Ramon Freixa, Madrid

Ramon Freixa, a two-Michelin Star restaurant tucked away in the Salamanca neighborhood of the bustling city of Madrid, is a pylon of culinary energy that contributes to the vibrancy of the city. Here, we sampled what Spanish cuisine was all about in a flamboyant display of hospitality prowess.

We arrived around 8:00pm, the weather was a cool 70F. Our Uber ride dropped us off in front of Hotel Unico as we were greeted by the door man. He pointed us to where the restaurant is, which led to a stairway heading down. The facade of the hotel was very charming as it is simple, contemporary spanish-inspired architecture that’s very calming to the eyes.

The anticipation grew while we got closer to the front door. We’ve been traveling for eight hours on a straight flight and we were ready to chow down whatever comes our way. The restaurant’s accolaids were displayed upon entering, you get this sophisticated feel by the elegant candelabras, the chic and modern chandeliers, and by the way the tablecloths flow naturally to the floor. Neutral wall colors add to the soothing and relaxing atmosphere, it doesn’t tire the eyes as there is not much visual overload. If you pay close attention to details, Freixa’s logo was embedded on the floor of the main dining area-a genius idea. The tables were very well spaced-out and gives you the much needed privacy to indulge and enjoy every bite while having a meaningful conversation. In Michelin star restaurants, you only need privacy when you decide to help the dishwashers clean the dishes by licking them… well, I try my best not to get that “kinky” side of me come out, but sometimes… you just have to.

The front of the house team welcomed us warmly. We started the night with a glass of champagne. Here, we were presented with a Louis Roederer, 2013.

The menu was very elegantly crafted, I loved the message that came right after flipping the menu cover. It is very simple and straightforward, promising guests of experiencing gastronomic happiness while spending time at the restaurant.

They are currently offering two tasting menus, of course, one has more items than the other. For us, everything was reasonably priced in the entirety of things-the experience, the craftsmanship and the love and care. We opted for the longer tasting menu since this is what our trip was all about, to try out good Michelin restaurants without holding back. We planned this for a whole year and so here we were, living out the dream.

Calming Down

For this trip though, I changed something the way we dined. Instead of doing a full wine pairing, I told my wife that we would compose ourselves and request a nice glass of red wine everywhere we go- something that’s ultra local that the region can offer. Just a glass, nothing more, nothing less. If the wine was too damn good, then maybe another glass would be appropriate. The last time I did a full wine pairing, it kind of killed the dining experience, I was ready to go sleep by the time the main course hit the table and quite honestly, I’m not much of a sweet wine fanatic. I avoid dessert wines as they leave a nasty after taste on my palate. Despite the fact that wine pairings can enhance the overall dining experience, I believe consuming copious amounts of alcohol takes away the spotlight from the food. So instead of going crazy, we were better off just having a glass of a really good red, which works out for us because we don’t leave the restaurants walking out like zombies.

For our ultra-local wine of the night, the server suggested the Arbequina. I can’t remember what vintage it was, something like a 2018 or earlier. We want something that’s full bodied, well-rounded and not too dry. I find that Spanish wines, despite being full bodied, is still a bit acidic to my taste buds. It tastes “thin” to me as compared to Bordeaux wines.

*Somms, please enlighten me as my wine knowledge is not that good, I just seek for a certain type mouthfeel and taste.

Freixa’s Universe

Bread is Life

I am huge on restaurants having a wonderful bread program. I love bread, it’s always a habit of mine to break open a piece and stick my nose in there and just smell the wonderful aromas. Ramon’s bread options were good, two of the things that I really loved were the thyme croissant and corn & curry bread. Also, the butter is a make or break of the overall package. Out of our entire European trip, Ramon’s Normandy butter had the best overall flavor, it had the right amount of saltiness, creaminess-that coats your mouth, and that “funk” that I always look for. There’s a certain “cheesy” funk to a really good butter. I don’t know if you can understand me, it’s difficult to explain. When it’s good, it’s good.

Thyme Croissant

The Bites

The story started like a fairytale. Amuse courses were carefully placed on the table starting with the smokey and dreamy foie and eel bonbons. The nitrogen presentation added to the flare as the dish looked like a small terrarium arrangement. The server explained everything while we were restraining ourselves to pick anything up until he finishes talking. We couldn’t wait.

From left to right: The Foie bonbons, shrimp cornet, tomato vermouth, ice cream payoyo cheese, free-range chicken and the sweet potato and caviar. Talking about flavor-wise, the best was the sweet potato & caviar and the weakest, the free range chicken. They were all good nonetheless. That first bite that we took of the bonbons were like heaven, we looked at each other and just nodded our heads. We worked hard for this.

The Main Show

Tomato Dish- What a way to start a tasting menu with the best tomato dish that I’ve had so far. it was very clever of Ramon’s team to create what looked like a simple slice of tomato, but upon dissecting, it was actually made out of two layers: At the bottom was a tomato gazpacho and on top, a clarified tomato water, both were set with a gelling agent. They then took actual tomato seeds and placed them on top to make the imitation realistic. The server pouer smoked Spanish olive oil and you dig in. It was mind blowing how something simple can be so complex at the same time. the smokiness of the olive oil brought everything together and made it taste like the tomato was actually pan seared or grilled. Outstanding.

