Casa Julian de Tolosa — Restaurant in Madrid

Wow, I wish there was a way that you could give out special awards on Google, because this is one of my all time favourite restaurants.

Starting from the moment when we walked in and were greeted with warmth and welcome, to the moment we left this is a very special place.

We originally wanted to book for their restaurant in Tolosa, but it was closed while we are in San Sebastian, so we opted to book for one of their Madrid restaurants instead, expecting it to be true to what we'd seen of Tolosa.

It is central, so just a 10 minute walk from Sol.

The Maitre'd was brilliant. When we wanted to order he talked us through the menu and steered us away from some things and towards others. He was helpful with wine advice too.

We started with Jamon Iberico Bellota, which was incredible. We also had half portions of Leeks and Tomato with Anchovies. Both dishes were excellent and huge!

Then the steak.

We ordered ours with Pirillo Peppers which were beautiful and really complemented the steak.

The steak was on another level. We had a t-bone of Spanish beef between us. The fillet side tasted like the richest roast beef, and the sirloin side was the sweetest piece of marbling and flavour we've had in some time. There were a few mouthfuls from near the bone that were quite possibly the best steak I've ever eaten.

Dessert was Rooftops and Cigarillos, and Vanilla Millefeuille. Again both so good. The R&Cs were so sweet and buttery. Washed down with a lovely glass each of Moscatel and px sherry.

If that weren't enough, I got to meet the chef, who is the brother of the chef who runs the Tolosa restaurant. He was so lovely, and so humble when I told him how good his food was.

A real top five restaurant of all time. It's rare I'd want to go back somewhere so soon, but I'd go back today if I wasn't headed north from Madrid.

Couldn't recommend...

I appologize for having to write this review, I went to Casa Julian last night with the expectation of enjoying a true bascan experience. Started with artichoques, which were ok, but lacking flavor. Then moved on to a chuleton, the first alarm was that they never showed the cut, something that after about 1,000 chuletons tried, is a first. By costume, respect or even pride, restaurants always had the cut brought to the table prior to it being cooked. Then they brought a very thin piece extremely burned on both sides. I am not one to return food, so we ate it and mentioned it at the end. As a show of appology they gifted us with a cheesecake, however charged for the chupitos, yet another tradition that I have become acostumed to having chupitos on the house.

The answer from the servers was, you should have returned it. My point of view, it should have never been served, it should have been shown before cooking it. A returned plate of any kind creates such a bad vibe, it is just not cool. I am sure the chef has cooked enough of these to know it was burnt. Bear in mind im not refering to overcooked, im refering to the right temperature inside with burnt carbonized crust.

Servers were cordial and never confrontational, but ok service at best.

First time I ever have to write a bad review of any restaurant in Madrid. I travel here for business a week every month and a half. I have had my fair share of food encounters in this beautiful city. Will never come back...

Exceptional. Stumbled into this beautiful restaurant without a reservation, looking for a place to have a few drinks and dessert after an afternoon at the San Miguel market. We were nearly full walking in; needless to say we were a bit shocked that the smallest portion of beef they offered was around 2 lbs. The cut, size, and doneness of the steak was not up for discussion according to our very polite server.

Not to be deterred, we ordered one steak to be split for the three of us (domestic beef) and a bottle of vermouth. The bread service was excellent and well worth the cost.

The steak was, without a doubt, among the best I have ever had. The doneness was on the rare side. As one who typically enjoys steaks medium to medium-rare, I can tell you this was the best rare steak I have ever had. Impeccably seasoned with a gorgeous crust, the meat was tender and buttery to the last bite.

We stayed until the end of their lunch service enjoying the conversation and a beautiful dessert of Basque-style cheesecake. Surprisingly it was not crowded.

We loved Madrid but dining experiences were hit and miss. This place was easily my favorite of the ones we had and I was not even hungry when I walked in. The next time I am in Spain I will be sure to return and with an...