Can Punyetes — Restaurant in Madrid

Had a great experience at Can Punyetes in Madrid! If you’re looking for authentic calçots (calçotada), this is the place to go. The grilled spring onions were perfectly cooked—soft on the inside with a nice smoky flavor—and they paired so well with the romesco sauce.

I also tried the caracoles (snails) and grilled ribs (Tira). The snails were tasty but a bit oily, so I’d recommend eating them with the calçots. The ribs were simple but well-seasoned and cooked over charcoal, giving them a nice smoky taste.

The restaurant itself has a cozy, rustic vibe, kind of like an old Catalan countryside spot. I went to the location near Plaza Mayor, and it was mostly locals when I arrived right at opening. The staff was friendly and even showed me how to eat the calçots properly.

Tips: ✔ If you’re visiting during calçot season (Nov–Mar), definitely give them a try. ✔ No online reservations, so if you don’t want to wait, go early (I went at 1 PM and it was empty, but it filled up fast). ✔ They have a great selection of wine—calçots go really well with cava or red wine.

Overall, the food was solid, the prices were fair, and it’s a great spot to try something different in Madrid. Would...

I went to this place with my girlfriend in hope to eat in a good Spanish restaurant, but I was extremely disappointed. I don’t know even where to begin. The waiter was rude and he literally threw every dish we ordered in front of us on the table; the main courses were very minimal and seemed like a joke, my girlfriend ordered the “Iberian secret” and she only got two small pieces of meat, while I ordered the pork feet (since everything else I tried to order instead apparently they didn’t have it) and it was just bust a bunch of bones with disgusting old fat around that almost made me puke, and the side course for both of us was a slice of bread with a tin layer of tomato sauce, since the waiter didn’t even asked us if we wanted potatoes or vegetable as sides while they were options in the menu. And for the dessert, they brought us the castellana cream which was too black and tasted only of burned food. Avoid this place...

Really enjoyed our experience here. We came early at 13.30 and it was almost empty but filled up fast with locals. I hadn't had calçots (long green spring-style onions looking like thin leeks) for years. The staff were kind and patient, and reminded me how to peel them and get to the soft creamy centres. They were great and so were the large grilled mushrooms dipped in romaresco sauce (red peppers and almonds).

As a main course we both had the tasty Catalan 'butifarra' sausage which was excellent with its large slice of bread rubbed with fresh tomato and olive oil. We finished off sharing a crema catalana. The red house wine served in a carafe was...