Raisined Kumato Tomato- Moving on with another tomato dish is this elegantly plated Kumato Tomato with Tuna Consommé. My wife loved it, I was kind of weird about it. Kumato is a variety of tomato, mostly brown or dark in color. They altered the kumato into a raisin. The dish was too sweet for me, I even heard a french guy dining next to us say that it was sweet as well. Although the tuna broth tried to help balance the sweetness, it still didn’t make it for me. The flavor of the raisined kumato was too overpowering and the tuna consommé was out of place.

Sardine Vichyssoise-This is the most impressive dish for me. The braided bronze ring that you are about to see is made out of anchovies that were meticulously shaped. I’m sorry for those who worked that night. It must have been a painful shift making these. Here you have melon, ikura and foie powder. The server then poured sardine vichyssoise. Amazing umami powerbomb. The foie gives that extra creaminess with a different funk that compliments the sardine.

Soft Rice, Socarrat, Mushroom and Guinea Fowl Ham- This dish packed a savory punch. At the bottom is a risotto/ paella cooked in a rich poultry jus or demi glace, on top is socarrat or the “toasted” layer of rice at the bottom that forms when making paella. On top of the socarrat, a piece of glazed fresh shitake mushroom and guinea fowl ham. The guinea fowl ham was served separately, the server gracefully grabbed them with a tweezer from a very posh apparatus with guinea fowl or peacock feathers surrounding it, fancy! Unfortunately, I was not able to take a photo of it. This dish was a bit on the salty side, any more salt added would have killed the dish. The textures were a combination of soft, crispy and jerky (think jerky beef). To me, this speaks of Spanish cuisine, superb.

Baby Squid-I’ve always admired how Spanish chefs can perfectly combine flavors from the sea with flavors of the land. Here, they stuffed baby squid with lamb sweetbreads. I can’t remember whether the jelly layer on top was made of squid juice or not, It gave a nice touch to it, another dimension per se. The squid tentacles were fried, so it had a good contrast between soft, chewy and crispy. The Sobrasada oil was killer, it gave that creamy mouthfeel to the dish. I loved it. When I paired this with our red wine, it was ecstatic! The wine immediately turned sweet and subtle upon pairing with a bite of the squid.

Red Mullet With Accompaniments-This dish was my second least favorite. Aside from the red mullet, there was nothing that stood out. The cockle tartlet was inferior and didn’t have flavor. The zucchini blossom with ratatouille was more forgiving. I don’t think that the lobster bisque was the perfect accompaniment for the fish as it was too overpowering, heavy and minerally.

Suckling Pig- After the fish dish, we got a superb final main course of suckling pig. This was perfect. The pork was nice and crispy, it had the right amount of tenderness to it that paired well with a tangy fruit condiment. To accompany the pig, we had a gyoza dumpling filled with pork and crunchy micro popcorn on the side, probably fried barley? It was good but I didn’t see the reason for having it. Also, the pork consommé, I could have lived without. It had a nice intense bacon flavor but was not necessary. Still a thumbs up for me.

Cheese Course-Cebreiro Cheese, traditional and avant garde. Cebreiro cheese is made out of whole cow’s milk from Galicia, Spain. Here you have two variations, one is simply sliced and the other was foamed up and dehydrated. It felt like a crumbling honeycomb to the mouth. These were accompanied by raisins in two ways: one as an actual fruit and the other, pureéd. There was a piece of spiced bread served along with the cheese course. To me, the cheese is reminiscent of goat and blue cheese. It was ok but forgettable. The avant garde approach faint and subtle.

Three Ways to Cook Rhubarb- Macaroon, puree and I can’t distinguish the other way. Probably in jelly form? Celery was present on this dessert and was impressive on how they were able to incorporate it. It was an ok dessert, though. They could have made the presentation more refined.

Carrot cake- As a two-Michelin star restaurant, I was expecting for a more composed dessert program. This looks like something I can do at home or from a 1 star restaurant, or a bistro. The flavors didn’t impress me at all.

Chocolate Sphere- Now, this saved the dessert program. This was awesome. It had crunch and hazelnut flavors to it. I just wished that the pastry cook/chef did a better job with the quenelle of ice cream. Aside from that, kuddos!

We finished the night with some good tea and mignardises. Loved the mint tea!

All in All

It was a good experience, there were some holes to fill that can be improved on. I was expecting more out of a two-star restaurant of such caliber, more finesse, more well composed desserts. Towards the end of the meal, I started noticing some faults on the front of the house team. The mood started to change as they began to look like they were weeded. The gracefulness declined and there was an instance where a server almost hit a manager while holding a tray with dishes about to be served. Also, I think servers need to pay more attention to small details such as noticing whether a guest is left handed. As i’ve mentioned before, I’ve been to a restaurant without any awards, where they were able to know right away that my wife and I are left-handed and adjusted accordingly, impressive attention to detail. Cleaning the table of crumbs or other stuff as well must be more often than not, the team left that detail unnoticed.

Will I be coming back to Ramon Freixa? Not in the near future, but maybe I’ll give it another try after a while.

Thank you Ramon Freixa for the wonderful experience.