Estay Resaurante

We obviously spend a lot of time in the Salamanca District, so we take care to make sure that we don't over-represent this neighborhood.  Convenience means that we generally fail.  But, we do recognize that some places need highlighting and might even be worth a trip into the district.  Estay would fall into that category.  It's especially close by if you're hitting some of Serrano's high end shopping.

Honesty requires the confession that we have probably walked past the entrance dozens of times, sometimes when we were actually cruising for a drink and a pincho.  Maybe it's just me, but it looks tacky from the street.  Not so inviting.



But, once you decide to go in, a spacious bar with lots of seating greets you.  As well as an interesting approach to "mini-cuisine" that means your pinchos are actually small works of art.  We did the chef's selection and got an interesting set of meat-based pinchos that were delicious, but perhaps not quite as memorable as the billing would suggest.  I also noted that no complimentary tapa was served and the bar service wasn't as friendly as we've gotten accustomed to in Madrid.

But, the food and the wines were excellent in a surprisingly hip setting.  We'll visit again and see how our impressions evolve.  One thing is for sure, we won't simply walk by looking for somewhere else.  It's on our map and should probably be on yours.

Estay Restaurante
Calle Hermosilla, 46
http://www.estayrestaurante.com/