Cafe Gijon, Madrid

We built up an appetite spending the morning wandering around Parque Retiro, exploring el Palacio Cristal, its impressive conservatory; enjoying a great cup of cafe con leche near a small lake with a monument to Alfonso XII (el Estanque de Retiro), checking out the Palacio Velazquez, named for its architect, Ricardo Velazquez Bosco; and dodging any number of reed players throughout the park playing the same awful version of "Autumn Leaves." (How could they all be so bad in exactly the same way? Maybe it's a union thing or a mafia thing.)


Walked through the Salamanca district,

window shopped for shoes on Calle de Agusto Figuroa, discussed lunch options and ended up at
Cafe Gijon.

The cafe, which has been around since 1888, has a nice, warm atmosphere. I think I would eat here a lot if I lived in Madrid. It's on the Paseo del Recoletos, near the Plaza Cibeles. Dozens of open-stall book sellers have set up shop along the tree-lined paseo, I like the atmosphere even if I can't read any of the Spanish-texted tomes.


We ordered from the menu del dia, a fixed-price, multi-course meal that restaurants in Spain seem to be required to offer at midday. Waiters seem to automatically bring the ala carte menu to the table, but will provide the menu del dia if you ask for it. Also known as "la comida," the menu del dia is often posted on a chalkboard outside restaurants and usually costs between 8 and 15 Euros for three courses, bread and a beverage.

Our first-course choices on this chilly Monday included smoky pimenton-seasoned gazpacho and roasted potatoes stuffed with rich bonita in a lovely, homey, golden sauce with subtle touches of saffron and curry. The soup was very good, but the potato dish was divine.

My main course consisted of two big pieces of flaky white fish in a saffron-scented sauce with mussels, shrimp and tiny clams. My companion had entrecot (a boneless rib steak), grilled medium with a side of grilled eggplant and fries. Multiple thumbs up. Mineral water, a flask of mild red wine and a basket of excellent crusty bread were included.

We finished the meal with quartered fresh pineapple, a nice balance to the previous rich courses. It was one of the best meals we had in Spain and felt like a real bargain at 12 Euros, service included.

I've already tried to replicate the potato dish at home, scooping out the center of raw Yukon gold potatoes, and filling them with a light stuffing of bonito, paquillo peppers, onion and parsley. I clustered the potatoes in a baking dish, added an inch or two of stock and baked them in the oven for an hour or so. When they were tender I seasoned the stock and thickened it a bit. Very nice.