Calle Ponzano has been getting a lot of love not only on Naked Madrid, but in other Spanish press as well. I have the fortune of being a Chamberí resident, with Ponzano literally around the corner from my apartment, so a quick tomar algo is always another excuse to go ponzaning. I have been to Bar Lambuzo, La Contraseña, and of course, my all-time favorite Sala de Despiece, (other restaurants on calle Ponzano featured in Naked include Taberna Alipio Ramos, Casa Picsa and Toque de Sal) but I had always passed by MUTA Smoking Club without ever trying to get in. Then there was Blanca Suárez’s blog post for Vogue that mentioned MUTA; the headline said si queréis flipar. I casually added it to my list of neighborhood joints to try and was waiting for an excuse to go. It was much to my surprise that on a Saturday night at 9 PM I was able to get in before going to a party in Embajadores.

MUTA, the brainchild of Javier Bonet (who owns Sala de Despiece and the Academia del Despiece), changes its concept every few months. That’s where the name comes from. There was one point where it served food from Baleares, but now, as a smoking club, everything is barbecue, aka smoked meat. Walking in takes you away from Madrid and instead transports you to a barbecue joint somewhere in America, at the very least like those barbecue places they always show on Man vs. Food, the fire episode of Michael Pollan’s Cooked on Netflix, or the season of American Top Chef when they were in Texas.

The menu is varied, with appetizers, a variety of meats you can order to share, and more. We first decided to share a take on croquetas with cornbread and potato that had tzatziki sauce on top. The greens that came on top were also top-notch. They were definitely worth the extra amount of exercise I needed to do the next day to make up for it.

Next up was the meat and the green salad. The green salad was fantastic; the dressing was light enough to make sure the flavor reached all of the greens, but the dressing doesn’t overpower the palate-cleansing attributes you look for in a salad. To go with the salad, we couldn’t go to a barbecue place without consuming some meat.

Like the carnivore’s paradise that is its sister restaurant, MUTA Smoking Club is the perfect place for carnivores (like me). There are different types of meats you can choose from in trays to share: there’s beef tongue, brisket, salmon, or even hamburgers. There is also a mixed tray that you can get to share with different kinds of meat to try (this is ideal for larger groups looking for a true picoteo). Since we weren’t that hungry, we stuck with one meat, and I decided to go with pulled pork. I am not the biggest pork fan if it’s not in the form of jamón or fuet because cooked pork tends to be very dry (too dry for my taste), but when I took that first bite of pulled pork into my mouth, I was sold.

It comes with classic potato rolls reminiscent of summertime family cookouts and mustard, so you can either make your own sandwich or just dip the meat into the mustard and eat it. I decided to go with some by itself, some as a sandwich, and then have the rest along with the salad.

While we didn’t take the next step and get dessert, the tray they passed around looked absolutely to die for. Fortunately, when you live around the corner from there, there’s always a reason to go back (and also to try the mixed meat tray because that looked absolutely incredible) and have some more barbecue a lo Ponzano.

Info

Where: Calle de Ponzano, 10
Phone: +34 912 50 98 97
Website & Facebook
Metro: Alonso Cano (Line 7) or Iglesia (Line 1)

More gems on Calle Ponzano:

• Bar Lambuzo, a family-run Andalucían tavern
• Casa Picsa, great Argentine pizza on Calle Ponzano
• Toque de Sal restaurant, so chic and so good
• Taberna Alipio Ramos, old school bar on Calle Ponzano

I’ve started jokingly referring to Gran Via as my Madrid version of the River Thames. Should you know London, you’ll know that when it comes to being a dweller of the affectionately nicknamed ‘smog’, you very much fall either the North or South camp thanks to the watery divide; and to this end I feel that the same can be said for Madders. If you’re Fuencarral side of Gran Via you tend to spend your free time hot footing it around the streets of Malasaña and Chueca. Whereas if you veer down towards Sol, you can usually be found whiling away time between La Latina and Lavapiés. Either way, had I not crossed the ‘symbolic’ gulf provided by our very own Oxford Street equivalent, I may never have found El Imparcial.

