Frida — Restaurant in Madrid

A new, modernish restaurant where not so long ago there was another follower of fashion joint named "Bon Vivant & Co". This Frida is part of what they now call Grupo Larrumba, which includes mega hits Pipa & Co in Chamartin and Marieta in Castellana, and because of that it is supposed to be full of pretty women, and women intending to be pretty, typically, if this is at all like its brothers, on the thirty something segment

And in our visit we didn't see anything that made us contradict these prejudices. But maybe because it was on a Sunday lunch, atmosphere was more biased to what one could call pretty young mothers, as there were many families sitting there (including ours). In any case, one can only guess that there should be a really nice public for dinner

The other prejudice that would come from, for instance, Pipa & Co, is that food should be eclectic, not expensive, but pretty superficial. So it is a bit of a surprise to have two very nice starters, even if they're not so original for the times. The Ensaladilla Rusa is really lovely, surprisingly better than it looks, and potentially acceptable among the best in Madrid. And Burratina sobre Tomate Rosa is also quite good. Level goes down a bit with the mains, with pizzas that pretend to be original to the extent that they could be considered something else (and not really pizzas) and a pasta dish which is nice to have but not so much nicer than one at say, Gino's

Service, at least the one provided by a young woman with Galician accent, is really good, or at least really well intentioned, and compensates for some problems in the kitchen that provoke delays in the food. They even invite us to the hiper caloric, but nice desserts, to compensate!

The place is lovely and has a quiet environment (maybe too quiet for Bon Vivant & Co to survive). One can only hope that the new owners, the Larrumberos, will be able to make it a success. We might pay a visit or two...

It's not a coincidence it has a bad overall rating for Madrid standards. So here is my story: booked the restaurant for a birthday celebration. A group of 8 in which 1 is vegan. Chose this one as it seemed to be a forward-thinking restaurant with both normal and vegan options, with the potential to please everyone. As a birthday celebration, I needed a cake, so I tried to talk to them. Firstly, you cannot call the restaurant, you talk to a call center of the group that manages this and several other restaurants. Secondly, after I explained the situation, I was informed that they could only offer me their own non-vegan cake for the price of 55 euros (!!!). They also told me that my vegan friend would only have fruit as a dessert option and that I could not take anything from outside the restaurant, not even a slice of vegan cake for this one friend. Sure enough we went to another restaurant and we had a great time. In summary, don't get mistaken by the hipster vibe and marketing. They are just an over hyped chain restaurant. Got famous because it featured on a Spanish TV show, but they are as helpful, friendly and forward-thinking as your local McDonald's. Not to mentioned the overpriced food, that happily we could avoid.

Response to the owner: no, thank you. My experience with this restaurant was already bad enough without stepping onto the place. After that and after reading other reviews, I don't have reasons to believe it would change once I'm inside and have to have to pay overpriced food (55 euros for a small cake?) and...

Great selection of white and red wines. If you are the type of person who really enjoys mediterranean cousine with a touch of modern simple but intense flavour concept, you should definitely pass by. During the summer they have tables outside. However if you want to make dinner plans, yuo better call and make a reservation. The place is not very big so it is easy to fill. Even in that case, you can enjoy your meal and the conversation because the distribution of the interior and the sitting arangement is smart and confi. Be prepared you might have to wait a bit fot your dish, especially in summer when there are also tables outside. However the waiting is totally worth it. A Great location to get started in the evening or to enjoy lunch with friends after shopping around the botiques...