Taberna Antonio Sánchez is THE historic place to find yourself for a drink or a meal. Dating back to 1787, it calls itself the oldest taberna in Madrid and rightly so. The interior is gloriously old school, the service – questionable at best – and the food and wine delicious!

Taberna Antonio Sánchez, calle del Méson de Paredes, 13, 28012

I really love my neighbourhood. La Latina is such a diverse barrio where you can find the most hipster-y of cafes but also the oldest tavern in Madrid that is located just around the corner from where we live. It is a surprise we have not made it here sooner but I am glad we finally did!

We chose to sit at the bar area and started with a glass of vermouth (€2.50) which was fine. The little tapa that came with the drinks was really delicious and definitely more interesting than your regular potato crisps but I also saw they have those (I think they serve crisps with beer and olives with wine but that is obviously not a rule!).

We started by ordering salmorejo (€7) and while it was not the best we have ever had, it was a delicious bowl of cold, creamy and rich spoonful that thoroughly satisfied the craving. There are not that many things left that I have not tried at least once in Madrid and torreznos (€4.50) was one of them. These pork scratchings were not as crisp as I expected them to be but they were very deliciously melty with both fatty and crispy bits.

People next to us had oreja de cerdo (€11.50) on their table and it looked fantastic, so we ordered one for ourselves and oh my God this was probably the best pig’s ear I have had. It is a little bit different to what I am used to, i.e. it was cut in much bigger vhunks and had a lot of the fat still attached to it. Hence it was not as snappy as at Casa Toni and, since it was not stewed, it was not as juicy as at Casa Amadeo los Caracoles. This ear played in the league of its own and with a bit of mildly spicy bravas sauce on top it was marvelous. Incredibly rich but marvelous.

The wines we ordered where absolutely fantastic too. Next time I would forgo vermouth and head straight for that wine. We had a glass of Braco Las Mazas (D.O. Toro, €3.30) and Las Letras Roble (D.O. Madrid, €2.90) and both of them were nicely balanced, not too acidic, not too tannic, with enough complexity in each to satisfy us both.

Taberna Antonio Sánchez gets my full approval and goes on my ever-expanding “if you ever visit me, I will take you here” list. I really enjoyed everything: from the old-timey atmosphere to a rather peculiar service, from the food to the drinks and the overall convivial experience.