When Madrid enters you, Madrid never leaves. It is a conquest that is not progressive, it is love at first sight, Madrid is one of those crushes where any indifference is dispersed in just a few minutes.
Facing the summer, this year less strange than the previous one, we discovered some very Madrid places where we can enjoy a fun snack, a sustainable and healthy breakfast, a decoration of ten and music with which to taste a sophisticated cocktail.
‘Dani’ at Four Seasons: start the day with super views of Madrid
The action of having breakfast contains an unparalleled pleasure, but sunbathing on the terrace ‘Dani’ –by Dani García– of the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid leaves you speechless. It is pleasant, beautiful and has delicious breakfasts with the best views of the city to start the day!
Just walking into the hall of one of the most luxurious hotels in the capital is worth it. It is bright, has an imposing decoration and is very flowery. On this occasion, in addition, Four Seasons has chosen for its vases one of the most beautiful flowers available: colored carnations everywhere.
After that, we must go up to the seventh floor and reach the spectacular terrace where Dani García – the chef of the three Michelin stars – has made a wonderful menu available to customers and, also, always available, whatever time it is. Omar Mallen, executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid, explains that the concept they have created “is very special because it has the charm of a Four Seasons brasserie.”
Mallen also details that it all starts with breakfast. “We have a very rich letter. But this time we have prepared a papaya filled with granola and yogurt, a very natural, fresh and healthy, an aspect that we take into account in the hotel. And, as something more mythical of the breakfast dishes, we have some eggs benedict based on smoked salmon and a very visual nori hollandaise sauce and we finish with a grilled butter croissant stuffed with king crab ”.
Dani’s full breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid. @FourSeasonsDani’s rooftop breakfast with Four Seasons Hotel Madrid is followed by food service and this, something that is very Spanish, always goes on. “We have a lot of late, which is very Madrid, with cocktails, live music and a DJ. And so we can make it to dinner, ”says Mallen.
Papaya with granola and yogurt. @FousSeasonsAll kinds of clients come to this very special space located in the Plaza de Canalejas to enjoy the sun and Dani García’s menu, from families and friends to business people who close their projects with the views of the most special rooftops in the world. “It is dedicated to a large crowd of audiences, especially those in Madrid because, despite being inside a hotel, our flow of people is very Madrid,” says the executive chef.
In short, the rooftop of the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid is a tribute to one of the most beautiful, fun and fantastic cities in the world.
‘La Cantina Divina’: sustainable food and a huge social heart!
Nave María is an old carpentry from the 60s located in the Tetuán neighborhood that has been converted into a meeting and transformation place where you can take beautiful photos, present a book and eat divine food.
Nave María also has a huge heart, and from there, right from that spacious heart, ‘La Cantina Divina’ was born, a beautiful gastronomic project where good food – fresh and committed – is combined with a social-work effort helping to young people at risk of exclusion to have a training, a job and a future.
One of the tables of ‘La Cantina Divina’ in Nave María. @ NaveMaría“It is a solidarity cooking project, a Restaurant – Cooking School where the boys – between 16 and 23 years old – who serve at the tables and are helping in the kitchen are at risk of inclusion. So our main objective is to give them a future, a real integration, and for that we have met Cesal, an NGO that since 2007 has taken over the management of the CEIP of Tetuán and has been working on social issues since the 1980s ”, explains Borja Zausen, one of the creators of Nave María.
Beet hummus from ‘La Cantina Divina’. @ NaveMaría’La Cantina Divina’, as Marta Torán, another of the founders of Nave María, says proudly and smilingly, is so called because “all the boys who work here are divine”. Regarding the menu, he assures that “you can eat everything because we open from 9.30 am. So you can have some great toasts with avocado and fresh produce from nearby farmers, a hake with vegetables, some great sandwiches if you want something quicker, even some cheeks with mashed potatoes or a vegan burger ”, he details.
Jams made in ‘La Cantina Divina’. @ NaveMaríaOf course, one of the super successful dishes on the menu is ‘El Felipe’: “A hamburger on a brioche bread with shredded meat marinated for hours. And all well caserito and thinking about sustainability! Our meat comes from cows from happy pastures, our lettuces from the Nave María garden and fish from Galicia. We take care of the planet and of our neighborhood, of Tetuán ”.
Natural salads made in ‘La Cantina Divina’ with proximity markets. @Nave MariaZausen, who confesses that he spends the day there, is clear that the meeting around the table is essential for people: “Now that we can meet again, what better way than to do it in a place with this light, which gives energy, with these delicious dishes and in a space with such good vibes and with so much history ”. “Really! Everyone who comes here is delighted, not only because of the project, but because the food, with forgiveness, is great ”, concludes Torán, delighted.
‘Manero’: a very traditional tavern with great music
‘Manero’ is a tavern, or as they call it, a “neotavern” –decorated by the well-known interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán– where you can have a very good tapa at the bar and at the high tables at the entrance. You can see endless wines, cabinets with oysters and caviar, and a vermouth that they make especially for ‘Manero’ customers.
Carlos Bosch, owner and director of ‘Manero’, proudly explains that it is “a bar, and I say a bar and nothing else because this place has the essence of what we, throughout our lives, have known as bars because it has a high social burden. This, without a doubt, for me is important for the culture of Spain itself. We are made of meetings in bars ”.
Squid sandwich ‘Manero’ style. @MorningUpon entering through the ‘Manero’ gate, just a few meters from the imposing Puerta de Alcalá, we could start dancing unceremoniously. Your feet go on an absolutely textured floor from Milan, in the most classic way of the Roman domus, because from the moment you open the door, only songs sound. You want to order a cocktail, a wine or whatever it is necessary to cool off from the summer walk in the El Retiro park, which is also nearby, and accompany the snack with a fun tapa.
In this sense, Bosch details that in ‘Manero’ there is an informal cover concept. “A snack of snacks, not traditional tapas (which too), but gourmet tapas with which to enjoy to the fullest because, rather than being hungry, what you want is to taste”.
Tomato salad and salted ‘Manero’. @MorningA pleasant concept that, in addition, does not forget the traditional dishes such as tripe, meatballs, lamb, omelette or its famous calamari sandwich. Those who love quality cheeses and sausages will also enjoy because they have a small area, set up like an old pork meat factory with a small wooden and glass counter, where to choose an acorn-fed ham and a good oil to drink with wine or vermouth. .
At the end of the establishment, there is also a space dedicated to cocktails where you can have a drink prepared by a bartender and sit down to socialize with friends at low tables.
‘Manero’ sausage area. @MorningIn short, explains this businessman, “we come to recover that pride of tapas bars so that they have an international and special position. Of course, I will also say that we have not done anything new, we have simply recovered what we had, but we have put it in value. What we want is that people have a good time, people are not only going to eat, they are also going to socialize ”.
Vermouth ‘Manero’. @Morning
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
