I wasn’t happy. Tricked into going to a restaurant where they only eat raw fish and seaweed. That’s low.

Then suddenly I was handed the menu. It had chicken on it! And noodles with vegetables! And more chicken! And looking around, I realised that I was amongst Madrid’s elusive Beautiful People. All, it seemed, was not lost.

So hurray for the weirdly named Pink Sushi Man, where difficult people like me can still walk out feeling satisfied, where the crispy chicken is divine, the noodles are delicious, and the psychedelic decor is as far as you can possibly get from your average Madrid bar.

Highly recommended for a change of scene.

The lunchtime ten Euro menu del dia gets you 5 plates of allegedly very good sushi (or nice cooked food that never saw the ocean floor!) Come very early (by 1.45 for lunch), or risk a long queue.

Metro: Gran Via
Address: Calle del Caballero de Gracia, 10
Phone: 91 360 5608
Hours: lunch 13.30-Midnight, every day.
See map below:

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It’s lunchtime and you are in the mood for something besides the standard fare. If it’s sushi your after, head over to SushiOlé. Their menu is extensive, offering a number of appetizers and tempuras, as well as standard teriyaki chicken and steak entrees. But their specialty is the sushi. You can create your own rolls with ingredients like squid, avocado, and teriyaki chicken, or you can pick one of their “sushi fusion” rolls – such as the Manzanita made of eel, green apple, crab’s eggs, and cream cheese. The prices for the ala carte offerings are on the expensive side, but the menu del día can more than adequately quiet that midday sushi craving.

For just 9.90€ you get an appetizer, sushi roll, dessert or coffee, and a drink. Among the appetizers, the delicias niponas – mini spring rolls filled with chicken, vegetables, red curry, and coconut milk – are an outstanding, and nicely spicy, choice. All four of the sushi roll options are excellent, although admittedly some have a more Spanish flavor, with ingredients such as fried pork. Dessert options are limited; choose the green tea instead.

The dining room is small and can fill up at lunch time as the menu del día is only good until 3:30. Service is attentive and cordial and they offer a decent take-away service. You can place your order at the bar while you have a drink and watch the master sushi chef at work. And perhaps you’ll get inspired to make your own sushi – plans are in the work for a well-stocked Japanese market.

You’ll find SushiOlé at the corner of General Oraa and Francisco Silvela, Metro Diego de Leon. See map below:

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While heaven might not look like Xin, I’m crossing my fingers that if I ever get there, the food will taste as good. I don’t have enough praise for this restaurant. While the decor and ambiance are distinctly average, the food is divine.

For me, the steamed dumplings and tom-yum soup crown the starters menu. As for mains, I heavily recommend the steamed sea bass with lime sauce – a dish I’ve seen reduce people to tears; but basically you can’t go wrong. The steak strips with sesame and coriander, and monkfish with coconut also evoke strong emotions.

For those who can’t face one of the homemade deserts, there’s an extensive tea menu; and a good range of Asian beers – including Asahi and Singha – for the more alcohol inclined.

A final cheer for the service: the staff here are so attentive that last night the waitress tipped an entire tray of drinks while reaching to pick up a scarf dropped by my sister.

Open daily. Tel: 91 446 5888. Average price for two-course dinner and drinks 25€, menu del día 9.75€.
Metro: Bilbao. Calle Manuela Malasaña, 5. See map below:

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Not owning a driving license, let alone a car, I was not planning on visiting any underground parking lot until my Asian friend pushed me down a flight of stairs on Plaza de España. The particularly unappealing walkway at the bottom actually leads past a couple of holes in the wall, one of which is an apparently nameless Asian restaurant. Well, restaurant may be an overstatement: let’s call it a take-out with modest sit-down aspirations — it would certainly help if you are short (space is limited among the ten-or-so small tables).