Inconspicuous and almost completely nondescript from the exterior, El Imparcial is quite the find upon entering. On the right hand side your greeted by a pocket-sized bar where you can grab a coffee or a cana. However, make your way up the impressively sized staircases and you enter into an Aladdin’s Cave of all round prettiness. I’m loathe to bandy around this term liberally, but the high ceilings and beautifully restored décor can almost be described as ‘breath taking’ – close one eye and squint with the other and it does have a touch of the old Palace De Versailles about it.

Part concept store, part restaurant, El Imparcial straddles a line where you literally want everything that you see. Cocktails, they’ve got them in spades. Food, well there are morsels so delicious that it wouldn’t be uncommon to not want to share your starter *apologies to my fam as I inhaled the bao buns without as much as a thought of ‘did you want to try one?!’

Last but not least are the Wallpaper magazine worthy purchases waiting to adorn your casa. El Imparcial stocks a carefully (and I’d hazard a guess, lovingly) curated range of stationary, magazines and books – apt really considering the building once housed a newspaper.

Food wise they offer a complete smorgasbord of delights. We wolfed down (amongst other treats) Roasted black cod with miso edamame beans, oxtail croquettes and a lip smackingly good buttifara pizza with scamorza. Our lunch lasted for hours, dinner…even longer. It really is one of those places that seems to draw you in and make you not want to leave (or maybe after the array of cocktails placing one foot in front of other could’ve been tricky and partly to blame for the desire not to budge).

Did I mention just how pretty it is? *and that’s just the staff. Book well ahead or find yourself lingering outside, nose pressed against the glass wanting to get in.

Info

• Facebook & Web
• Address: Calle Duque de Alba, 4, 28012 Madrid
• Metro: Tirso de Molina

Sometimes when I go out to have lunch or dinner I can’t  help but think that an important part of customer service is missing. So when I had dinner at New Cucos with my friend, when we went outside afterwards, we could only say how well we were treated and what a wonderful dinner we had.

New Cucos is a family-style restaurant in the neighborhood of Arturo Soria. This closeness and warmth can be seen in the way Juan (the owner) treats everyone who works there, as well as all the customers who are having dinner or lunch.

The restaurant is located on the quiet street of Arturo Soria. It is a large space with a perfect covered terrace for more intimate dinners or larger celebrations. The terrace provides a very cozy place where you can talk quietly without being bothered by the next table, and then there’s also a smaller and equally cozy interior. The first day we decided to sit in inside, as Real Madrid was playing and we wanted to see the match. The second day we sat in the covered terrace, great decision.

The Food

New Cucos has a simple and traditional menu with very good quality ingredients. The portions are generous, in fact, the most popular dishes on the menu are large sharing platters; these can be great among a group of friends, or even just for two.

First we went for the warm burrata salad with cherry tomatoes. It was simply delicious. Great quality, never tried the burrata and I have to say I totally loved it.

Burrata Salad

Then we decided to try the spring rolls with vegetables and prawns – a highly recommended and delicious dish as well.

Spring rolls

By the time we had to eat our third dish, we were already full, but how can you say no to a plate of ravioli? These were filled with pumpkin and cheese sauce – simply spectacular and very rich. In fact the second time we went we couldn’t help but order them again.

Ravioli

The second day we also ordered a delicious mixed salad. For me, nothing beats a well-prepared mixed salad.

Salad

As for the rest of the menu, in addition to the dishes to share, they have a small selection of fish and meat dishes. I have to say the South African ostrich burger looks delicious.

Prices are very reasonable. The first day we had three dishes, three glasses of wine and two beers for 47 euros. The second day our bill came out to 33 euros.

I’d also like to highlight once again that we received fantastic service both times we went; the staff was attentive, asking if everything was fine, and very importantly, without putting any pressure on us to leave. That sort of thing is very noticeable and makes your dinner even better.

