What a feast, great feast!
Christmas will be the most important dates of the year, but they caught us by surprise again . You don't know what to wear or what to give or who to have dinner with at the end or where to go ... Or yes, you know. You know that you will do exactly what you did last year, which was the same as the previous one.
For some and for others, for those undecided at the last minute and for those who want to do something different, for those who visit Madrid and for those of us who live here, this suggestion goes: celebrate Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve in a hotel restaurant . Of a hotel of the usual ones or of those that have just opened.
Translucent fideua, spicy contrasts and marinated Mediterranean shrimp
If you feel like getting ready, surrounding yourself with garlands and Christmas trees, having a drink and dancing afterwards, seeing other faces, adding a bit of novelty and joy to the usual static dinners, giving someone a surprise **(is it your first Christmas together?) ** or just do not think about menus or purchases and, very importantly, not having to pick up afterwards, reserve a table in one of the special galas that are celebrated in the hotels of Madrid it can be a plan.
Your mother, who always complains that you never take her anywhere, she will thank you. Just like your sister, she will benefit from not being the center of attention, and your brother-in-law, the foodie who always puts 'buts' on the menu.
And for all of them, this is the selection of Madrid hotels to go to for dinner (or to get over a hangover) on these important dates.
SOMETHING CLASSIC, BUT NOT SO...
** The Westin Palace ** _(Plaza de las Cortes, 9; New Year's Eve dinner and party favors: €650 with open bar ) _
Christmas is a time to share, to open our houses. That's why Joseph Luke every year he receives different chefs in his kitchen, the one at the Palace, and puts his team at his disposal to carry out all the special menus for these holidays . On this occasion **the guest chef is Alicante-born Kiko Moya from L'Escaleta**, with two Michelin stars, who will take us trip to the Mediterranean. To the Mediterranean of the interior of Alicante that knows almonds, mead and extra virgin olive oil, mustard, arugula and mint. To the sea and to the mountains.
Ice and Charcoal Turbot
On the menu, full of surprises, there are famous creations, such as the translucent fideuá with spicy contrasts and marinated shrimp , a pure seafood concentrate, or the sticky lobster rice and its crunchy skins or the original almond and black and white garlic oreo snacks.
SOMETHING NOT CLASSIC...
** Ice and Coal. Hyatt Centric Gran Vía Madrid _(Gran Vía, 31. Christmas Eve dinner: €130 or €160 with pairing. New Year's Eve dinner, €210 or €260 with pairing) _**
The usual proposal of cold (ice) and hot (charcoal) dishes from the restaurant that runs the chef Raúl Castillo at the Hyatt Centric hotel on Gran Vía continues on these dates with six step menus in which there will be no shortage of Norway lobsters, sea bass or lamb. Typical dishes, yes, and from the market, but with the Castillo's usual touch of surprise . And with the room more full of color, warmth and atmosphere than usual, which is saying something!
The little ones are not only welcome but for them, in addition, there is a special menu also at a minimum price: €50. And, aware that the next day no one is so hungry, the Christmas menu will be light.
SOMETHING SOPHISTICATED, BUT WITHOUT GOING OVER...
** YOUnique Restaurant. Only You Boutique Hotel _(Barquillo 21; check prices) _**
The Only You have good taste and, in addition, a lot of vibes. That is why he has unconditional fans and his Christmas dinners always promise to be entertaining and last until late. And not only that, it also eats very well.
For this Christmas Eve, the chef Carlos Martin , true to his respect for seasonal produce , will make us, among other delicacies, its famous ox heart tomato tartar with blue lobster carpaccio and wild salmon caviar and the delicious taco of roast lamb with props and sweet potato puree. And in End of the year , the menu will include Grilled Galician scallops with a sweet stew of asparagus, peas, broad beans and smoked Idiazábal spheres and old beef tenderloin with foie poêle and truffle parmentier.
SOMETHING WITH A TALE...
Gran Melia Phoenix **(Hermosilla, 2; Christmas Eve dinner: €205; New Year's Eve gala: €355. In both cases, children up to 11 years old, half price) **
This great lady of the Plaza de Colón has been celebrating the illusion of Christmas for a whole month and all those little moments that make us feel alive.
The artist Jose Miguel Pinero , the decorator of the great chefs, The hotel has been intervened inspired by the story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and, among other fantasies, he has added a life-size soldier and two gigantic wings, a symbol of the rebirth of the Phoenix Bird, next to which everyone who passes by takes photos; Javier de las Muelas has created a sweet cocktail for these days, Snowflake, a nougat-based combination; and tomorrow the 21st, the floral workshops given by Columelas by Margarita se llama mi amor will begin _(€90; info and reservations on tel. 91 431 67 00) _.
