a little over-chilled upon serving, and the conceit of "helping" prepare your own food mostly made me daydream about how much of a return they must be making on cutting out kitchen prep! Upon first arriving, had that sinking feeling when you hear a majority of American voices in a small place. But things got nicely mixed up soon enough, mostly with business guys in their 30s-50s. I did notice that some details were lost in translation between our service (in Spanish) and that of English-only guests around us (because it's MADRID!), which may explain why a couple of the photos here on Yelp are mis-identified. Wine was good. Arrive at 7:30 sharp (super early for dinner here, btw) or scramble. read more

Sala de Despiece - Tomate (frozen - compare to other reviewer's photos from summer) de la Huerta con albahaca frita y crujiente - Gastropubs Near Me - Madrid, M

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One of the best experiences I've had in Spain. Creativity, flavour and fun experience. Definitely go by 7:30pm if you don't want to wait for seats. The place is filled with bar seats and can sit maybe about 20 people. My Favourite seat is right in front of the serving area. We chose the seats in front of the seafood display case our first visit but ended up missing a lot of the interactions during our meal. Service was excellent and attentive, the staff can speak both English and Spanish. The English menu is definitely much more helpful to select your dishes, but explanations from the service staff will greatly help you identify what you should get. If in doubt, asking for recommendations is a good choice. Drinks are mostly standard wine choices as they do not make cocktails. Definitely items to try on the menu: Chops: House Favourite, you spread the tomato and truffle paste and sprinkle salt over the thinly sliced piece of beef. You then fold and roll it together before savouring it. Comes in sets of 3 Rolex: bacon wrapped foie gras and rich yolk. The server comes to you and melts the bacon with a torch, enhancing the visual experience. Definitely a flavourful and rich dish. Beef Korean bowl: the beef is torched at your table, mixed with pickled vegetables and a yolk. You wrap the mixture with lettuce and have your own tacos Maybe dishes: Grilled cheese: thick slab of cheese grilled on both sides with thin crackers to enjoy it with Eggplant: served with smoked fish and Savoury sauce. You mix and eat them together The seafood also looks really fresh and are served in a basic and fresh manner. Would definitely visit if I'm near Madrid again :) read more

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This was an amazing themed dining experience in Madrid. The whole setup and ambience resembles a butcher's shop. The tapas have small portions so make sure to not come totally starving or you'll be paying a high price. The service was great and the waiters prepare the final dish in front of you. We didn't make a dinner reservation but came early enough around 730-8pm to beat the queue and got seats. We weren't that hungry so only ordered 3 dishes. Between the 2 of us, we ordered the Rolex, a steak dish and the Pulpo (octopus). Everything was delicious especially the Rolex tapas that melts in your mouth! I highly recommend giving this unique modern tapas place a try if you're in the area. read more

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Maybe my favorite meal in Madrid. We thankfully made reservations and sat at the communal table in the room next to the counter room. While the atmosphere wasn't as great as the original room, we didn't have to wait and we didn't get turned away. The waiter recommended their version of a tasting menu and after we swapped out a couple dishes for ones we preferred more, we sat back and watched the magic happen. Each course came out perfectly portioned, leaving you satisfied with what you just ate and excited for what was next. Most of the courses also came with a show, as our waiter had to either prepare the dish in front of you, or cook it with a handheld torch. My favorites: beef carpaccio, tomato, octopus with chimichurri, tuna tartar My least favorite: Korean truffle meat. I live in LA, the land of Korean food, and there were some flavors lacking in that final dish. read more

Five stars for the beef carpaccio! Must order. We also like the Rolex. Other than that, the red pepper picadillo w/ honey was soso, grilled baby squid was juicy but nothing special. We came here once it opened its door at 7:30, and was full by 8:15pm. The chefs were very friendly and explained the menu very detailedly. The presentation of the food was unique. read more