Nothing else to add, New Cucos points out on Twitter: “eat and drink in an oasis” And I couldn’t agree more.

So, “Mucha mierda” (or “break a leg”) to Juan and the rest of his family. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon!

Info

• Where: Calle Arturo Soria 84
• Metro: Arturo Soria
• Tf: 913774039
• Twitter
• Monday to saturday 11 to 1.

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I don’t eat meat, but one of my life rules is: never go to a Vegetarian restaurant.

I’ve been jaded by too many poorly thought-out ventures where the food is created from fear of meat rather than love of veg. Vegan and vegetarian cuisine has existed all over the world for millennia, so where did the culinary black hole come from and why has it left us in such a veg-hating dark age feeling hungry and dehydrated?

Last week, a friend of mine recommended veggie-friendly Zoco Comidero and I might just have seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

Rarely do you come across a restaurant with this much respect for food. The concept: flexitarian – a primarily vegetarian diet which occasionally includes meat or fish. In other words, there’s something for everyone.

No longer does the vegetarian friend have to eat a racion de patatas bravas for dinner, or the carnivorous friend have to suffer through a fish-less fillet or a tofurkey burger (a what?).

At Zoco Comidero, the menu is hugely varied and every dish is put together professionally. Everything on your plate hit the kitchen worktop raw and intact and has been prepared freshly with no external influences.

We kicked off Tuesday evening with a kale and kiwi smoothie, an arepa stuffed with an almond-based vegan cheese and chlorella pesto (a delicious black seaweed pesto).

Feeling healthy yet? We shared two tostas: one with goat’s cheese and a juicy baked tomato and the other with a generous portion of beetroot-marinated raw salmon and homemade mustard. For mains we had a risotto made with kamut (an ancient large wheat grain), and prawn chop suey.

This was all underlined with a trio of deserts: an intense gooey dark chocolate brownie (the secret ingredient: avocado), quinoa ‘cheesecake’ and a face-twisting lemon curd.

By now the word “healthy” is in the background. Exotic flavours, textures and presentation of the food resonates more than anything else. I love Marbell’s zen and her way of transmitting it to us urban wildlife through edible flowers and doses of colour.

This is Marbell, the brains and owner of Zoco Comidero

Zoco Comidero is just off the beaten track but in the real heart of Madrid’s old town. The restaurant has an elegant interior with low lighting, good music and a bonus view of the palace. There’s also a fun downstairs lounge which gets going on weekends. Every Saturday and Sunday, Marbell tries to organise a chilled bit of live music from 10:30 pm onwards so stick around after dinner for good DJs and Venezuelan bands.

Info

• Web & Facebook

• Address: Calle Moreria 11

• Metro: La Latina

The landlocked city of Madrid is supposedly home to the country’s best quality fish and seafood. Why? Because Madrileños say so! Opinion aside, it’s true that fresh fish from all coasts of Spain are shipped to the capital on a daily basis and one restaurant in Sol has taken full advantage: Chirignuito de El Señor Martín, located on Calle Mayor.

Chiringuito means ‘beach bar’ in Spanish, hence the restaurant’s beach-chic feel and menu featuring a variety of fish and seafood platters. During summer, this chiringuito gets even breezier when it opens its glass doors onto Calle Mayor and becomes one with the sidewalk. During winter, the restaurant also expands its menu to include heartier seafood stews and rice dishes.

James and I had the pleasure of having lunch here on Wednesday. When you walk in, you see the fresh fish on display, which comes straight from El Señor Martín, a high-quality fish market inside Mercado de San Miguel (and where the restaurant gets the other half of its name).

You can see right into the kitchen, where you’ll find the tattoo-covered chef, Beltrán Alonso. He and the waiter kindly explained each menu item to us, as well as the innovative cooking techniques they use and the origin of their ingredients. So without further ado, here’s what we had…

To drink, we started off with two glasses of champagne, which came with a tapa of camarones, baby shrimp that are caught using sustainable fishing methods.

