Casa Mortero — Restaurant in Madrid

AVOID Came with high expectations as this is a Michelin star restaurant with great reviews. However, I would avoid this place. Everything is very heavy and oily. This was the worst restaurant and the worst Michelin I have ever been to.

We ordered the following as recommended by our waiter:

Croquettes: overcooked and slightly burnt and you could taste the burned flavour. Very heavy gravy with no other flavour. 3/10

Duck rice: this dish was horrible. It was bitter. I eat alot of rice and I've never had bitter rice. I'm not even sure how this even happens (?!) There was barely any duck and there was a thick layer of oil at the bottom. The crispy skin just added extra oiliness to the dish. 0/10 I had duck rice a few days ago at Arume and that dish was excellent.

Tripe soup: was excellent with a nice Smokey flavour. I don't like tripe but it was well done. 8/10

The waiter came over for the bill and I politely gave my feedback and he began to mansplain to me that some dishes are very hit or miss and controversial depending on what someone likes. Like obviously some people will not like certain foods but I like rice and I like duck so I'm not sure what his point was. He then tried to blame his colleague the first waiter who recommended the dishes to us that he should have explained that the duck dish has a very "strong flavour that is bitter" . I made it clear I was not arguing about the bill that was not the purpose of my feedback but he continued to argue with me in a very defensive tone that this was my fault for ordering the dish and that I had bad taste and it was the fault of his colleague.

I disagreed with him and informed him that the waiter who made recommendations was very professional and this has nothing to do with him. A restaurant should stand by the quality and consistency of their dishes. Especially a Michelin star. Don't tell me that some people like your food and some don't. Take responsibility for the feedback I'm giving you. Strive to be better.

Overall, this was the worst restaurant I have been to during my time in Spain. And the worst Michelin....

Horrible service. It’s a shame to leave such a bad review about a place with pretty decent food, but the service experience is enough to prevent me from returning.

Waited around 30 mins for drinks after reminding waiter several times, overcharged for said drinks, and the worst was the food order. Put in our order for dinner and when the main dish came, which we ordered fries for, it was not accompanied by fries. We asked for them and were told they take awhile….but we had placed our order around 45 mins before. Fries came, 20 mins after we finished the meat. And the waiter asked if we still wanted them. This is absolutely pathetic: bring them severely late and not just leave them considering you made the mistake? It’s 5€ fries, but the gesture of making the mistake and then asking if we still wanted them put a bad taste in my mouth.

It’s a nice place, but there are a million other nice places in Madrid where they take better care of customers. Won’t be returning.

In addition, we were there on Friday night around 8:30pm and our waiter was absolutely terrible. Please take note that he had no idea what he was doing. Other waiter who supplemented our terrible one was...

What a gem! Casa Mortero offers attentive service with high quality ingredients in simple, yet powerful, Spanish dishes. Everything was thoughtfully curated, with flavors we'd never experienced before. My partner and I ordered the croquettes, the torrezno (pork belly), duck with rice stew, 30-day dry aged beef, and cheesecake. Portions were unexpectedly generous for 2; a single main would have sufficed. Nonetheless, we savored every bite. The highlights were the torrezno and beef - for one, perfectly crispy, and for the other, perfectly tender. As both are on the heavier side, in hindsight we would have preferred a lighter starter (steak tartare or mussels perhaps). If you are in Madrid, this place is a must try!

P.S. A suggestion for my American friends that I wish I had known - I would err on the side of caution before ordering more than you can finish, as takeaway is not a custom here. I was excited to try a variety of dishes, ignorant of the cultural implications of takeaway from a high-end restaurant. Sincere apologies if we offended the staff - the meal...