What a fun restaurant and great experience over all!! The food was delicious and the presentation interactive and fun. Communal style tables, get to know some strangers! The carpaccio with truffle was delicious, and the tacos were the best thing we had all night. (The tacos change, ours were beef with cactus for shells)! You can't go wrong on the menu so be adventurous and order up!! read more

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I came here with my parents after looking up the places Anthony Bourdain visited when he filmed his show here. Amazing restaurant, very cool modern tapas that is very original and will be very different from anywhere else you visit. We came here on our last night in Madrid and my mom wished I found it earlier so we could have come again. All the food was amazing and it allows you to eat with your eyes before your stomach! Highly recommend! read more

This is one of those where our experience (or perhaps expectations) seemed to differ from others. We booked to sit at the shared table in the meat locker (so to speak) where there's a table for 12, the day we were here there were 9 in attendance. I'm giving it a 3 * rating for a couple of reasons ... -It was December 24 for 3:15, they seated us late and we felt they were rushing us through the whole meal as they wanted to get home for Christmas, why take bookings for 3:15 if this was the case -I felt it was more about the 'show' than the food, should be about both -The rolex (foie gras) was the best thing we ate, sirloin steak was very chewy -Others at the table ordered a dish of beef under a layer of fat, torched at the table - not sure what the taste was like but it was the most impressive to see cooked/presented read more

Truly enjoyed the beef tartare.. i'm a huge fan of foie and tartufo. I'm favorite so far tonight. The ham ibarico is very flavorful tempered by the tomatoe and enjoyable. My husband loves the burrata but I was only at like. It's not bad by any means but just not on par with the beef tartar. The beef mollejas t. was tasty but the only thing I really have to have again is the beef tartar and I don't usually eat beef. So take that. The berry dessert was good not awesome. Depeche Mode playing in the background for you 80's freaks :) Enjoy! read more

Sala de Despiece is an amazing new-ish tapas bar on the up-and-coming Calle Ponzano. Super, hyper, mega recommendable. Some friends, one of whom lives around the corner, had been talking about this place for a long time. Wednesday, work day, long day -- beer is needed. The boys are having drinks on Ponzano. But we're hungry. Finally! The moment arrives to try Sala de Despiece. Yiiiiiissss. First impressions: beautiful. Interesting decorations, all put together with things from a typical butcher's/slaughterhouse/meat-cutting room (you know, I'm a native English speaker and I'm not even sure how to translate Sala de Despiece) -- coolboxes, knives, crates, etc. Second impressions: the menu. Wow. Starting with drinks, I was really impressed with the variety, and the prices weren't bad, considering the style and the location and the "classiness" of the place. My only complaint about the Sala is that the menu is incredibly hard to read. Like, crazy difficult. So small. So full. So much information. But! Once you decipher the menu -- wow. The food is enticing. Interesting. Sexy. Surprising. Everything looks and sounds amazing, but I can only speak to the three dishes we tried: beef carpaccio, a fried egg with foie, and the steamed bun with morcilla. (Note: all of these dishes have completely different names, of which I don't remember... any. You're kind of on your own at ordering time... sorry.) The beef was the universal favorite, and then the morcilla steamed bun was #2 for me, though my friends didn't love it -- it was like a Chinese-dim-sum-style steamed pork bun but with delicious Spanish blood sausage instead. Yum! Definitely give Sala de Despiece a try when you're working your way down Ponzano (also a must-do!), though try to arrive early -- it gets busy, fast. read more

Thanks Yelp for this great find while visiting Madrid. We arrived around 2pm and seated right away. Loved the attention to detail of the display of food and the waiters recommendations. Definitely a must when visiting Madrid. read more