Our first sarter was ensaladilla rusa, a traditional homemade potato salad with baby shrimp and fish roe. This is on their permanent menu and it wouldn’t be a real Spanish fish restaurant without it!

Our second starter was very innovative: gambas con dos cocciones y ajo morado de las Pedroñeras, twice-cooked shrimp with black garlic. It’s important to note that the black garlic they use is the best in Spain (if not the world, according to our waiter). The flavor of the shrimp was completely distinct and absolutely delicious.

Our third starter was our favorite: calamares. This is one of the most typical dishes in Andalucía and here, it’s not only good quality (fresh from El Señor Martín market) but also prepared in extra virgin olive oil, like everything else on the menu. It was so fresh, light and satisfying. You have to get this when you go here no matter what.

For our main dish, we had arroz meloso con corvina salvaje (rice cooked in broth with wild sea bass), accompanied by two glasses of albariño (Galician white wine). I really loved this dish. The sea bass was cooked to perfection and the rice had a delicious flavor to it. I couldn’t have been happier. To top it all off, we had cheesecake!

If you’re in Sol and looking for some of the freshest fish in the city, as well as a mini-trip to the beach, this is your place!

Info

• Web & Facebook
• Address: Calle Mayor 31
• Metro: Sol

Brunch is all the rage in Madrid right now. Restaurants big and small are offering full-on Saturday and Sunday brunch menus featuring the works: mimosas, eggs Benedict, hash browns, you name it. We’ve already written about a few of our favorite brunch spots in hip neighborhoods like Malasaña and Chueca. Yet the craze is now also hitting Madrid’s more upscale neighborhood of Barrio Salamanca, thanks to Fonty. 

Fonty began serving brunch on Sundays at its first location on Calle Castelló 12 a few years ago. Due to popular demand, the restaurant quickly started offering it on Saturdays as well. And now, you can also enjoy a weekend brunch at their second location, newly opened and just a 15 minute walk away on Calle Juan Bravo, 41, where James and I went on Sunday. The decor is modern yet cozy, and they’re planning on opening up a terrace which will surely be nice come summer. Sipping on your cappuccino in the sun sounds pretty perfect to me!

One of the owners, Marie, told James and I that she originally wanted to open up a pastry shop, yet decided to open a restaurant to cater to Madrid’s sit-down culture. Many of their first customers still come in regularly for their homemade cakes and pastries. In addition to sweets and brunch, Fonty also serve a complete menu del día for €13, using fresh ingredients; they never fry anything. So Fonty is a great place to go to if you’re in the neighborhood and looking for something lighter than what you might find next door.

As for brunch, you’ll find four different options that range from €20-26. We went with the second option that included a brunch special (from egg dishes to pancakes), plus a pastry, orange juice, coffee and yogurt with fruit and granola, which cost €20 each. When we go back, we’ll have to try the first option which came with a burger.
As for our brunch specials, I got the tosta de la casa  which came with roasted tomato, ham, portobello mushrooms, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. James got the eggs Benedict with bacon. The quality was incredible. The sauce was so rich yet velvety smooth. The yogurt and freshly squeezed orange juice gave us that feeling of being healthy, and the pastry was the perfect touch of sweetness. Then the coffee topped it all off.

So, if you’re in Barrio Salamanca and craving a good brunch or menú del día, you’ve got not one but two locations to choose from!

Info

• Facebook & Web
• Address: Calle Castelló 12 (metro Príncipe de Vergara or Velázquez) & Calle Juan Bravo 41 (metro Diego de León or Núñez de Balboa)

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• Best brunch on a budget in Madrid
• Federal Café, hipster in a very good way
• Little Big Café, my big little pick-me-up
• 6 best café-bookshops in Madrid

Squeezed between aisles of fruit vendors and meat merchants in the lively Mercado Antón Martín, you can find Yoka Loka, a sushi restaurant worth your euros.

