Feeling hot, hot, hot
Basics
Location
Per Person
Four Tapas, Four drinks, 1 coffee - €24 each.
In Pictures
On Google Images
In not so many words
Hopes?
Classic dishes in the Spring sun.
Reality?
Success, with a nagging annoyance.
First Impressions?
Sun's out, tables free, but not for long after 1.15pm.
A USP?
Location, location, location.
The food in three words?
Proper old school.
Can they get the staff?
Back to school.
Service with a smile?
Brusque and amiable by turn.
Would you take your friends?
Yep. A great spot for authentic local grub for residents and visitors alike.
Rating for a dating?
Yeah, as it warms up, things may warm up.
Tip?
A small and rather reluctant one.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Service needs servicing
Going back?
Yes, but ever-so-slightly ambivalently.
In not so few words
It's March. It's over 20 degrees. The city, with one voice, has a request.
And luckily, Plaza 2 Mayo is surrounded by them. La Cabreira has maybe the biggest selection going in the eat-outside department, with lots of seafood on offer for the mollusc-minded.
Four dishes on today's list.
The house special is their eponymous potatoes. Decent freshly cooked chips with, and we're not going to hold back, a wondersauce of parsley, garlic lemon juice and oil. You really can't go wrong with this and the only fault to be found is that there's only one portion size. You'd need two for three people. Recommended.
It's just warm enough for Salmorejo. This is a good one. Thick. Almost creamy. Not V-friendly as such, unlike the potatoes, but I'd imagine you could ask for the toppings to be left off if you're averse to ham and tuna-removal. Decent bread here makes this a big success.
Boquerones? Boquerones! Owey, owey, owey... These little fishes taste home-prepared. Seriously vinegary, but very, very tasty. Combine with those terrific potatoes for poshed-up fish and chips, Madrid style!
Last up today, something meatily meaty. Fried chorizo. No more, no less. Very good indeed, albeit not saucy, but chunky chorizo still goes well with that quality bread.
Cheese flan is nothing to complain about, even if you're not going to write letters home, either. Beer comes in frozen glasses which scores bonus points. There's a charge for the bread, which is not ideal but happens on a terrace too often these days.
But, even when the sky is the clearest 640m of altitude blue, a Madrid bar can still knock up an entirely unneccessary big black cloud to fill a silver lining.
Here? It's like being Roger Federer, isn't it? You can't win the prize without decent service.
Today it was a right pain. Coffee forgotten. Staff chatting in the service window, not keeping eyes on tables. Erecting sunshades midway through lunch - not in advance - on what everyone knew would be the sunniest day of the year. Change from our bill mysteriously forgotten, but turning up instantly when chased - as if someone hoped we'd sod off leaving a default tip. Any one of these could happen. You can't expect perfection until someone sticks a Michelin star on the wall.
But all of them in an hour? Really? Is it me? Telling the couple next to us their table was needed for food so they couldn't just order more beers sums things up. Fawlty Award? Maybe.
So going back, yes. But hoping it's a different staff roster that day? Ohhhh yes.
Basics
Location
Per Person
Four Tapas, Four drinks, 1 coffee - €24 each.
In Pictures
On Google Images
In not so many words
Hopes?
Classic dishes in the Spring sun.
Reality?
Success, with a nagging annoyance.
First Impressions?
Sun's out, tables free, but not for long after 1.15pm.
A USP?
Location, location, location.
The food in three words?
Proper old school.
Can they get the staff?
Back to school.
Service with a smile?
Brusque and amiable by turn.
Would you take your friends?
Yep. A great spot for authentic local grub for residents and visitors alike.
Rating for a dating?
Yeah, as it warms up, things may warm up.
Tip?
A small and rather reluctant one.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Service needs servicing
Going back?
Yes, but ever-so-slightly ambivalently.
In not so few words
It's March. It's over 20 degrees. The city, with one voice, has a request.
It's terrace time!
And luckily, Plaza 2 Mayo is surrounded by them. La Cabreira has maybe the biggest selection going in the eat-outside department, with lots of seafood on offer for the mollusc-minded.
Four dishes on today's list.
It's just warm enough for Salmorejo. This is a good one. Thick. Almost creamy. Not V-friendly as such, unlike the potatoes, but I'd imagine you could ask for the toppings to be left off if you're averse to ham and tuna-removal. Decent bread here makes this a big success.
Boquerones? Boquerones! Owey, owey, owey... These little fishes taste home-prepared. Seriously vinegary, but very, very tasty. Combine with those terrific potatoes for poshed-up fish and chips, Madrid style!
Last up today, something meatily meaty. Fried chorizo. No more, no less. Very good indeed, albeit not saucy, but chunky chorizo still goes well with that quality bread.
Cheese flan is nothing to complain about, even if you're not going to write letters home, either. Beer comes in frozen glasses which scores bonus points. There's a charge for the bread, which is not ideal but happens on a terrace too often these days.
But, even when the sky is the clearest 640m of altitude blue, a Madrid bar can still knock up an entirely unneccessary big black cloud to fill a silver lining.
Here? It's like being Roger Federer, isn't it? You can't win the prize without decent service.
Today it was a right pain. Coffee forgotten. Staff chatting in the service window, not keeping eyes on tables. Erecting sunshades midway through lunch - not in advance - on what everyone knew would be the sunniest day of the year. Change from our bill mysteriously forgotten, but turning up instantly when chased - as if someone hoped we'd sod off leaving a default tip. Any one of these could happen. You can't expect perfection until someone sticks a Michelin star on the wall.
But all of them in an hour? Really? Is it me? Telling the couple next to us their table was needed for food so they couldn't just order more beers sums things up. Fawlty Award? Maybe.
So going back, yes. But hoping it's a different staff roster that day? Ohhhh yes.
