This dark and foggy morning l, we started our day by enjoying complimentary breakfast buffet at our Hotel Regina. We haven’t had free breakfast since our first hotel in Lisbon! I am excited! 🙂 This should help jumpstart our morning despite the rainy forecast!
My plate of food consisted one of everything from the hot breakfast station (minus the sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs). I love the light tea sandwich of cucumber and tomato, very lightly and refreshing! Iberico ham is everywhere!
There was even a self serve Nespresso coffee stand with hot milk and cold milk. There was hot water for tea and even Spanish instant hot cocoa packets!
After walking along Gran Via, visiting the Bank of Spain (which was not where Money Heist was filmed), Crystal Palace and Garden of Madrid, we walked to a couple of restaurants until we found one that passed our picky taste and had open seats WHILE IN THE RAIN.
So this place has the red Sangria that I like so much from other restaurants! They’ve been pouring it from a red and white dotted bottle. Now I learn the one I like so much is:
LA CLASICA – LOLEA N1 – THE CLASSIC. Mediterranean citrus fruits, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and a touch of cinnamon.
But that is not what I will get right now because I want to try a different one!
Pickled olives also came with some carrots, baby bulb onions and baby cucumbers.
LA BLANCA – LOLEA N2 – THE WHITE. Mediterranean citrus fruits, high quality young wine with Chardonnay and Macabeo grapes and a touch of vanilla. THIS was so good! Even better than the N1 red sangria and also more light and more refreshing!!! I also researched that Total Wine in Ca also sells these bottles so I am totally going to get me some when I’m back in America! I even got a raspberry fruit this time!
Iberian ham croquette.
Squid croquette.
Mushroom croquette.
The Iberian ham croquette is the first of the three croquettes we tried. It was very warm, creamy and smooth. There is a slight saltiness from the Iberian ham. Very good!
The squid croquette was also very good! It tasted more salty because it was fishy from the sea. Again the texture is very smooth and creamy.
The mushroom croquette was the best!! There were chunks of mushroom in it and the strong taste and smell of mushroom was so strong! There was also a mild hint of truffle!
Cod, roasted and brandade with tender garlic. This felt like an intimidating montadito because it was so big! The cod was a large piece, very flaky and tender. The peppers were nicely sweet and garlicky.
Beef cheek with pumpkin purée. This took the longest but it was very good! Vince has been craving steak and beef on this trip for some reason. The beef cheek is so tender and soft that you don’t even need a knife to cut it. It just falls apart. The potatoes are perfectly cooked and soft too. The pumpkin purée added a mild sweetness that I appreciated to contrast the savory of the beef cheeks.
After lunch, we walked through the rain back to our apartment. Here we stopped by Castizo again for Vince to get a couple of drinks. He got a Negroni and a new drink called ESPRESSO DE GUATEMALA. It was surprisingly good! It was like a light cold brew with a hint of cocoa taste and smell. There was even two espresso beans on the foam!
We came back to the same restaurant for dinner because we originally wanted to come here for their dinner items, but when we went for a late lunch, they were still doing their brunch menu. They helped us make a reservation on the spot too! When we came, we were greeted with a cute sign with Vincent’s name on it reserved for that table.
Some more olives on the house! So simple and mildly tart! They’re addicting to snack on!
LA BRUT – LOLEA N3 – THE BRUT. Sparkling white wine with elderberry flowers and wild green apples. This version of sangria was very light! It tasted mildly of apples and slightly fruity. It was just so refreshing and light.
LA ROSE – LOLEA N5 – THE ROSE. Frizzy rose wine with hibiscus, ginger, and that gentle floral touch. This one definitely had a more floral hint that is also refreshing. I would say take away is I still like the original N1 the most!
Salt-cured anchovies from Santona on Piquillo pepper. This was very good by itself and also by the tomato bread we put on top! The anchovies are lightly salty and the peppers were a good bed for it.
Coca bread with tomato. We had to do the tomato on the bread ourselves but that made it more fun. The process is to smush the tomato juices and pulp onto the bread. The bread was also artisanal and had a lot of air bubbles in it. It was very crunchy, toasty and light.
Foie Minuit with red onion jam and volcanic salt. This wasn’t as “foie-y” as I hoped. The red onion jam was interesting. The volcanic salt definitely elevated the foie. The toast was very good like the artisanal bread!
Brie cheese, roasted apple, confit tomato and Basil. This was an interesting yet delicious combination! I like the roasted apple with the Brie cheese.
Chocolate ganache with olive oil and salt. I had a crazy craving for chocolate and so I just wanted simple ganache chocolate. It was very rich and smooth and decadent. The olive oil and salt helped elevate it. Vince really enjoyed it!
After eating at this place twice, I realized that I like sangrias!