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Hemos estado esta noche 4 amigos y he de decir que es un local MUY pequeño, pero la fama que tiene está justificada. Una mezcla de show-cooking de tapas y "raciones" ideales para tomar con una copa de vino o caña. Abrían a las 20h y había cola en la calle, a pesar de que estamos en diciembre y encima llovía. Si vas a esa hora, te sientas sin problemas. Eso sí, media hora más tarde ya no cabía ni un alfiler. A pesar de ser un sitio (aparentemente) informal, la atención es bastante buena y son súper rápidos. Hemos pedido la burratta (impresionante), el tartar de atún (muy bueno, pero muy muy mini), el tomate (tomatón gigante, con buen AOVE y albahaca), pulpo (muy bueno también) y las alcachofas con requesón (he de decir que este plato es el único que nos ha decepcionado). En definitiva, muy buena opción para tomar un picoteo amigos (no más de 4...). Bravo por los nuevos locales que innivan y ofrecen modelos de negocio nuevos en Madrid!! read more

Sala de Despiece - Burratta - Gastropubs Near Me - Madrid, M

Found this place after a Ny Times 36 hour review of Madrid. The chef stated he wanted to give patrons "orgasms of the culinary kind" and indeed they do. The place seems to be always very busy and I believe is walk in only. The biggest hassle is trying to lock down a table or get to your table, but if you're okay with standing and be packed into a space the food is dazzling. Every single dish we devoured was stunning, sensational, delicious, fresh - Come to the U.S. please! The servers were very accommodating with recommendations and didn't rush you. At times it was so busy it was a bit hectic to order another dish or two but overall, your tastebuds deserve a visit. Bottom Line - When in Madrid, go to Sala de Despiece. read more

Great ambience and so original. Not enough words to describe the simple but exciting presentation. The food was fresh and so delicious. I highly recommend!! read more

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Umami or is it a culinary orgasm?! This place is a must when in Madrid! My friend and I ate just about everything on the menu and will say that we loved everything...maybe pass the beef tartare but never avoid the carpaccio--you've got to be foolish to not order it! Serving staff are awesome people which made the dining experience unique. Vegans, stay clear from this place!! read more

My friend and I went to this place twice when we were visiting Madrid!!!!! We LOVED the carpaccio!!! We were very lucky to get let in the first time: we went since we were recommended to go there by a friend; we walked an hour and were told there were no more seatings, but then were thankfully seated after a short wait. Since we went twice, we tried the carpaccio (twice), octopus, burrata, fluke in lemon (? not sure what exactly it was), local tomatoes, broccolini, grilled jumbo shrimp (or bigger?). I think everything was good, but the carpaccio was hands down awesome! The octopus was cooked very well, but I think because we shared it between two, it was too much. The fish and the shrimp were good too, though the shrimp was expensive. Wine was good too. We tried multiple wines, but ended with the Albariño read more

Sala de Despiece - LOVE~ - Gastropubs Near Me - Madrid, M

Amazing food made of the freshest ingredients. Great fun atmosphere. Industrial style. Great modern music. Funky and fun food presented and served in a fun modern twist. We really enjoyed it. Had to wait about 40 minutes to get a seat. It was worth the wait for us. read more

Someone recommended this restaurant to me and my boyfriend, knowing we like to eat unique dishes and have been to similar places like this in Madrid. The format is that you have to spend at least 35 euros if you've made a reservation on the 12 person table side (there are two sides to the restaurant) and they give you a menu of small dishes to choose from. They also have a preset menu of small items which are supposed to be "the best of the best" which is 62 euros for two people. We had that. We were at a table with three other men we didn't know, who were kind and got the preset menu as well. We had seven dishes in total (six and then the seventh was a desert) and we added the oysters (14 euros) to try as well. Though I left the restaurant not feeling hungry, I felt that the dishes were very small and some were particularly under whelming. One of the dishes was a crab and burrata mix, which were two flavors that I did not find to mix well. The next was eggplant and salmon. I thought that it was strange that some of the items you have to prepare yourself as opposed to having it prepared for you. For example, the first dish was a carpaccio with truffle and tomato. The waiter showed us all how to do the first one but then we had to do the second one ourself. The men next to us asked why the waiter couldn't prepare them, and he said he wasn't allowed. It's not so much a big deal as it is odd. Overall I think the concept of the restaurant is more enjoyable than the restaurant itself. We were 5/12 and all agreed that it was not worth the expense and that we definitely would not return. There are plenty of restaurants doing this sort of thing in a much better way. read more