Their hours may not jive with the Spanish schedule of eating dinner around nine or ten p.m., (since the market in which the restaurant is located closes its doors at nine), but you may want to consider eating out earlier than usual to get a taste of the maki and nigiri rolling out of the kitchen. Or perhaps, it may be better suited for a lunch out on the town.

Happening upon this locale is delightful in itself. It is unexpected to find a sushi stall in the midst of the traditional market products. The restaurant is tiny; a small counter to place your order, a small matchbox kitchen, and a dining room that is comparable in size to a train car. Flanking the small dining area and kitchen are narrow bar areas set up to accommodate a few extra diners. If seated here, you can peek into the kitchen to see what the chefs are up to.

Prices aren’t outrageous. For example, eleven euros will buy you the Yoka Loka sampler box with between nine and thirteen pieces depending. Yoka Loka offers some of the truest-to-form sushi in Madrid. Rolls are not sullied by sugary rice or tasteless fish as some sushi establishments in the city are prone to do. Here, quality comes out of the kitchen and is presented beautifully to boot.

Order a bottle of Japanese beer to round out the meal and savor the taste of something different than Mahou.

Info

• Web & Facebook
• Address: Calle Santa Isabel, 5 Planta Baja
• Phone: +34 610 602 722
• E-mail: hola@yokaloka.com

When you tell people that you live abroad the general response is usually something along the lines of ‘Oh you must feel like you’re on holiday all the time!‘ or ‘Think of all the sun and sangria!’ to ‘You must be perma-tanned!’ Admittedly, whilst there is a lot of sun and I do feel like I’m on ‘holiday’ when I look up at all the pretty balconies in Malasaña, La Latina and the like, I’m most certainly not perma-tanned (without the help of something I purchased from Space NK) and life’s mundane tasks have a way of finding you wherever you live *read/washing/ironing/cleaning/taking the bins out.

So no matter whether you’re fortunate enough to live in a sunny clime (in this case the marvelous Madders) there comes a time when you fancy a holiday within the city; if true indulgence floats your boat then look no further than the exquisitely elegant and seriously stylish, Hotel Urso.

Nestled on Calle Mejia Lequerica, Hotel Urso is a relatively small but perfectly formed boutique hotel. Discovered through the Mr and Mrs Smith website (which I cannot recommend enough) it’s the kind of hotel you’ll never want to leave. Fluffy white robes adorn the bathroom door, there for the taking when the spa takes your fancy. Pillows so soft, that lifting your head up from one feels like a chore (or maybe that was partly due to too much gin the night before). But still, it felt like having a glimpse into how the other half live – all freshly brewed coffee, sumptuous soft furnishings and complimentary welcome fizz at the hotel bar.

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Service wise, Hotel Urso couldn’t be faulted. In a country that often leaves a lot to be desired on that front (why do I have to beg for a bill?!) nothing was too much trouble. We forgot our toothbrushes – two new ones appeared by magic. My mum on arrival managed to fall up the stairs – turns out marble floors, heels and mimosas don’t mix (but cue an ice pack appearing at lightning speed) – I can only stress here that apples don’t fall far from the tree and that making an entrance must run in the family!

When check out time swung round (which wasn’t until 12; a Mr and Mrs Smith perk might I add) neither of us wanted to leave – or part with the 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets.

It’s worth noting that if splurging on a night away isn’t an option – unless money starts growing on trees (as a deluxe room wasn’t cheap) they have jazz nights every Thursday and the pop up restaurant ‘The Table By’ which are well worth a visit, with a different chef dominating in the kitchen each month.

I left Sunday morning plotting how many private classes I’d have to teach so that I can return, and soon. Should I be lucky enough to do so, my mum will be wearing flats.

Info

• Web & Facebook
• Address: Calle Mejia Lequerica 8
• Phone:  +34 914 444 458
• E-mail: info@hotelurso.com

Despite its absence of an ocean, delicious and affordable seafood can be found in Madrid for those who seek it. My friend Jacqui brought the existence of Marisquería las Chalanas to my attention, praising it for its attentive staff and the quality of the portions. With my interest piqued, Jacqui brought myself and our companion Nanor to this location on a Saturday night in order to nibble on sea critters and drink Asturian cider.

