Pez Tortilla — Restaurant in Madrid

I strongly urge you to run away from this... no matter how hungry you are... We entered this place as a group of 4 people after typical lunch hours (around 3pm). The place looked like a sardine box, there are bathrooms with more space than this establishment and every single table and corner space was filled with people. We were hungry so we decided to order anyway, in hope that we could eat by the balcony or in the mean time a table would clear... boy were we wrong. Not only did the tables not clear, but even more people kept entering this claustrophobic nightmare... and the staff kept serving them instead of telling them they're full!! Unbelievable... Anyways, because of the lack of space, 2 of us ended up eating next to the cash register (resulting in their private space being constantly intruded by people who wanted to order and pay for their food...) and the other 2 in the balcony by the entrance to the kitchen/bar. At one point, they were able to join us and after this I had to ask for a fork for my friend who had none, so what I did was reach out to a guy I saw inside the bar (who looked like he was doing absolutely nothing) and ask for a fork, to which he rudely replied something in the lines of "oh this is the kitchen you know, you have to ask to another guy", with a smirk on his face.... or maybe he didn't even understand what I asked, since after that I spotted him only texting on his phone and standing still in some place staring at the people that were actually working. After this, we managed to eat at least something of what we ordered and we were ready to leave. Mind you, this place is still chaotic, noisy and filled to the brim at this stage... My friend was trying to ask people if he could pass through, to which some just ignored him and others blatantly said no. Highly irritated, I stepped forward and start to gently push people or touching their shoulders while constantly saying sorry, having met the same rudeness as my friend, I then switched to forcely push my body against these people and after this we were finally able to leave this place, never to come back ever again. I'm leaving the review of the actual food at the end on purpose, because this experience as a whole overpowers everything else: we tasted 3 different tortillas and most of us thought they tasted good. They were slightly runny on the inside but...

The following is purely subjective

Pez tortilla certainly has made its name in Madrid, and well loved by thousands who are fans of a more liquid center and a good time.

To me, the tortillas are outstanding as I do love a liquid center. I do think it’s a bit overpriced and overrated. The tortillas are good, and people should try it. But I honestly think a lot of other shops around also serve good tortillas that don’t need you to wait for that long. The lines at this place is atrocious, so if you don’t mind, pop over to cara B that’s 100m away from this store. It’s the same shop. Either way, this place is so famous that there’s always a line and it’s always, ALWAYS, crowded. I guess it’s a burden to bear when you are so famous and everyone loves your tortilla.

Anyways, if you are a tourist, I’d recommend going to this place and give it a try. But if you are also antisocial and hate crowds, do avoid this place as the place will quite literally suffocate you.

Ending on a positive note: great tortilla and very fairly...

This was our first stop just after arriving in Madrid as our stay was close by and we had to wait a little before the checking in, and it was a great start to our trip! The bar is small, and looks very local :) We ordered one goat's cheese-spinach and one parmesan-sundried tomato tortillas and both were really good, and a good portion for the price (around 3.4eur I think). We also tried the croquettes, which were really good as well - crunchy on the outside, with a rich, creamy, and piping-hot filling inside. There are a few beers to choose from, and the service was also nice (but the poor bartender looked like she can barely manage with all the serving/bartending/cleaning up, it was quite busy! Kudos to her).

And addressing the comments about the place being a tad untidy - that is true, but I have read somewhere that here in Spain in places like tavernas and bars, the floor being a bit dirty means it's a popular place and it should not stop one from enjoying the food...