Of course between Lisbon and Madrid you’ll never go hungry as there is always something delicious to eat.
As anyone that knows us knows, we like to make restaurant choices and book reservations before our trips. That way you aren’t left making a hasty decision at the end of a long day of sightseeing. It also helps frame the day!
In Lisbon we booked several popular places. One we didn’t book (and wished we had) was Ramiro. As seen on Somebody Feeds Phil, Ramiro is a seafood extravaganza. The problem is that reservations cost €25 per head and are non-refundable. So we decided to go early and hope for the best.
Who knew it would be like a visit to the DMV? When you arrive you take a number from the machine and get something like “B090“. Meanwhile the next number called is “A671”. And they have you wait in a very unpleasant room. Here is us waiting.
We got there just before 5:00 and it was still an awful 90 minute wait! But the reward but pretty nice.
You pick your live lobster and minutes later it comes back on a plate with drawn butter.
But along with that is all manner of seafood.
Ramiro caters to seafood so much that they actually have a sink for customers to wash their hands right in the dining room.
This is the place to come if you like seafood. Just go ahead and pay the €25 to make a reservation otherwise you could be standing out here. You can do that here https://www.cervejariaramiro.com/?lang=en
While Ramiro was fun, the standout restaurant in Lisbon was Prado.
A terrific menu with a truly memorable dish made from butternut squash.
Served in a brown butter sauce and sprinkled with crunchy whey it packed some real flavor. Maybe one of the best dishes from the last five years. Also notable were the lovely Portugese wines they served. You can see more about this restaurant at https://pradorestaurante.com
Special shoutout to the Timeout Market in Lisbon. Super bouncy and fun, a great place to drop into when you don’t have plans.
Moving on to Madrid, this was a difficult place to find choices. There are some super high-end restaurants in Madrid, including one of the few Michelin 3-star restaurants in the world.
We managed to land on a couple of good ones. The first was Restaurant Sacha, which was a 20 minute taxi ride away from central Madrid.
Sacha started out really strong with this amazing sardine appetizer.
So flavorful! But while the menu was generally pretty strong there were a couple of clunkers that really offset the experience. It was puzzling. In the end maybe not worth the detour – or be careful ordering! See more about Sacha at https://www.restaurantesacha.com
The best part was that we arrived early and so walked over to a bar that we found on Google for a pre-dinner cocktail.
We managed to stumble into a party of ex-pat teachers who teach American and English students around the world. Usually children of local corporate ex-pats. So it was really fun hanging with them as we waited for our reservation.
This was the cheesecake at Roostiq.
Potentially among the five best cheesecakes ever, with an amaretto sauce. Soooo creamy.
Hands down our favorite restaurant of the trip was Sala de Espiece in Madrid.
An unorthodox restaurant in that it’s crazy well lit, all counter seating, and tries to recreate the look of a butcher shop.
The all sharing menu was so inventive and every item we had was a winner. But none more than these artichokes.
They were confited and then deep fried until they became crispy and sweet and then topped with a dollop of caviar. They were like candy!
Do not miss this place if you come to Madrid. Read more here https://www.saladedespiece.com. Reservations recommended!
In Madrid we also made it to two really fun bars. One is called Macera and is known for mascerating their alcohols before they mix them into a drink.
Best drink here was the Tepachita. A souped up margarita with a tajin rim. Delicious!
You can read more about Macera at http://www.maceradrinks.com
The other really fun bar we went to was called Salmon Guru.
This place opens at 6:00 and is immediately full. We arrived at 6:10 and waited in line to get in.
Kind of a tiki bar sorta place. Tons of fun and definitely worth a stop if you don’t have to wait too long to get in – named one of the 50 best bars in the world! Read more at https://salmonguru.es
One last can’t miss place in Madrid is San Gines Chocolateria.
There is always a line here and folks are lining up for €5 cups of hot chocolate with dipping churros.
So worth it but next time I’d split an order!
Now for hotels. We had two great ones.
In Lisbon we stayed at the beautiful Torel Palace in central Lisbon.
Our room here was large with a large terrace overlooking Lisbon.
Sunsets wete magnificent.
A lovely place to enjoy some cocktails.
You can read more about the Torel Palace here https://www.torelpalacelisbon.com/m/. It was a little pricey but we booked well in advance and managed to get a substantial early bird discount.
In Madrid we stayed at the Circulo Gran Via Autograph, located right into Centro and walkable to nearly every place you’ll want to go to in Madrid.
We had a room with a lovely terrace that made our stay that much better. The property belongs to Marriott and so you can easily book it at marriott.com. Note that no children are allowed at the hotel as it contains a casino (we won €50!).
Super happy with all of our restaurant and hotel choices. Can’t wait to hear from you when you go!
