Ready for a restaurant that has a little bit of everything? Local friends of ours took us to dinner at El Jardín de la Máquina (http://eljardindelamaquina.es/#)where we were impressed by the atmosphere and the food. The restaurant is located at Avda. Victoria s/n – 28023 Madrid. And yes – there is valet parking and a coat check!! I highly recommend making reservations!
What I loved is that the restaurant is broken down into several areas so you never feel you are in an overcrowded restaurant. One glance at the kitchen though and the size and fast pace of the chefs lets you know that they are feeding a lot of people! We started off at the bar while waiting for our friends (we lucked out and the babysitter came early so we were out the door). The drinks were delicious and several people were enjoying tapas and drinks sitting around the bar.
We wandered around the restaurant with our friends upon their arrival and they gave us a tour from a small dining room for just your party, to a more intimate cozy area to enjoy your food and conversation to a larger lively area to laugh and enjoy the food. As it is still cold there was no one in the gardens or terrace but we ventured a look and both areas looked gorgeous. As a mother I was excited to hear that on Sundays the kids roam the gardens happily and are entertained in the kid’s corner (actually a large room with toys, face painting, video games and movies – you can be sure we will be visiting on a Sunday with kids in tow!) During the summer months I have been told that the upstairs floor turns into a bar with dancing – yes we will be going back and I will let you know!
The food was right inline with the rest of the restaurant – tasty and filling. We ordered several dishes to share and it seemed the food kept coming. They have many specials depending on the season – we greatly enjoyed the seafood dishes especially but they have a wide range from rices to meats too!
From the moment we were greeted until the moment they helped us with our coats and returned us to our cars – the service was impeccable. The staff was friendly and happy to accommodate our requests efficiently (including moving a spotlight so it didn’t hit our dear friend in the eyes). Enjoy!