The true appeal becomes clear when you are handed the (bilingual) menu, as you will find out that prices are virtually non-existent here. The back-to-basics list includes plates of tallarines (noodles, pronounced “tayalines” by the staff), fried with egg or drowned in soup, arroz frito (fried rice) and pollo con verduras (chicken with Eastern vegetables), none of which will cost you more than five (!) euros. Especially recommended are the dumplings, to be dipped in soy sauce.

Mind you, you are not expected to linger after dinner (there is usually a line of sorts outside, and the staff will make sure you get the message by asking “¿algo más?” every two minutes); moreover, do not expect anything resembling atmosphere here (unless a muted television set showing karaoke lyrics in Chinese qualifies for you). However, if you are short on cash and want decent Eastern food, it is simply not to be missed. And if you want to try it at home, visit the Chinese supermarket next door for all the necessary ingredients.

“Anonymous” Eastern cafeteria
Metro: Plaza de España. Address: Parking Plaza de España, across from Edifio de España. See map below:

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“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone say that they can’t find a decent Indian restaurant in Madrid. Compared to London, NY or, of course, the subcontinent, it is certainly true that the quality here leaves a lot to be desired. Because of the lack of historic ties between Spain and India (together with the Spanish near phobia of hot food) it is easy for Indian restaurants to become lazy and serve food that is too mild and unauthentic. This is epitomized by the “one sauce fits all” approach in which the only way to distinguish different dishes that arrive at your table is by asking the waiter which is which!

That being said there are a few restaurants in Madrid that are worth checking out. At the economy end try the curry houses in Lavapies. These are a relatively new addition to Madrid, are mostly Bangladeshi owned and run, and are not bad considering the price – although I wish they wouldn’t put sugar in food to stop it from being too hot for Spanish palates: just use less chilies guys! Mojoraj and Rajamahal in Calle Ave Maria (map) are good examples as is Baisakhi in Calle Lavapies (map). Moving up the price scale Guru in Calle Echegaray (map) offers pretty good food at reasonable prices and their Naan bread and Chicken Tikka are worth trying. Other restaurants worth mentioning are Delhi in Calle Duque de Osuna (map) and Taj in Calle Marques de Cubas (map) which serve food of a generally good standard. Bombay Palace in Calle Fernan Gonzalez (map) is also building up a following of fans.

At the top end only two restaurants dominate. Anapurna in Calle Zurbano (map) and Mumbai Masala (map) in Calle Recoletos.

The latter first: Although elegantly decorated, especially the Moghul room downstairs, Mumbai Masala is just far too expensive (around €45 per person) for what it offers. Considering that most of the ingredients for Indian food are as cheap as chips (even here in Madrid) there’s really no justification for charging such high prices. Even their tapas bar next door is way too pricey and sort of defeats what is essentially a good idea. I know there are rich Madrileños willing to pay through the nose but aficionados of Indian food are always going to resent it because although the food is good, it’s not that good!

So where does that leave us? Is Anapurna alone at the top of the mountain of quality? Sadly no. Although it can claim to be the first quality Indian restaurant in Madrid and is also very elegant, its problem is that it has not moved with the times. Apart from the fact that the food is too mild, its dishes have really passed their time. What the owners need to do is to take a trip to London (for instance) and check out the latest trends in Indian food there. The award winning Benares restaurant would be a good place to start.

Finally I would like to make an appeal to Spanish speakers and Indian restaurants alike not to use the word “Hindu” to refer to Indian food, but instead “comida de la India”. Hinduism is a religion and there are many citizens of India who are also Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains etc. There are many Hindu communities who are not from India but from places like Bali and Thailand and have their own food, and numerous Indian dishes originate from outside India, for instance Tandoori chicken and Naan bread, which come from Afghanistan. I know it might seem like nit picking to mention it but would the Spanish like their cuisine referred to as “Catholic food”? I don’t think so. So, all in all, the range on offer here in Madrid is not that great, but hopefully as the Spanish become more discerning about Indian food things will improve.”