Last week Chris came out to visit me again for the last time before I'm
home for the summer. Seeing as I've lived here for 9 months it's unlikely that
we'll be back in Madrid on holiday for a while so we thought we'd make the most
of it and try one of the swankiest restaurants around; El Club Allard. This
place has been awarded not one but two Michelin stars over the years and its
popularity is attested by how hard it was to book a table (we nabbed the very
last one!). We were led to our corner, our drinks were poured and then the fun
began. A waitress brought over a small bowl of peanut dip and told us that
the restaurant business cards on the table were actually the first course -
though they looked like paper they were actually wafer thin potato! This was
followed by a snack of crusty bread, rock salt and the most gorgeous olive
oil I've ever tasted. The first starter was slivers of smoked eel with a light
coconut sauce - I never thought I would have enjoyed eel but it was delicious.
The second starter (pictured above) was actually my favourite dish
on the whole taster menu. Crispy fried sea urchins were accompanied by a tiny
salad of quinoa and other crunchy vegetables sliced incredibly finely. The
pipette was filled with a "sea urchin emulsion" which was also
delicious.
The next course I was not so fond of. A shot of butter fish and white
asparragus accompanied by a crisp bread and tiny jewel-like globules of olive
oil. The shot or "chupito" was warm and frothy and the globules,
though pretty, and I'm told difficult to make, were incredibly salty. This I
think was my fault rather than the restaurant's as I'm particularly sensitive
to salt and don't really put much on my food normally. Up next was a tiny
"cupcake" or tart made of truffle and quail's eggs:
A beautiful flower made of incredibly thinly sliced fish in the Japanese
Usuzukuri style was filled with a coriander foam and tomato chunks.
"Sea Rice" was accompanied by delicate green prawn crackers in
the shape of shells and a seaweed salad.
The cod was so well cooked that it broke apart at the touch of a fork
and the light tomato "infusion" was lovely. The "smearing"
technique for food presentation seemed to be very much in fashion for these
later dishes...
The roasted pork was delicious and accompanied by a banana puree and a
rice wafer. The next tiny dish or "pre-pudding" was designed to
be a palette cleanser and was made up of a fresh hibiscus foam in a
sugared flower with pistachio crumbs.
The first true pudding was called "petals" and was rose
themed. A pink rose mousse was covered with a light sugar coating and sprinkled
with candied rose petals. Peeking out from under the rose petal was a zesty
lime sorbet and "orange air" which was a really interesting eating
experience. You put a spoonful of the bubbles on your tongue and it was almost
as if you were smelling the orange rather than tasting it.
The next pudding was called "chocolate rocks" and contained
chunks of chocolate sponge, a scoop of cinnamon and pepper ice cream, mint
"rocks" and cocoa crumbs. The ice cream was gorgeous - spicy but
sweet at the same time.
The very last course on the taster menu was a black board with edible
chalk and board rubbers. The chalk was made out of sugared passionfruit and the
letters were candied ginger. After the meal was over we realised we'd been
eating for over 3 hours! The restaurant was empty apart from us and the waiters
were clearing tables and snuffing out candles.
When it comes to food I have pretty simple tastes; if it's tasty and
there's lots of it I'm happy. I was fairly sceptical about the concept of a
taster menu with all the teeny tiny dishes. What if I didn't like any of them?
What if I was still hungry at the end? But I'm so glad I let Chris talk me into
going (he's wanted to try Michelin star cooking for ages) and have discovered
new foods like sea urchin that I never knew I liked.
The restaurant was
super pricey but it was the last time we'd be in Madrid together and also our
anniversary so we just went for it! It was a brilliant introduction to the
world of fine dining and an insight into modern Spanish cooking. If you're
in Madrid and looking for a great lunch or dinner experience with beautifully
presented, tasty food then this is the place to be! I'd start saving the
pennies now though...
El Club Allard can be found at Calle Ferraz, 2 with the nearest metro
station being Plaza de España
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