The story of the soldier turned into a wooden doll will also be the common thread of New Year's Eve gala, during which dishes such as the foie gras crème brûlée, fried corn and berries, the lobster ravioli in a saffron and watercress chlorophyll sauce or the Black Angus loin with tuber lasagna, mushroom ragu and fresh sprouts.
While in the christmas eve menu there will be lobster and mango ceviche; beef and mushroom consommé with truffle, egg yolk and foie gras; wild turbot, aniseed velouté and homemade pumpkin gnocchi; and suckling pig terrine with pippin apple emulsion. And the best wines, cavas and cocktails.
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF LINKING UP AFTER DINNER...
Bless Madrid **(Etxeko.Velázquez, 62; Christmas Eve dinner: €200 (children, €70); Christmas lunch: €120 (children, €70); New Year's Eve dinner: €370, includes grapes and party favors (children, €150). €) Also vegetarian and children's tasting menu) **
In its first Christmas, the Bless Madrid hotel is having a great time. Christmas carol concerts in a jazz version, special cocktails, snacks, the new Martín Berasategui brunch, the bowling alley and the Fetén, the clandestine bar, always up to the top until late... Every day there is something.
On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve the plan is as follows: licking our fingers with everything that Martín Berasategui and his team want to serve us in their tasting menu –think semi-liquid cod fritters, caramelized apple, foie and eel millefeuille, lobster ravioli and curry-coffee air, Cantabrian hake roasted with Pelayo baby squid and langoustine juice, wagyu meat cooked for 40 hours with fruit and ginger chutney and pumpkin puree, in warm caramelised brioche toast with apple compote and farmhouse milk ice cream– and then have a drink at the Fetén club; in plan "we are already seeing" the night of the 24th and to give everything at New Year's Eve.
Christmas broth, poulard ravioli and Iberian jowl
A TRIP TO MAJORCA...
Great English Hotel **(Lobo 8. Echegaray, 8; Christmas Eve menu: 220 euros with pairing; New Year's Eve menu with three pairing options and prices ranging between 330 and 500 euros) **
We are going to Mallorca without leaving the Huertas neighborhood. Or rather, this Christmas the chef Fernando P. Arellano, from the Zaranda restaurant in Mallorca (two Michelin stars), support in D'Angelo Bishop, executive chef of the hotel, brings us to the restaurant of the Gran Hotel Inglés the flavors of the island contained in a current Mediterranean recipe book which gives us the opportunity to try some of its star dishes, such as the ox bonbon or the Majorica oyster with caviar, horseradish and pickled pearls.
Also, traditional dishes such as 'all i pebre' with octopus and potato or the Christmas broth, with poulard ravioli and others something exotic, like lemon fish with sardine teriyaki, sobrassada crumbs and grapes.
FOR THE VIEWS... AND TO PUT YOUR BOOTS ON...
H10 Puerta de Alcalá **(The Gallery and El Cielo de Alcalá. Alcalá, 66; New Year's Eve dinner: €190, children, €90) **
if you dream of watch the New Year's Eve fireworks sipping cava on top of a rooftop, your site is El Cielo de Alcalá, the panoramic terrace of the H10 Puerta de Alcalá, right next to the Retiro park.
Orange Breton pistachio sablé sponge cake and mascarpone ice cream
But before the grapes, below, The New Year's Eve evening will begin at La Galería restaurant with an extensive cocktail: marinated salmon skewers and yogurt shot, courgette and tofu bomb, shrimp samosas, octopus carpaccio with citrus, seafood suquet... Control yourself, there are still many things left and all very tasty!
And it will continue, already seated, with a carabinero carpaccio, caramelized almonds in rosemary honey and goat cheese mousseline, and, as a main course, fish (a baked Cantabrian grouper loin with cockles and vegetable stew) or meat (heart of sirloin stuffed with foie and truffle) .
For dessert, in addition to the traditional Christmas sweets, orange Breton sablé pistachio sponge cake and mascarpone ice cream. We warn you that you will end up full.
Now it is really time to go up to Cielo de Alcalá to toast 2020 with a glass of cold cava. The fresh air will do you great.
FOR THE VIEWS... AND BECAUSE WE LIKE RAMÓN FREIXA...
** The Principal ** **(Penthouse. Marqués de Valdeiglesias, 1; Christmas Eve menu/Christmas menu: €125; New Year's Eve menu: €200 or €220 with two drinks) **
From Ático you will dine with views of an illuminated Gran Vía
The illuminated Gran Vía, seen from above, from the windows of the Attic restaurant of the hotel The Principal , impresses more than one imagines.
also surprising the gastronomic proposal of Ático, the prêt-à-porter version of Ramón Freixa's restaurant (at the Hotel Único, part of the same group), where, at their special dinners on the nights of the 24th and 31st, we will find, to whet our appetite, smoked sardine, algae and saffron brioche, strawberries that wanted to be tomato or fritter with cod cococha.
