Estado Puro, Madrid

Let's make it short & sweet xx

Barcelona is known to be Spain's hub for achingly hip tapas bars. I tend to think that Madrid can hold it's own however. Allow me to show you... After wandering the streets for hours post "Prado dash", we were hunting for lunch venues - this would turn out to be a big ask on NYE! We ended up stepping into Estado Puro, a modern eatery attached to the Hotel NH Palacio de Tepa (5 stars, baby) on Plaza del Angel.

Chef Paco Roncero (how cool is that name) has delighted Madrid locals with his tapas. There is another branch of the Estado Puro family, right across the road from the Prado museum which was absolutely jam packed! It has the same menu FYI. We were forced back onto the streets and found the 2nd branch entirely by chance :)

Woo-hoo: I'm a big fan of the modern interior and clever use of the white 'hair clips' over the ceiling (left). I didn't hesitate for a second to try the gin fizz on their drinks menu (right). There's nothing wrong with a mid afternoon cocktail, as it was by that time (in my defence)!

We were very grateful to be handed our menus en Inglés. They've done a very clever thing, using traditional Spanish women's hair pieces to line the roof in an undulating wave. Continuing on with our 2x 'big' meals per day thing this is what we managed to sample:

Up close + personal: oh boy, here we have the 'Mini-burgers. Filled with mustard and a succulent beef patty these were pretty brilliant

3 sliders amongst 4 people. You do the math. Pardon the mess at the back, that's our "Imperial Salad" - Roncero's version of a Caesar with confit chicken. The stringy potato fries were a nice touch, though a touch oily

Taters. Boil 'em mash 'em stick 'em in a stew! This dish was beauty on a slate tile, the "Ali-oli" potatoes. So delicious, the cubes were smeared with a luxurious garlic + aioli mayonnaise. I'm having potato flashbacks as I write this

Marinated duck, pear and soy salad. Even attempting Asian flavours, they cannot do any wrong. The shavings of duck went in a flash!

I can't explain why, but I had the feeling like I was eating at a 'fast-food'. I mean this in the best possible way, because this meal was so delicious and tasty (and yes, the service was pretty speedy). Ultimately, I'm really happy I found this place and the price was definitely right (as are most places in Spain)! Macca's eat your <3 out.

Thanks for reading!

xGourmand