Segovia and nearby, Madrid, Granada, Sevilla, Lisbon. Restaurants, wine bars, sites of interest. TIA. Casual, artisanal, Michelin-rated, a variety. Going in July.
In Madrid, same place I always recommend. Juan de Tolosa in the old town. The greatest steaks youâll ever eat and a nice, well priced (mainly Spanish) wine list.
I have not been to Granada and Seville yet. If you like High end Diver XO in Madrid is a must although I doubt you would be able to get in in July⌠but you never know. We also ate in Ălbora which was excellent.
In Segovia, which is a wonderful town there is a restaurant called Villena. I believe it is Michelin 1* and definitely worth the trip. It is attached to a wonderful hotel that I really wished we stayed in. Segovia needs a full day IMO. FYI no English was spoken in the restaurant when we were there.
In Lisbon there is a wine bar up by the castle. We went there twice. I thought it would be very touristy but if they figure out you know your stuff it is a great experience.
http://winebardocastelo.blogspot.com. Not a great website. They offer Portuguese wines only.
Enjoy!
George
Madrid: El Paraguas - was recommended by two of our friends who lived in MadridâŚand it lived up to the hype. Highly recommended.
Zalacain - steep prices but a place to treat yourself.
Seville - Vineria San Telmo- in the old town, great food and wine bar, good prices; relaxed and fun atmosphere. I truly enjoyed the dinner here years back!
Quite a few recs in this recent thread: Southern Spain recommendations - Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum - WineBerserkers
Bump and thanks to those who responded. Very helpful.
Well, itâs been 6 years but Trainera was the bomb for seafood in Madrid, you must get percebes! If you havenât ever had them , they will change your epicurean world.
Also in Madrid, Mercado Sam Miguel is fun with amazing bellotta that seemed like a bargain the. Lots of great prepared food options.
If you like Tapas here are a few that can I did in a crawl.
La Venencia is a must for authentic sherries and the best ever anchovies. The one must go in my mind.
Cervezia Cervantes (near the Westin) for octopus.
Cervezia Dolores for smoked salmon.
El Temperanillo (spelling?) was the best for wine overall.
All from 2011 so check current reviews. Also if youâre doing the cop is crawl know that you can get a 4 ounce glass of beer, you donât have to order a full beer at each place .
In Lisbon, Belcanto.
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Few years back we ate at Ramon Freixa in Madrid. I preferred it to the 3 Michelin star we did in San Sebastian. It was probably our favorite meal of our trip to Spain and was a relative bargain as I recall for the quality of food and service.
If you like Octopus, La PulperĂa de Victoria was good in a very casual setting.
Agree that Mercado San Miguel is fun and worth a visit.
In Segovia, I would also think about Restaurante Jose Maria for cochinilla (suckling pig). That is what Segovia is known for.
On our honeymoon in November, my wife and I went to Madrid for a few days before heading to Barolo:
We ate at Ramon Freixa and were underwhelmed considering it had two stars.
La Platea was next to our hotel (Gran Melia Fenix) and was a great place to get smaller bites and good wine. Gran Melia Fenix was super centrally located to just about every area.
Our favorite meal was at La Paloma. The wine list was pretty solid and we enjoyed a great 2003 LdH Tondonia. Menu | Restaurante La Paloma
Finally, you can easily have lunch everyday at Mercado San Miguel. There are so many great tapas of all kinds.
In Lisbon, if you have a fondness for GinâGin Lovers and LESS restaurant was a great find. great selection of the worlds gins and expert advice, with a nice attached restaurant.
This is the best in Segovia. I went to Meson de Candido. It is not as good as Jose Maria.
A two star in Madrid was our best meal in that city.
El Club Allard.
Fantastic.
Another vote for El Club Allard.
Botin in Madrid-oldest restaurant in the world-suckling pig
Segovia: Restaurant Duque, real good cochinilla, as good next day at California Bar Restaurant. Nice meal also at La Concepcion, great lobster salad, pigeon, and Dom 2000 was only 160âŹ.
Madrid: super lunch at Quintin, pheasant stew and green beans, cheese and charcuterie in a fun setting. Great home-style dinner at Julian de Tolosaâsausages and jamon, mushrooms, peppers, green salad, and steak. First steak a little tough, second betterânot best steak ever at all, but huge fun. Even though a T-bone, never saw the filet portion. Wonderful service. Great rice pudding. Super bread.
Good meal at Mich 2 star Santceloni, but the white wine pairings sucked and reds werenât much better. Should have ordered off list. Great desserts, pigeon delicious, some hits, lots of amuses. 5 kinds of bread, tomato bread great.
La Berenjenaâdive bar w ok wine, sub-par tapas, should have left and gone somewhere decent.
GranadaâLa Botilleriaâdecent, out of Vega Sicilia and Alion like every restaurant in Spain, though it is on every wine list. Really good veal dish, oxtail good, peppers great.
Now in Sevilla, staying at Leopold XIII, gorgeous hotel, prettiest I have ever seen. Good coffee and breakfast. Good meal at ConTenodor but not special. Chocolate tart good. Foie good. Duck good. Nothing great.
Ducked into a little jamon place and had some 5J, love the pata negra and Iberico jambons here.
Mechela is Seville, if it is not too late.
too late.
Seville tonightâLa Piemontesa. Absolutely outstanding thin crust pizza, average pastas, lousy steak. Friends loved their pork dish and its sauce. Wonderful service, subpar A/C, but it is still about 98 at 10 pm.
Following this thread because Iâm headed to Lisbon in November.