We arrived early and perched ourselves at a table in the bar area and later received lingering glances from standing patrons keen to usurp it from us. For this reason it’s pivotal to arrive before the crowd; deshelling shrimp and crabs without an adequate surface to rest the plate is an uphill battle.

The bar area offers specials where generous raciones of seafood cost 5€ with 6 glasses of cider included. We ordered two of these, the first being 1/4 kilo of cold shrimp and the second being a dignified king crab, to share between the three of us.

Our alert server kept our cider glasses full and was empathetic to Jacqui’s needs as a celiac; he was proactive and double-checked with the chef that none of our plates were exposed to gluten. In addition to these portions we also ordered garlic prawns and Mussels a la marinara off of the restaurant menu.

By the end of our meal we were indulgently full and content, all of the food pictured here cost 34€ in total. As we adjusted our coats and scarves to leave, the vultures pounced to claim our little table as their own. I recommend this establishment for celebratory occasions, parent visits or for private rendezvous for those entangled illicit trysts because the likelihood of crossing paths with anyone you know here is low.

Info

• Facebook
• Website
• Metro: Plaza de España
• Address: C/San Leonardo 12

In the middle of Chueca, deep in the courtyard/garden of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid, you’ll find a glass house that feels more LA than Madrid, and inside that glass house, you’ll find Bosco de Lobos. Bosco de Lobos is part of En Compañia de Lobos, a restaurant group that has Ana La Santa in Madrid as well as four restaurants in Barcelona and another in Mexico City. It calls itself a restaurant, bar, garden, and a place for work and meetings. And indeed it is a grat place to meet, especially for groups. After hearing nothing but great things about it from my friend Carla, and seeing a picture of Blanca Suárez devouring spaghetti on Instagram, it was abundantly clear that I needed to get there.

And so one Wednesday night, my group from my first trimester of grad school got together for a reunion dinner in this wonderful place. While you may get lost the first time you get there, you just go to the back of the Colegio de Arquitectos, and you will find it hidden behind the entrance.

Walking back to the restaurant already gives you a sense of awe, that you know you’re in a beautiful place and will be transported from the rest of the city out there.

After a walk down the path to the main entrance, you’re welcome at the bar and ready to be transported to dine in a restaurant that has a comfortable feel. 

Walking inside is like being welcomed into someone’s house, with comfortable tables and shelves with a wide assortment of books. When the weather’s warm, tables are set up outside in the garden, allowing for more space. However, we were there in January, so that gives an excuse to go back again.

Here’s a photo from their Facebook page so you can see what it looks like during the day!

We sat in an area overlooking the garden with a wide selection of books and plenty of space for the six of us to have a bonding experience.

Bosco de Lobos serves Italian cuisine, with pizza and pasta the stars of the menu, however there are meat dishes and some tapas. Many websites laud the lasagna (and that will be what I’ll have to have next time), but two of us order the roast chicken, one ordered steak, two ordered pizzas (one the whole-wheat vegetable pizza and the other the taleggio con trufa de invierno), and then I ordered the paparadelle with red-wine meat ragout.

The portion size was great, especially since I do not eat pasta very often. I was not overly stuffed, and I even had room to try the vegetable pizza.  What was nice about the sauce was that it was meat-based, while not as heavy as a bolognese, and the paparadelle was fresh and perfectly cooked. They even left me with my own block of cheese with personal grater had I been in the mood for more.

Everyone in the group was satisfied with our meal, and we spent over two hours together catching up, just like old times.

When you have a group dinner and are looking to feel right at home in the middle of a tranquil garden, then Bosco de Lobos is the place to go!

Info

• Calle de Hortaleza, 63
• Tel.: +34 915 249 464
• Facebook
• Website
• Metro: Alonso Martínez (Lines 4, 5, and 10)