Brunch at Maricastaña

Musical Chairs
Pro Decor and Design
Con Dysfunctional Service

Bill
€€
Per Person
Set Brunch €16
Reservations recommended at weekends, but they didn't seem to reply to our email enquiry.

Location
Access  Step free. 
Maricastaña's website


Q&A
Hopes? A taste of the contemporary.
Reality? Much the contemporary entails.
First Impressions? A busy, well-designed space. Just as well we booked.
A USP? Lifestyle reflection and/or aspiration meeting.
The food in three words? Not polished enough.
Can they get the staff? Just reaches the point you think they've forgotten things.Which then appear.
Service with a smile? Frazzled & fraught.
Friend friendly? As a location, yes. For brunch not so sure.
Rating for dating? As a location, yes. Brunch dating? Is that a thing?
Tip? Not happening.
Change one thing? Enthusiasm.
Going back? Might try the a la carte at another time of day.

Compare & Contrast
Brunch at Club Trikini.

In Pictures
On Google Images

What's the story?
A basic, competent but passion-free brunch.

The Corredera Alto is brunch central, let's face it. Change here for Pez and all stations to San Ildefonso. The burnished browns and filament bulbs (drink!) of Maricastaña drew us in. Word of mouth had worked enough. We knew the name. 

And? Well, bread baskets are good barometers of brunches, and it looked like this.

And that's it. No croissants (bewildering, they're on the bar); no alternative breads (gluten-free should be on offer). Most importantly, no extra bits or bobs that feel like bonuses - mini muffins or chocolate cookies, say - to interest or surprise. They're what we've found in American places North and South this has to be compared to.

honestly:brunch

Una publicación compartida de honestlymadrid (@honestlymadrid) el Feb 18, 2018 at 5:49 PST

Jam came in a generous pot. Tomato - Room temperature? Tick! - the same. Oil was a nice-looking EV bottle.

The main events, from a list of four, were 

The bagel came with a lawnmower's worth of rucula/rocket and plenty of - very mild - salmon. I'd have like it punchier to contrast the other cheese and herbs. It came out tasting sweeter than I would have expected.

">We were impressed with the generous yoghurt portion, although the granola was more a sprinkling than a topping. Again, detail: why not a little pot with some extra to add to suit?

Service though? Lordy, but it feels like someone enjoys crisis management. Two servers on thirty-ish covers doesn't sound bad, but whatever their methodology is they made it feel very hard work.

Example. Does a 3-course brunch need five seperate deliveries? Cut travelling time. Use trays to bundle the drinks. Let us choose when to have our toast and yoghurt - bring them together too. It'd save everyone hassle. 70 minutes' occupancy involved a lot of waiting, not eating or relaxing. All this toing and froing means table management is all over the place, with neighbouring groups given markedly different time limits ("You've got till 2 pm!") or sometimes upped and moved. A famous duo - briefly sat next to us, in no-man's land - got reseated (presumably by a more social media-savvy server) to a much cosier corner "for as long as you want".

A mess, frankly.

The menu's not long but not as expensive as some, if 25% more than over the road. Is it VFM?

Depends. From food alone, no. It needs much more love and the feeling someone's proud of it. As an experience, it maybe is. The decor's smart and feels like somewhere; shabby chic/boho posh meets boutique hotel. It's not as mannered as some, although downstairs looks like it ought to be on Airbnb - just add a stuffed unicorn or monkey holding a pineapple.The crowd are surprisingly mixed, from 7 weeks to 70 plus. Never fear, there are phone-checking solo diners in chunky jumpers, as well as the odd famous face.

So that would make the package worth the money for some. But put food and drink first and you'll leave wishing they cared as much about it as they do keeping the famous happy.
Dish of the Day: Eggs Benedict.