Dear readers,
Its time for a new post about a other neighborhood in Madrid. Today I am going to tell you about the best places in the area of Malasaña. This neighborhood is becoming famous for its alternative, hip, creative, upcoming young-enterpreneurial atmosphere.
General
Malasaña is a vibrant neighborhood full of lively bars and clubs overflowing with young people. Its streets are currently being renovated, making it a much more attractive quarter. It's one of the classic areas for partying the night away. Malasaña is to the west of Chueca and to the east of Arguelles. It is surrounded by several metro stations and is a central neighbourhood of Madrid. Malasaña has many fashion boutiques as well as shops for design and niche market products. They are often cutting-edge shops or feature progressive designers and products. They are often economical and rarely mainstream. There are many second-hand vintage shops, used book stores and unique gift shops.
So Casper this all sounds nice, but how about your favorite places in this area??
Well let me tell you this: I visit Malasaña quite often for a drink or a bite because in this area prices are relatively low and the atmosphere here is ''different'' and more ''undiscovered''. If you want to see a real upcoming neighborhood you definitely should take a walk here.
La Muca is a trendy restaurant established in Calle del Pez, one of my favorite streets in Malasaña. This street provides you tons of small restaurants, bars and shops where you can hang-out and see creative and arty interiors. When you ''hang out'' in Malasaña, you directly see that people a dressed and behave more alternative. People who visit this street often wear piercings, have tattoos and wear 'different' clothes with different hair-cuts. Nevertheless, the atmosphere here is very open and comfortable. People respect you no matter how you dress or look like.
Back to La Muca. La Muca is a trendy and stylish, modern furnished restaurant which also perfectly suits for having a first drink with your date. Where most places are relatively cheap, La Muca is in comparison to the other places relatively expensive. The menu is wide and they offer, lots of different dishes. You pay around 17€ for a meal, exceptions there in the form of burgers and pizza's. La Muca is a good place to share (tapas para picar) food but also to order a complete one person meal. The quality of the food is good and its quite often crowded in this restaurant. Therefor it is recommended to make a reservation in advance.
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| La Muca interior |
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| La Muca interior |
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| La Muca plate |
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| La Muca from the outside |
I can say Naif is one of my favorite restaurants in Madrid. It is cheap, informal, always crowded, it has a nice inside interior and a great terrace. This place is perfect for having a meal with some friends or having a lunch. You can find this restaurant in Plaza San Ildefonso. The terrace is on a square, settled next to two other restaurants which makes this an enjoyable place to stay. Local residents often do here some shows or play local music. A meal, both the lunch as the dinner, cost around €7. Although portions aren't that big, the food is of very good quality. Naif is specialized in Mexican / American food. They offers all kinds of burgers, burritos, salads and sandwiches. What I would like to recommend you, especially when you are with 2 or more persons, are the Nachos chips. I dare to say these are the best ones you have ever tried!
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| Naif terrace |
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| 'Naif's Nachos' Best you have ever tried! |
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| Naif restaurant inside |
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| Naif entrance |
Mariscastaña
Maricastana is established in Calle Corredera Baja de San Pablo. This street has also a few places which I regularly visit and Maricastana is one of them. If you would ask my girlfriend what is you favorite restaurant in Madrid she would probably say; 'Maricastana' and this is not because she likes the waiter (at least i hope). The service is not always good in here. BUT, this recently opened restaurant compensates a lot.
First of all they were being able to create an atmosphere where romance, formal, informal, intimacy, coziness and trendy are being combined. A very good restaurant to have a first or second date or to celebrate something personal. The food is relative cheap comparing to the very good quality they are delivering. In combination with the proper wines you are guaranteed of a good meal. This two floor restaurant has upstairs, where the entrance is, a more 'open-intimidate-cozy' atmosphere and below a more 'romantic' atmosphere. Dishes cost around €10 and are very good for sharing. They don't offer the usual and traditional Spanish plates. Here they offer the more modern plates, which they have given an own 'twist'. Difficult to explain but definitely worth trying!
If you go, I would like to recommend you to try the 'pizza mango' (actually it isn't a pizza and also I would not like to call it that way but it looks a bit similar) because this has such a good and pure taste! Furthermore I would like you to recommend the 'Tuna fish with strawberry'. You would probably say ''thats a strange combination'' but this makes the fish a bit exotic. Really delicious!
As mentioned before, there is one point that they could improve and thats the service of the waiters. These can give you the feeling of 'not interested', at least that were my experiences in this restaurant. Though it is still often full around here, which making reservations in advance might ensure you to have a table for the night.
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| Mariscastana restaurant upstairs during night |
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| Maricastana restaurant downstairs |
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| The menu (spanish) |
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| Restaurant downstairs |
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| Restaurant upstairs during day |
Circo
Circo is also a recently opened restaurant and is established in front of Maricastana. I landed here coincidently because Maricastana was full and I hadn't made a reservation. The interior of Circo looks like a living room. When you enter the restaurant you see young urban alternative professionals eating and enjoying their time. Circo is Spanish restaurant, where the food is cheap and the service is excellent. You pay around €8 for a dish. The atmosphere here is very non-formal and if you don't like that I would not recommend you to go here. Its a good place to share tapas with some of your friends. The food is served quickly (quality is fine) and you have the possibility to choose from a big traditional Spanish menu.
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| Circo Bar pre-opening |
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| Circo tables restaurant |
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| Circo (partly) menu |
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| Circo outside |
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| Circo restaurant |
La Bicicleta
The latest opened bar/cafe in Malasana is 'La Bicicleta'. This bar/cafe is excellent for having a nice cup of coffee or having a cocktail at night. The bar has an interior which distinguish itself from a lot of other bars in this area. La Bicicleta has an interior based on: bicycles, chesterfield couches, raw & wooden chairs and arty drawings. The walls are white which makes it the perfect combination for a trendy, hip, alternative, hang-out place. In La Bicicleta its also possible to lunch (not to have dinner!). I haven't tried the lunch yet so I can't tell you anything whether the quality is good or bad. What I do can tell is that the prices for the drinks are relatively expensive. For a Gin-Tonic you pay around €8 - €10. Apparently this doesn't matter for the people who visit this place because it is often crowded. During the day this is place is the perfect workplace, to work, study or read a book. If you want to have a drink before going to a club or party, this is also the right place to go!
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| Wall drawing La Bicicleta |
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| 'Hanging' in La Bicicleta |
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| Furniture La Bicicleta |
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| Perfect place to work |
Well readers, this was it for today. I hope you enjoyed it and found some interesting spots which you would like to visit. Next week you guys can determine about which neighborhood I have to write, so don't forget to vote on my poll on the right of the blog ;)
Have a nice day and enjoy the sun!
Cheers
Casper
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