Five of the best restaurants for a gourmet getaway near Madrid
Good ideas in the provinces of Toledo, Ávila, Segovia, Guadalajara, Cuenca and Madrid to pamper yourself in difficult times
These are not easy times for tourism in general or for restaurants in particular. However, many cooks resist the avalanche and keep their houses open with an enormous effort in safety and with the usual quality of their products and preparations. The gastronomic critic of ABC this week puts his magnifying glass on destinations in central Spain that deserve a break.
Ivan Sardinia
Iván Cerdeño is probably the young Spanish chef with the greatest projection. Installed in the cigarral del Ángel, with excellent views of Toledo, his is a local kitchen that takes advantage of the Tagus orchards and the resources that this environment provides. Elaborations of a high technical level, great elegance and a lot of flavor. The popular recipe book updated and successfully brought to haute cuisine.
Elena House
In a La Mancha mansion converted into a food court, the chef Áxel Smyth works with ecological products that he obtains in the environment and that has allowed him to obtain the “slow food” certificate. Local cuisine in a menu that is changed every three months to adapt to the season.
Pallium
Jesús Ángel Gómez-Monedero trained as a cook in various restaurants, but mainly in El Bohío, in Illescas. And that is reflected in its cuisine, open to all influences but focused on the Castilian-La Mancha tradition, and especially on hunting. One of its main attractions is the homemade breads, an aspect that is not usually cared for and that here are of great quality. The room is effectively run by his brother Isaac.
The store
For more than twenty years, the cook Isidora Beotas and her husband, Julio Delgado, have been running the room, in charge of the best restaurant in the capital of Avila. A gastronomic reference in which, in addition to eating very well, excellent views are enjoyed. Current cuisine dishes, without excesses, which alternate with others from the Avila tradition. It also has a very complete cellar. And always, kindness in abundance.
Siboney
