La Sanabresa — Restaurant in Madrid

We got there at 8:19pm on a march friday night and already there were about 10 people lined up. Pretty much everyone that got there by 8:25pm or so got a table as they do have a rather large seating area. You can preview the menu outside their front door while you wait. Two of us had the fancier 32E 2 course meal, and another had the more simple 16E 3 course meal. For apps we had the house made croquettes, battered eggplant, and cooked chard (actually tasty). Comes with rather dry table bread. For mains my T bone steak had a nice crust and had decent seasoning, but for a steak barely 1.5 cm thick, the insides were almost raw. The quality of the steak was also quite poor. Lamb chops were very thin (under 1cm) but tasted good and were cooked all the way thru. My wife had the tripe dish served stew like but it was way overcooked and mushy (I like a bit of chew in my tripe). The fries were hot but not quite crispy enough for my liking. For dessert we had a cooked banana with whipped cream and chocolate. Wine was the bottle shown in my photo, which tasted like a cheap red wine that I would use for cooking. Overall a quick and hearty meal with large portions and affordable, but don't expect expertly prepared dishes to come...

I'm partly reluctant to even post a review. This place is clearly loved by locals and I do not want to take away from that. At the same time, I wish a review like mine existed to steer me away from this place, because it did not mesh with my taste.

So, to get my biases out of the way. I ain't from here. I'm not particularly interested in authenticity, except if it tastes good. Service and decoration can only make a great meal better, they can't fix mediocre food. I like modern cooking styles and flavors.

For this set of preferences, I didn't really enjoy this restaurant. We had the prix fixe menu. I had the grilled asparagus, and my wife had the grilled mixed vegetables. By modern standards, the asparagus were mushy and overcooked. I'm not sure what vegetable even was the grilled mixed, but again it was mushy and possibly oversalted.

For the mains, the veal was good, and the only thing we had that we were overall happy with. The escopar de pollo was okay but it could have used a sauce. The potatoes were soaked with oil.

For dessert, the ice cream was fine. But in the flan, the caramel was burnt.

Suffice to say that we have had many better lunches for similar prices during our time in Madrid. We would not come again. Your...

Located close to the Antón Martín metro station, this is a traditional Spanish restaurant perennially packed with diners. I arrived at around 15:00, just an hour before closing time, and even then not a vacant seat could be found. Thankfully, I was the only one waiting and was seated soon after. The menú del día (€16,00) offers hearty fare with insane portions at a ridiculously cheap price. I ordered the pisto manchego, roasted pork ribs, and flan with cream. Wine and bread are included free of charge in the menú del día. The food was plain and no-frills, but delicious, authentic and substantial. Restaurant staff were a bit brusque, which was understandable given the busy conditions and that it is mainly for locals; however, despite speaking minimal English, the waiters did try their best to accomodate foreign tourists with minimal Spanish. Atmosphere was leisurely and comfortable. Pricing was insanely cheap for the quality and quantity. Reservations are not accepted. In all, if you want to try authentic Spanish food, you can't go wrong with...