MADRID La Mordida Tacos Y Cocteles

Trip: Europe May 2022

On our last night in Madrid, we met up with Cat for dinner at a Taco place next to the restaurant we went to on our first night in Madrid. We came here because we heard that Mat and his family wanted to try this, and we wanted to be social and meet Mat's parents and twin sister.

We walked to the restaurant and got there around 8PM, but it was still not open. We waited a while, not knowing if they would open or not.

 We finally got a table for the three of us. Mat's family came a little bit later and they got a table next to us.

We shared a nacho dish with Cat, and of course, tried some tacos.

Tacos Al Pastor

Nachos con Guacamole

Crepe dessert

Tomorrow, we would be flying home, after 19 fun days gallivanting around Europe. We lucked out, and passed our COVID test earlier today, a requirement to be allowed to fly into the U.S. during this pandemic time. By the time Cat's parents and sister arrived to Europe, this requirement would be lifted, making traveling a tiny bit easier.

MADRID Mercado de San Miguel

Trip: Europe May 2022

On our last full day in Madrid, we made a second attempt to eat at the Mercado de San Miguel. On our first attempt, we stopped in the middle of the afternoon and it was packed like sardines. Today, we made it a point to go right when the market opened, and it was so much better.

Pretty much little bowls of crab meat over seaweed salad at Crab, Crab, Crab

We picked one crabmeat thing to try -- good, but not extraordinary

Pretty much fried seafood at El Señor Martin

We picked a mix plate

Crispy pork belly looked so appetizing! It was good, but took forever to make

All kinds of salmon sashimi

And Salmon Tartar

We tried this salmon tartar

All kinds of mozzarella and burrata cheese

We tried the burrata on toast

Everything was very good, but the market place in Barcelona beats this one in Madrid.

SEVILLA 100 Montaditos

Trip: Europe May 2022

Prior to getting on the returning train to Madrid, we grabbed a quick dinner at the 100 Montaditos.

100 Montaditos is a chain restaurant specializing in small sandwiches.

We ordered three sandwiches and some homemade chips to share. It was a nice and quick break before the train ride back.

SEVILLA La Bartola

Trip: Europe May 2022

We took a day trip by train to Seville, and loved every minute of it.

We spent hours taking pictures of the beautiful Plaza de España, Sevilla before going to lunch at La Bartola.

The food was delicious, but we felt a tiny bit rushed as we were running late for the time slot at the Catedral de Sevilla, due to the fact that we spent too long at the Plaza de España.

Anchovies a La Bartola style

Vegetable Tempura with Porcini Mushroom sauce

Retinta Beef with roasted potatoes

Roasted lamb with cous-cous

MADRID Cerveceria O'Faro Finisterre

Trip: Europe May 2022

On our third day in Madrid, we were caught in the big celebration of Real Madrid CF winning the Futbol Championship Finals, so we decided to have dinner right near our hotel.

The Cerveceria O'Faro Finisterre can be seen from our hotel window. Mat and Cat met us for dinner. We spent almost two hours taking our time like the Spaniards do, and watching the huge street party on the big screen TV. 

Potatoes

Mushrooms

White asparagus

Large prawns

House Flan

 

MADRID Chocolateria San Gines

Trip: Europe May 2022

The Chocolateria San Gines was another highly recommended stop for churros by Rick Steves.

There was a long line, but it moved fairly fast, and it was a nice short break on our sightseeing walk of Madrid.

We ordered the skinny churros and chocolate dip that was very dark and very thick.

It was very good, but Cat thinks this is a tourist trap. But we don't mind.

Long lines

Chocolate churros

MADRID La Mallorquina

Trip: Europe May 2022

On this second day in Madrid, we followed Rick Steve's Madrid City Walk, and stopped at La Mallorquina per his recommendation.

We tried a couple of pastries, the famous Meringue and the Napoletana Chocolate, but we were not very impressed, as they were too sweet. The Napoletana Chocolate was a kind of chocolate croissant, but was just not very flakey. And the meringue was too sweet and too messy to be sharing in the street.

This is a pass for us.

Meringue and Napoletana Chocolate

 

MADRID Bahiana Club

Trip: Europe May 2022

We finally made it to Madrid to see Cat. The subway station to our hotel was very packed with futbol fans. Apparently the Madrid team Real Madrid CF made it to the UEFA Champions League finals against Liverpool, and they were playing in Paris tonight.

For Madrid, we did not make any dinner reservation ahead of time, because we wanted to be flexible to match Cat and maybe Mat and his family's dinner plans.

On the first day in Madrid, Cat met up with us at the Plaza de España, Madrid and we walked around until dinner time.

Cat did not have any specific restaurant in mind, but she walked us to an area with several restaurants, and we chose the Bahiana Club after looking through their menu.

Cat was vegetarian, so we selected several vegetarian Tapas dishes to share, and ordered a steak and frites dish for ourselves. Everything was delicious, and we loved that Cat ordered our food in Spanish for us!

In the middle of our dinner, Real Madrid CF scored a goal, and the whole area lit up with screams and celebrations. Real Madrid ended up winning the Championship finals on our first night there.

Aubergines and parmesan croquettes

Burrata with assorted tomatoes

Zucchini, avocado and cilantro salad

Steak and frites

Passion fruit mousse