Between the hearty dishes, rib of veal cooked 36 hours with boletus stew, spring onions and Port wine; lobster with fregola carbonara, infiltrated yolk and Iberian bacon; or roasted monkfish with truffle, lettuce velvet and dried fruit cake.
FOR THE VIEWS... AND THE COCKTAILS...
Barceló Tower of Madrid _(We are. Garra Bar. Plaza de España, 18; Christmas Eve dinner: €145; New Year's Eve dinner: €190) _
What is from outside and what is native, what is from here and what is from there. That is Madrid and that is also Somos, the Barceló Torre de Madrid restaurant. Castizo and curious. And it is impossible not to observe what happens on the street when you dine with these windows to Plaza de España and Gran Vía. At one of the intimate tables for two or in the booth (for ten people) with views.
And what about the menu? Lobster cream, shrimp monkfish with seafood suquet to start and, on the night of December 24, beef tenderloin with truffled potato parmentier and, on New Year's Eve, shoulder of lamb, a true classic.
Monkfish in suquet sauce and shrimp tempura from the Somos restaurant
Y, behind Andrei Cherman's grapes, champagne and cocktails They will be served in the striking counter of the Garra bar, where there will be DJ music, snacks and chocolate with churros until 4 o'clock.
TO GO AROUND THE WORLD...
** InterContinental Madrid ** **(Paseo de la Castellana, 49; Christmas Eve gala: €215 per person and children, €85; New Year's Eve gala: €515 per person; children, €150; Christmas and New Year brunch : €160; children, €75; Three Kings gala: €165 per person; children, €75; Three Kings brunch: €120; children, €60) **
At Christmas, the InterContinental in Madrid always likes tell us a story. This year will be the Magellan and Elcano's first circumnavigation of the world of which five centuries have just passed.
The expedition, which lasted three years and with which it was shown that the Earth was not flat but spherical, has been recreated by chef Miguel de la Fuente and his 'crew' on a series of menus, between gala dinners and brunches the day after, with which the exotic places through which the expedition sailed and some of its many exploits are evoked.
Norway lobsters with a veil of sherry amontillado in creamy broth
Thus, among fabrics and tableware from the Far East, the christmas eve menu will pay tribute to the brave crew –of the 239 that set sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda on September 20, 1519, only 18 survived– and to their five ships –the Victoria was the only one to return– with dishes such as crab with marine plankton omelette, sage and green broth bubbles or sea bream infused in warm ginger and kaffir lime broth with algae criy charcoal.
While the new years eve gala will focus on the route itself, on the ocean crossing, through the flavors of langoustines with sherry amontillado wine veil in creamy broth or clarified pheasant broth with mushroom wok, Pak Choi and black truffle . Then there will be party favors, of course, and an orchestra and a DJ, and even a special San Silvestre buffet that will bring you back to life when you need it most.
And lastly, the kings dinner will give prominence to the coveted spices that motivated the expedition. Pot stew and duck rillette with green pepper, red snapper loin and bimi with white prawn and saffron sauce, cinnamon foam with bitter almond...
The next day, the famous InterContinental brunches will wash away our hangovers at sea, in the oceans that our heroes sailed on the first circumnavigation of the world: on the 25th to the Atlantic, on New Year's to the Pacific and on Three Kings' Day to the Indian Ocean.
Children are of course welcome on any of these trips.
Oyster between leaves, EVOO from La Rinconada and parmentier drink with Beluga caviar
YOUR FIRST NEW YEAR'S NIGHT OUT WITH FRIENDS...
Generator Madrid **(Calle de San Bernardo, 2; Christmas Eve dinner: from €55; New Year's Eve dinner: from €70) **
If you are under 30 years old, you are thinking of an express getaway with friends to take the grapes in Puerta del Sol or you are still young enough to be aware of the design and good vibes that Generator hostels breathe (nothing to do with those of your backpacking days, friend) , you will be pleased to know that, in addition to the christmas cocktails _(from €30) _ and open bar _(from €12/hour) _, Generator Madrid opens its rooftop terrace every day from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (yes, yes, there are stoves), and will organize special Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve dinners followed by electronic sessions by DJ Luke Garcia.
SOMETHING CHASTISH....
** Iberostar Las Letras ** **(Gran Clavel. Gran Vía, 11; New Year's Eve dinner: €189, includes wine pairing and party favors with two drinks) **
Castizo one hundred percent, Gran Clavel, the House of Food, Vermouth and Bar (yes, with capital letters) of the Las Letras hotel, part of the Iberostar group, claims the traditional Madrid cuisine at dinner on the last night of 2019.
Here, in the middle of Gran Vía, New Year's Eve will taste like freshly picked baby broad beans with foie gras and poached egg (ummm) , to Grilled monkfish with lettuce emulsion and kale leaf (double ummmm) , to Glazed lamb with thyme potatoes... The dishes that we have always liked and also more sophisticated snacks such as oysters with hollandaise sauce or light white prawn cream with tartare and fresh sprouts.