One of my favorite dining experiences in Europe. The food is terrific, service is patient and helpful and the atmosphere is crazy cool. If you want a quiet place to sit at a table and eat, you are in the wrong place. Odds are you will eat standing up and might have to crawl under a counter to get there. If you can deal with that, it's so worth it. read more

One of our best meals ever! Squeeze in by the bar and be patient with the lack of space...your taste buds will thank you! The staff is super helpful and friendly and the food and wine are worth any temporary discomfort of overcrowding. We went for lunch so we actually didn't wait too long to get a place at the bar. I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong with anything you order here. Everything we ate was divine and visually beautiful. read more

Love this awesome place. it is a must do on your Madrid list. It is far from the center of town but so are all the other good places. Prepare to enjoy and go crazy order more its fun. read more

This is a fantastic spot - real foodie experience! A bit out of the central touristy area, but well worth the trip. Let me put it this way, I'm a NYer and have been spoiled, eating at the likes of Eleven Madison, Chefs Table. this place is more casual, just as innovative and tasty, a daily-changing menu (based on what's fresh), and less than 60euro pp to eat well! An absolute must if you are in Madrid! read more

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One of my favorite restaurants in Madrid. The chalets is incredible along with all the other unique dishes. Perfect for vegetarian, meat eaters, and fish lovers alike. If you want a truly unique culinary experience in Madrid on the casual side be sure to check out this restaurants. Prices are fair and I will be back every time I visit Madrid! read more

Amazing - so yummy and what a fun place to eat! We were IN LOVE with the Carpaccio. Delicious, interesting and the way they show you how to eat it...also fun to eat. :) read more

AMAZING. AMAZING. AMAZING! By far the best food we had in Madrid!! We went to about 10 different restaurants in Madrid (all highly rated or on some top 10 list) and nothing even comes close to how good this place was! We initially went around 9:30pm at night and it was packed to the gills. We went back the next day at 3pm and it was super chill with enough patrons to fill the seats but not super crowded like it was at night. So it's best to go at an off time if you want to beat the crowds. We had the tomato with sea salt (amazing), chuleta (thin slices of steak with truffle sauce, tomato and sea salt (amazing), shrimp with garlic (amazing), octopus with chimichurri (very good and flavorful), burratta (good but couldn't compete with the other dishes), steak squares which were blowtorched at the table (good but flavors were more subtle), flan with dolce de leche, fresh fruit and toasted quinoa (amazing and not too sweet). The BF enjoyed their wines and the waiters were patient with their recommendations and very sweet and attentive and also spoke English well. Decor was also super hip. THIS PLACE IS A MUST IF YOU ARE IN MADRID!! read more

Simply one of the best, most interesting, fun meals I've ever had. If you live in or are visiting Madrid and don't eat here you're making a huge mistake. Very reasonably priced and excellent service, even for non-Spanish speaking people. Make sure to try the sirloin carpaccio, the beef stir fry (done with a blow torch), the grilled steak (yes, we like beef), and the flan desert. These dishes might not all be available as the menu changes daily based on what's fresh. read more

Mediocre food for price and service. Service was super slow and inattentive. There are much better local options.

We got there and they said the kitchen was closed. They need to update their info reflected on google so people don't waste their time going there. Will never go again. read more

Can't recommend this restaurant enough. You got to experience it! Very small and no reservation so get there early to be on the waiting list. On Calle Ponzano there is many bars and restaurants to go for a drink. It is happening at night! "modern tapas", they change often the menu with the seasons. Great concept, great food, nice ambience and good wine selection. A must! read more

Es uno de mis sitios favoritos en Chamberí para comer informal (de pie casi siempre). No voy mas por lo lleno que está. Los chipirones, el tomate, los tirabeques mis favoritos. El concepto divertido y la decoración genial. El ambiente muy agradable. Como odio que este siempre a tope... Dejad ya de ir! read more