I hope everyone had a fantastic summer! We actually decided to stay in Madrid through July and August. We enjoy Madrid over this period, it’s quiet, the sales are still on and there is no traffic – bliss! Also, I hate crowds and unfortunately Spain, particularly at the beaches, is crowded at this time of year. Perhaps it’s because I’m Australian and we only have a population of 24 Million and a coastline of around 37,000 Kilometres – but lots of people means for me, lots of stress! Anyway, we enjoyed Madrid immensely. We frequented some of the nearby natural pools and I hit some of the more local ones and we visited some fabulous restaurants and great spots for a drink. It’s these places that I’m going to blog about today.
“The Principal Madrid Hotel” (off Gran Via) has stunning views over the city. This is a great place to take visitors for a drink. You can sit on the rooftop terrace, sipping a Gin Tonic and taking in the city vistas. We enjoyed a couple of drinks here but it was a hot day and the temperature started to get to me after a while. September would be spectacular!
“The Dear Hotel” (80 Gran Via), restaurant and lounge offer fantastic views over the city. We dined at the “Nice to meet you” sky lounge and enjoyed our meal immensely. The menu has a wide variety to choose from and the wine list is very reasonable.
For something a little different I highly recommend “The Pink Monkey” in Calle del Monte Esquinza, near Plaza Colon. This is a local restaurant of ours and quite new to the area. It offers Asian fusion food such as Thai green curry, dumplings and ceviche. Also, if you ask for picante here, you will get it! The dishes are packed with flavour and the staff are fabulous.
Another restaurant that is quite new is “Perrachica” in Calle Eloy Gonzalo, 10. I ate here with a group of girlfriends and the food was delicious. It’s a lovely restaurant with open spaces and a good menu selection.
For tapas in Madrid I always take visitors to “Mercado de la Reina” in Gran Via. In my opinion this offers some of the best tapas in the city. It gets very busy and I recommend getting there before 7:30, after this, the line for a table can extend out of the door.
“La Lateral” is another good restaurant for tapas. There are quite a few dotted throughout Madrid. The menu is interesting and quite extensive and will probably please even the fussiest eaters. Again, these restaurants get busy and unless you have a reservation, be prepared to wait a little for a table.
