Basics
Location
Per Person
€11.90 for a drink, main, and dessert.
In short
Hopes?
Something light yet substantial on a sunny terrace.
Reality?
Simple, satisfying Spanish classics in a Seat in the Sun.
First Impressions?
An empty table outside on a terrace! Bag that seat. Check the menu - around eight options, two vegetarian-friendly. Sold.
A USP?
Generously sized dishes as part of a decidedly above average menu del dia in an in demand area.
The food in three words?
Plentiful, fresh, Spanish.
Can they get the staff?
We were there early and were served promptly.
Service with a smile?
Yes, the waiter was friendly and welcoming.
Would you take your friends?
Yes, I think I would.
Rating for a dating?
The couple overtly demonstrating PDA in the window seat obviously thought so.
Tip?
Attentive service so yes.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Perhaps a wider drinks selection, but then, Madrid means mahou.
Going back?
Looking forward to revisiting when the sun's out again.
In Pictures
On Google Images
In depth
Springtime in Madrid means I'd spritzed on factor 30 before leaving the house in preparation for lunch on a terrace with team h:m.
We were organised, we were early but we were still beaten to it. Arriving at Ojala well before 2pm so as to secure a seat in the sun (surely a reality TV show just waiting to happen) there was already a line for outside tables, and the understaffed staff seemed rushed off their feet. Deciding it probably wasn't worth the wait, we scanned the area for an available table. The plaza was full but just off the street we spotted an empty table outside El Rincon, nabbed it, and then checked the blackboard menu for non-meat options.
There's something nostalgic about blackboard menus, especially when the dishes are chalked on as opposed to stylishly painted on, they remind me of county pubs, where everything comes with either chips or potatoes. This menu was straightforwardly Spanish; about eight options, disarmingly understated.
We ordered a couple of dishes to share and the food arrived quickly. B's choice of salmorejo was thick and refreshing, with a touch of black pepper. Crucially, his jamon and boiled egg scooping skills are second to none, allowing me to share. The bread was fresh and plenty and the salmorejo served with a generous pincho of oniony tortilla. The kind of tortilla you know is good before you even touch it, gently browned, soft-but-cooked, the kind of tortilla I aspire to make one day.
Then the photo-worthy salad arrived. Two wheels of goats cheese, slices of strawberry, apple, pear, walnuts, and a thick dressing. A salad worthy of being a main meal, especially when combined with the heavier tortilla.
The shade was lowered in time for dessert, by which time there were a few people milling around in the hopes of getting our table. I'd had designs on icecream but it seemed silly not to try the dessert included in the menu. Three options: most out of character, B did not go for pudin, but the lighter panna cotta. After passing the wobble test and inspiring a, mercifully brief, Carry On moment, the panna cotta carried me into Nigella-esque raptures, the sweetly tart raspberry topping offsetting the white chocolately smoothness. A perfect ending.
It's not often you can say everything you order hits the spot. Well done El Ricon, a glorious lunch worth arriving early for.
Location
Per Person
€11.90 for a drink, main, and dessert.
In short
Hopes?
Something light yet substantial on a sunny terrace.
Reality?
Simple, satisfying Spanish classics in a Seat in the Sun.
First Impressions?
An empty table outside on a terrace! Bag that seat. Check the menu - around eight options, two vegetarian-friendly. Sold.
A USP?
Generously sized dishes as part of a decidedly above average menu del dia in an in demand area.
The food in three words?
Plentiful, fresh, Spanish.
Can they get the staff?
We were there early and were served promptly.
Service with a smile?
Yes, the waiter was friendly and welcoming.
Would you take your friends?
Yes, I think I would.
Rating for a dating?
The couple overtly demonstrating PDA in the window seat obviously thought so.
Tip?
Attentive service so yes.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Perhaps a wider drinks selection, but then, Madrid means mahou.
Going back?
Looking forward to revisiting when the sun's out again.
In Pictures
On Google Images
In depth
Springtime in Madrid means I'd spritzed on factor 30 before leaving the house in preparation for lunch on a terrace with team h:m.
We were organised, we were early but we were still beaten to it. Arriving at Ojala well before 2pm so as to secure a seat in the sun (surely a reality TV show just waiting to happen) there was already a line for outside tables, and the understaffed staff seemed rushed off their feet. Deciding it probably wasn't worth the wait, we scanned the area for an available table. The plaza was full but just off the street we spotted an empty table outside El Rincon, nabbed it, and then checked the blackboard menu for non-meat options.
There's something nostalgic about blackboard menus, especially when the dishes are chalked on as opposed to stylishly painted on, they remind me of county pubs, where everything comes with either chips or potatoes. This menu was straightforwardly Spanish; about eight options, disarmingly understated.
We ordered a couple of dishes to share and the food arrived quickly. B's choice of salmorejo was thick and refreshing, with a touch of black pepper. Crucially, his jamon and boiled egg scooping skills are second to none, allowing me to share. The bread was fresh and plenty and the salmorejo served with a generous pincho of oniony tortilla. The kind of tortilla you know is good before you even touch it, gently browned, soft-but-cooked, the kind of tortilla I aspire to make one day.
Then the photo-worthy salad arrived. Two wheels of goats cheese, slices of strawberry, apple, pear, walnuts, and a thick dressing. A salad worthy of being a main meal, especially when combined with the heavier tortilla.
The shade was lowered in time for dessert, by which time there were a few people milling around in the hopes of getting our table. I'd had designs on icecream but it seemed silly not to try the dessert included in the menu. Three options: most out of character, B did not go for pudin, but the lighter panna cotta. After passing the wobble test and inspiring a, mercifully brief, Carry On moment, the panna cotta carried me into Nigella-esque raptures, the sweetly tart raspberry topping offsetting the white chocolately smoothness. A perfect ending.
It's not often you can say everything you order hits the spot. Well done El Ricon, a glorious lunch worth arriving early for.
