As many of you know, Matas and I have recently moved to Madrid, Spain and we have been eating non-stop since. These are some of the places we have indulged at with the good, the bad, the ugly and the average spelled out for your reading and viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy.

La Casa del Abuelo, calle de la Cruz, 11, 28012

La Casa del Abuelo was the first tapas place we went to; literally off of the tarmac. With our brains fried post long flight and post long layover I just wanted to sit down and have something good to drink and eat. I picked La Casa del Abuelo as they are know for their gambas al ajillo (shrimp fried in garlic oil) which I wanted to try posthaste. I had no idea that this restaurant/bar/taberna (and I WILL learn the difference and once I do, I will share that with you) has three different storefronts and we managed to pick the one that least resembles a tapas bar. This place had proper table seating and all, and only offered full portions or ración which looked like it was at a higher price point as well.

The shrimp came out boiling in a fragrant garlic oil and it was a pleasure to eat them. The bread basket came in handy to soak all of that delicious oil up and their house wine aided in washing it all down. I do recommend trying their gambas al ajillo but I would have preferred sitting in one of their other venues as they looked more like a proper local tapas bar inside.

The price point of that particular establishment and the fact that I was not enjoying the atmosphere much (the place was deserted) made us leave to find some greener pastures and greener pastures we found just a few doors up the street at Casa Toni.

Casa Toni, calle de la Cruz, 14, 28012

Casa Toni is another tapas spot on my never ending to-eat list. These guys specialise in preparing traditional offal dishes which I was super excited to try. The place looked packed from the outside but the waiter showed us up some stairs into a cramped room FULL of people. Where we did get a little table to ourselves and could go about ordering our drinks and the next dish on the chopping block.

My poison of choice these days is Spanish vermouth. Four months ago I was not even aware such a drink existed but I was educated during our first trip to Madrid in December 2021 and now I cannot get enough of it (drinking a glass of vermouth as we speak or, more aptly, as I write). Since Matas wanted to have something lighter, he ordered a glass of sangria which was also a decent choice. My personal observation is that tinto de verano (summer wine by a literal translation or a wine drink with some soda water) is a more popular light drink option amongst the madrileños.

Anyway, let us get back on track with the food. We ordered oreja a la plancha which translates to grilled pig’s ear and it was SO GOOD. The cartilage was soft and not too chewy. It had an amazing char and a taste not too dissimilar to wok hey (to those who are familiar). The dish was seasoned well and was complimented by the sauce on the side which I want to say is the same sauce that is used for patatas bravas but I might be wrong. I will need to investigate. At this point we felt too exhausted to continue so we left Casa Toni without trying some of their other dishes that they are known for.

Casa Toni definitely gets my seal of approval and I cannot wait to come back as I believe this place will merit a blog entry of its own one day when I have enough material; meaning I will stuff my face with enough of this delicious food. *insert laughing emoji*

This is only the beginning

I have legitimately been eating non-stop since we landed on Tuesday, 29 March and I cannot possible fit all of the food into a single entry, so this might be a 3- or even a 4-parter. In the meanwhile we have found a place to live, have visited a few fresh produce markets and have gone about exploring our new–La Latina–neighbourhood.

Bear with me while I figure this blog thing out if you care to follow! And if you want to show me some love, drop a little comment here and there or write me a message. It really means a lot to get a few encouraging words now and again!