Soy Kitchen is tucked away on a residential street, surrounded by apartment buildings and very little indication of what's waiting inside.
Once you walk in, completely different story.
The dining room is moody, modern and elegant, without feeling overly formal. It works equally well for a date night or dinner with friends.
Service was great. Attentive and polished, but not stuffy. The chef even came out to introduce the main course, which was a small touch that made the experience feel much more personal.
And then there's the food.
Soy Kitchen lives somewhere at the very happy intersection of Spain and Asia, borrowing ingredients and techniques from both and putting them together in ways that sound slightly crazy.
The oxtail gyoza with kimchi and coconut milk emulsion was fantastic. Rich, bright, spicy. A lot going on, but somehow everything worked.
Then came the star: homemade ban mian noodles with veal tartare.
Yes, noodles and tartare.
The dish arrives with the tartare sitting on top of the noodles. After explaining it, the chef mixes everything together tableside so all those flavors and textures become one. The noodles were rich and smoky with serious wok hei. The tartare was velvety and almost melted into them. Absolutely incredible.
That dish basically explains Soy Kitchen better than I ever could. Two culinary worlds that shouldn't necessarily make sense together, suddenly making perfect sense.
One of my favorite meals in Madrid! I'll definitely come back read more