Curious and good food? Welcome to the route of exotic restaurants in Madrid!
There are 194 countries in the world, but when we feel like eating something exotic our mind does not go beyond India, China, Mexico, Italy or Japan.
However, in Madrid there are some worthy ambassadors of other types of gastronomy, which are worth knowing and savoring. Ready to travel with the palate?
AL MOUNIA _(Recoletos Street, 5) _
Al-Mounia has been offering for more than 50 years typical Maghreb dishes, in a sumptuous palatial setting. Your must-haves are the tabbouleh, the hummus, the cous cous, the grilled meat skewers or the delicious desserts, like the date mamoul, the chocolate chebakia, the pestiño or the gazelle horn, the almond-shaped dough that originated the Spanish marzipan.
But Al-Mounia is much more and also proposes dishes that are less common on Madrid's tablecloths, such as pastella farci –a puff pastry with chicken and almonds–, the roasted suckling lamb shoulder, the tajines of different meats (there are also fish of the day) or Harira soup.
Tabbouleh, hummus, cous cous... you won't know which one to decide on!
GONDER _(Grafal Street, 8) _
We are still on the African continent, but we change countries and travel to Ethiopia. In Gonder we find many vegetable or meat stews served in the injera, a kind of crepe made with the cereal – gluten free– teff (The dough is allowed to ferment then it is thrown into a previously heated flat and round clay dish).
Almost all the dishes on the menu are spicy, the best? He eats everything with his hands!
In Gonder they serve quality Ethiopian food and you eat it with your hands!
BANIBANOO MADRID _(Street of the Conceptionist Martyrs, 19) _
One of the best places in Madrid to sink your teeth into iranian cuisine is without a doubt this restaurant, run by Bani, a 'young lady' (banoo in Iranian) who has been in Spain for 10 years.
Rice, sweet potato, hummus, as well as colorful and healthy toast They make up the menu of this very cozy place full of light, thanks to the large window that overlooks the street.
If you like Iranian food, Banibanoo is your place
THE FALAFERIA _(Santa Barbara Street, 4) _
After the success of the Hummusería, the Israelis Lotem and Shai have opened this other place in the capital of Madrid, with a clear vegetarian inspiration and that revolves around falafel and to pita bread.
We can choose to choose the Sabij (crispy eggplant, hard-boiled egg, hummus and salad) , the falafel (falafel, hummus and salad) or vegan shawarma (shawarma with mushrooms, seitan, almonds and raisins with tahini and salad) and each of the three proposals can be accompanied by a pickled vegetable salad which can be customized.
Long live pita bread!
KEYAANS _(Blasco de Garay Street, 10) _
We continue with another street food proposal, this time from the Dominican Republic. Its star dish is homemade dominican empanada stuffed with chicken or beef and cheese or chicken or beef and vegetables, among many other options, also sweet.
Also worth trying yucca buns filled with Gouda cheese, quipes (wheat balls stuffed with cheese, chicken or beef) or the empachichas (sausage wrapped in savory dough) .
And for pairing, we recommend ordering a natural juice or a 'Morir Soñando' (orange or passion fruit juice with evaporated milk) .
Keyaan's: delicious Dominican food in a street food version
PERIPLE (Modesto Street the source, 4)
Despite its closeness, Greece It is another great unknown – gastronomically speaking. For this reason, the owners of Periplo have decided to move to Madrid, in the heart of the Chamberí neighborhood and a few meters from Ponzano street, a tavern in Thessaloniki.
Among the dishes that can be tasted, we highlight the tsatsiki (yoghurt with Greek oil and fresh dill) , the tarama (cod roe sauce) , the spanacopita (empanada with village dough, spinach and feta cheese) the spetsofai (typical dish of Pélion, with Greek sausage, peppers and aubergines) , the strapatsada (the greek omelette, scrambled eggs with onion, tomato pepper and feta cheese) , the scordalia (the Greek allioli) or the rox (typical sweet with cinnamon, syrup and walnuts).
And don't forget to finish him off! eat it (hot 40 degree Greek pomace with honey and cinnamon)!
Periplo: a Greek tavern in the heart of Chamberí
IZARIYA _(Zurbano Street, 63) _
Also in Chamberí is the first restaurant in Madrid specializing in kaiseki kitchen, namely the vegetarian food that is usually served in the Japanese tea ceremony, that is accompanied with sake and consists of very careful small portions.
From the decoration to the arrangement of the dishes, everything counts. Everything is served on trays and there are no tablecloths.
In the Kaiseki kitchen, each menu varies almost every day, depending on what the market offers and the freshness of the ingredients.
In Izariya there is different menus day and night, whose price ranges from 25 euros for lunch to 100 euros for the gourmand tasting menu for dinner.
The Japanese tea ceremony is accompanied by Kaikesi cuisine in Izariya