Bodega de los Secretos — Restaurant in Madrid

By far the worst experience I have had in Madrid.

We were a party of 3 with starters, main course, drinks and wine.

The food - At best mediocre. The ingredients seemed of high quality, however seasoning lacked. For starters I ordered the 6 scallops. They were all cooked differently, some to little, some very nice and others too much. Seasoning lacked here, it did not taste of much, other than the green salt used on top. I ordered the sirloin steak with mushroom sauce for mains. The mushroom sauce lacked mushroom flavor and salt, it mainly tasted of the cream used in the sauce, disappointing. I ordered the sirloin steak medium rare, it came out raw, so it was sent back. They also didn't apologize for this, which i would assume is common courtesy? Once I got the new steak, it turned out to be the exact same piece I had previously sent back that had just been put in the oven. For this mistake I expected a new steak, sauce and potatoes, not the exact same plate i sent back.

Service - Our first and main server was very polite and well-spoken in english, this was very much appreciated! Some communication difficulties with others, but not harmful for the overall experience.

The atmosphere - Was absolutely horrendous unfortunately. The table next to us was a party of 6-7, that were ear-deafening loud for more than 1 hour straight, which destroyed the entire experience, and definitely not only for our table, but for everyone seated within 5-6 tables. The party continuously shouted, sang and banged the table very loudly, how is this acceptable in this setting? The staff did absolutely nothing about this, how are nobody from the staff taking responsibility?? It is not my job as a paying guest to tell other guests to please lower their voices, that is the job of the staff to use their common sense, very very very disappointing. We skipped desert because of the atmosphere being too chaotic, stressful and unpleasant. When we confronted the staff about the horrible atmosphere, they said we were not the only ones who had complained, but that they could not do anything about it, only their manager could. This is to me the absolute worst response in this case, as they have known that an issue has been present, but ignored it, this is to me very unprofessional and disappointing.

Overall - Bodega de los Secretos sold us an expectation of above average food enjoyed in a setting of secrecy and "low-keyness" being that the entire restaurant is in a basement and dim lit. However, this expectation was not even close to being met, primarily because of the lack of control of the setting and atmosphere by the staff. I think you can have a very nice evening at this place, and clearly a lot of people has, however my visit was ruined by major flaws that can be controlled/corrected by the staff, but weren't, thus only 1...

Spain in the spring is magical for many reasons, but especially after the hustle of Beirut, the center of Madrid put me completely at ease.

After venturing all around Retiro Park from the Chueca neighborhood (where we stayed at the Only You Boutique Hotel) my boyfriend and I needed lunch. I googled some places while we strolled through yet another impeccably clean neighborhood.

Los Secretos came up, but my low international reception didn’t give us clear directions. We passed by it three times before looking up to see a tiny sign nailed to the building over a plain glass door that opened up to a small, empty room.

The room was the entrance to the restaurant, but it was little more than a closet—just a podium, couch, bookshelf, and a staircase. No one was in sight. Being the brave tourist I am, I descended downstairs alone.

Secrets, indeed! I love names and titles that live up to their preceded reputation. Los Secretos is deep underground, built centuries ago, ancient bricks carving out the hillside to create little cubbies for tables and chairs. The humidity was palpable compared to the crisp afternoon outside.

Being the Americans in town, we often were the first and sometimes only diners for lunch or 7pm “dinner”. We couldn’t get onto their delayed food schedule, so we arrived right when restaurants opened. That worked well for us, since we enjoy quiet dining.

This was by far the best restaurant we discovered in Madrid. The mystery, the age, the long winding labyrinth from the back to the stairs...I would come here every week if I lived in Madrid.

And the food was delicious. I remembered to snap a pic of my duck entree, but was too hungry to remember for the appetizer (tuna tartar that was fabulous) and my boyfriend’s chicken entree. I’ll post those if I find them in his phone.

Highly recommend going out of your way to visit this delightful establishment. You won’t be...

The interior of the restaurant is simply stunning! A very unique and romantic setting dating back to the 17th Century. The individual caves are stunning and offer a good level of privacy whilst the choice of background music complemented the atmosphere and setting perfectly. The menu provided a more than adequate choice and we opted for the Pulpo a la Brasa and Huevos cabreados to start. Both dishes were excellent although the Pulpo was the star of the show, the flavor combinations were just perfect and it was beautifully presented. For the main course, we chose the Solomillo and Rabo de Toro. Unfortunately, the steak was overcooked resulting in a tough and chewy texture, although the accompanying garnish of vegetables was beautiful. The Oxtail which was served off the bone was delicious. For dessert, we shared the Tarta de queso, which was homemade, creamy, and served deconstructed, with the tart fruit compote and crumb on the side. Now for the negative! Unfortunately, the service left a lot to be desired. Because you are tucked away in your own private cocoon it is difficult to see the waiting staff and if you need anything, you need to wait until they are directly in front of your table to get their attention. When the waitress enquired how our main courses were we brought it to her attention that the steak was unfortunately overcooked. Her response was "sorry about that", but there was no offer to replace the meal or offer a different solution. At the end of the meal, we had to request the bill twice, and when it did arrive it was another tables bill! Slow to respond to requests, the staff needed to be more customer-focused. Overall though we loved the food, atmosphere, and very...