restaurant Archives - Guiri Guide to Madrid

Crushing on Mercado El Huerto de Lucas

May 6, 2016 guiriguide Comments 0 Comment

Before arriving in Madrid, I wasn’t sure what the mercado culture was like here but, within a few months after my arrival, I found I had fallen completely in love with it. First, with the most famous ones: San Miguel, San Anton, San Ildefonso. But my real market crush was El huerto de Lucas in Chueca area: the real jewel of the city. Situated in Calle San Lucas into the whole center of Madrid, it offers a breath of fresh air into the already vibrant Chueca neighbourhood.
While it doesn’t look particularly special from the shop windows, its inner secret garden will steal your heart in seconds. The 450m2 dedicated to health and environmental care offers tons of high quality and 100% organic products of any type (cheese, meat, fruits & vegetables, tea & coffee, etc) in a green and environmentally designed atmosphere. You can choose whether to buy these products in the market as raw ingredients for homemade dishes, to eat them directly on-site, or to take the easy take out route and get the pre-prepared products delivered directly to your home.
The restaurant attached to the market, La Cantina Orgánica, offers ecological and sustainable gastronomy based on the quality of the products sold in the market. And the flavors of each dish is… INCREDIBLE! They also offer special brunch that is sure to make your mouth water and your tummy sing.
This fantastic cuisine is available in two locations: one on Calle San Lucas 13 (Chueca) and another one on Calle Hermosilla 103 (Goya).
The concept of San Lucas seduced us with its peaceful, fresh, and relaxing vibe, as well providing unique place that you won’t find anywhere else in the center. Spending time in this verdant area, drinking fresh fruit juice or smoothies, is the perfect way to spend one of the hot afternoons in the coming summer! See you there!

La Candelita – a new Latin restaurant comes to Chueca

October 4, 2011 JLynch Comments 0 Comment

One of the most exciting things about living in Madrid is that there seems to be a new shop, bar or restaurant opening up every single day. In order to support local merchants (and/or because we get lazy sometimes), Raul and I are always keen to check out the latest additions to the neighborhood. Recently we discovered a new Latin restaurant on Calle Barquillo in Chueca called La Candelita.

Our first impressions of the place were extremely positive. We had been there before when it used to house El Diablito, and the change is extreme. I cannot even begin to imagine the investment that was necessary to achieve such a drastic and stunning makeover to the large, long space. Decorated in lush, tropical colors with soft lighting and vibrant details, the setting could not be more inviting. The large bar area in the front leads to a sizable dining area in the back with plenty of tables to accommodate both large and small groups.

Upon being seated, we were provided with a drink menu and a food menu, noting that the former was significantly longer than the latter. With its lengthy, creative drink list and its Venezuela-inspired food selection, Raul and I knew we were onto something. Instead of getting entrees, we ultimately decided to share a few of the appetizers (there was a much larger selection of tapas versus main dishes, and they all sounded good). We particularly loved the degustación de arepitas (an assortment of baked cornmeal “pita-like” pockets with various fillings, including black beans and rice, and shredded beef) and the tequeños (loosely translated from the menu by me as rods of white, Venezuelan cheese covered with crunchy pastry dough, aka a sort of Venezuelan mozzarella stick), accompanied by a nice sweet and salty dipping sauce.

Upon reflecting on our meal, we decided we will undoubtedly return (and soon), but given our affinity for copas and tapas, we will likely opt to sit in the bar instead of the main dining area. Since we were more drawn to the starters (and have been known to enjoy a good cocktail now and again), and the bar has such a great vibe, our whole experience could be enhanced from that end of the spectrum. I have also requested one of my Venezuelan friends to try it out and give me the always-appreciated native authenticity verdict, so look out for further feedback on this place down the line.

La Candelita

Calle Barquillo, 30

Pizza in Madrid

September 13, 2011 JLynch Comments 4 comments

As someone who was born and raised in the New York metropolitan area, I consider myself a bit of a pizza snob. Luckily for me, moving to Madrid did not mean having to give up my consumption of delicious pizza on a far too regular basis. The city has a wide range of pizza options so I wanted to share some of my favorites for those who share my pizza tooth:

Pizzaiolo: This small pizza restaurant on Hortaleza is arguably my favorite place to get pizza in Madrid. It was first recommended to us by our Italian friend, and after having eaten there several times, I can see why. The generous pies have a superb crust and the toppings are all fresh and perfectly seasoned. The Primavera, with jamón Serrano and arugula, is a personal favorite. They also have a variety of pasta dishes which all look delicious, but I can never seem to deviate from the pizza. A word of advice – this place is almost always packed. Try to make a reservation if possible, and if not, swing by about 30-60 minutes before you want to eat and they will take your name and number and call you when a table opens up. Raul and I have done this several times since there are a million places nearby to have a pre-pizza wine or caña.

Fratelli la Bufala: This new place opened up only a few months ago and it has already turned into a bit of a hot spot. On the corner of Calle Santa Teresa and Calle Argensola, this global franchise with roots in Milan finally opened up its first outpost in Madrid (there are existing restaurants in, among other places, Barcelona, Miami, London and Istanbul). Needless to say, Raul and I went there immediately and really enjoyed it. The restaurant, which prides itself on its natural and fresh ingredients, features pizzas that are all made to order in a fire-burning oven. There was also a nice wine list and some pasta and salads that looked appetizing as well. The waiter told us the tiramisu was noteworthy, but after the rather generous servings of pizza, we just could not keep eating.

Toto e Peppino: Toto e Pepino has the feel of a place that has been around forever. The ambience is the opposite of trendy, but the pizza is quite good, albeit a bit pricier than some of the other options listed.

Pizza Marzano: This is a Spanish chain restaurant that I went to with my parents. It does not have the cozy and/or authentic feel that some of the other ones have (it definitely has more of that “chain restaurant ambience”) but it is a large place with a big menu that is not a bad option if you are in the city center.

Duomo´s: Duomo´s is for those nights where you just need pizza delivered to your door. While the pizza is nowhere near the caliber of the pizzas above, I find it much better than the other chain delivery options that I have tried (i.e. Telepizza and Domino´s). With the “menú para dos”, consisting of a medium pizza, two drinks and a side for €17, the price is also a positive factor.

Let me know in the comments any other pizza places worth checking out in Madrid. ¡Mangiare bene!

Pizzaiolo

Calle Hortaleza, 84

Fratelli la Bufala

Calle Argensola, 7

Toto e Peppino

Calle Fernando VI, 29

Pizza Marzano

Various

Duomo´s