This year, in addition, the Gran Clavel is carrying out a Christmas market, also traditional, in which to find that gift that you still lack.
FOR THE SERVICE…
** Meliá Castilla ** **(L'Albufera. Poeta Joan Maragall, 43; Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch: €85; New Year's Eve dinner: €310, includes accommodation; New Year's Eve buffet: €195 ; New Year's meal, €54; prices include drinks) **
The Meliá Castilla restaurant is known for their rice (for many, the best in Madrid) and for its sea dishes. Also for the care with which they treat the product and for the elegance of their service. All this, raised to the nth degree, is what awaits us in L'Albufera during these dates.
Thus, in the Christmas Eve gala will serve wild sea bass with white aubergine and its warm sauce and the classic Christmas stuffed capon as main dishes and, before that, appetizers so appreciated by regulars at the restaurant, such as the white Norway lobster carpaccio with soft wakame seaweed gelée and black salt flakes.
Proposal of the Meliá Castilla hotel for this Christmas
While, at Christmas lunch the main dish will be rice –you can choose the one you like the most from the extensive menu–, preceded by starters, almost all seafood, such as the 00 caliber anchovy loin from Santoña, there is nothing, or the delicious grilled baby squid with romesco sauce.
For the new years eve gala you have two options: closed menu –lobster flakes, beluga caviar and sliced sherry vinaigrette, linear of two foie gras with citrus emulsion, sole and scallop popieta, beef tenderloin and soft wheat and boletus risotto– or, for those who want to try it all ( logical!), an extensive buffet with more than twenty proposals to lick your fingers with iconic dishes such as the white shrimp from Huelva or the monkfish in green sauce with shrimp, the poularda stuffed with nuts or the leg of suckling veal from the Sierra de Guadarrama.
In both cases the evening includes, of course, the grapes and the cotillion, the dance and the open bar for three hours and, attention, this is important, the night of accommodation as a gift!
The next day, New Year, the excesses will be better coped with a snack based on 5 Jotas ham, peppers stuffed with rapa and prawns and seafood croquettes, and a good rice dish to choose from. Do you have room for dessert? What would you like more, some Orensana reeds with pastry cream or mille-feuille of filo pastry with crème madame?
FOR THE MENU...
** Hotel Urban _(Cebo. Carrera de S. Jerónimo; Christmas Eve or Christmas menu from €150; New Year's Eve menu with party favors from €399) _**
If you have never tried what it does Chef Aurelio Morales in Cebo, the restaurant of the Urban hotel, with a Michelin star, these holidays can be a good time to do it. And if you already know him, if you already know what awaits you, we don't have to convince you of anything.
Wrapped in the love of art and architecture that characterizes the Urban – it has original pieces of Buddhist, Hindu and Chinese art scattered throughout the hotel and the largest collection of art on Papua New Guinea in Madrid – Morales' proposal for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch starts with pure acorn-fed ham –Is there something better?–, pork shoulder and idiazábal cheese croquettes and shrimp and truffle cream; continue with Truffled poulard cannelloni with mushrooms and dried fruit, bouillabaisse from Meno and Thermidor lobster and kid accompanied by chestnuts, sage and truffle ; and ends with a dessert based on yogurt, white chocolate, pomegranate and white truffle.
While New Year's Eve celebration it will include cococha, marrow and caviar, scallops, elver cannelloni a la Donosti, lobster, turbot, king crab with cauliflower cream, matured beef, caesarean section amanita cream and parmesan, apple tatin with cinnamon ice cream... And yes, also pure acorn-fed ham. And wines from Priorat and Mallorca.
If, in addition, you want to stay the night, you will like to know that there are packages at the most appetizing prices.
TO CELEBRATE IN A DOUBLE GAME...
** NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding _(Domo. Padre Damián, 23; New Year's Eve menu: €303, teenagers, €227, and children, €112) _**
In 2020 the Eurobuilding turns 50 younger and fitter than ever and to start the celebrations, Chef Luis Bartolome has prepared an amazing New Year's Eve menu in five steps, one for each decade, which will take place, as will the subsequent party (chocolate with churros included), under the hotel's spectacular LED dome.
The 70's will be represented by lobster, scallop and shrimp in salpicón, marine collagen and its corals . The 80's for a waygu tartar, aerial crispy basil, egg yolk and pickles. The 90s taste like Black truffle from Soria, poultry consommé and puff pastry. The years 2000 to grouper in salt, cauliflower, macadamia nut and caviar. The second decade of the millennium brings us to the honeyed veal, edulis and rutabaga stew. And, the year 2020, for now a dessert: alaska cake, 2020 version.
We had dinner?