Spaniards tend to eat late so it wasn't easy to find a restaurant that opens before 7pm for dinner but after countless hours of research, I was finally able to discover The Bazaar, a Italian-Spanish-Thai fusion restaurant that offers all-day dining from 1:30pm till late. Sounds too good to be true in Madrid!
As the name already suggests, the restaurant's interior décor has taken a page out of a trendy market. The primarily white dining room has cabinets everywhere stacked with typical Spanish products and ingredients such as bottles of olive oil and sherry vinegar, bags of pasta and tinned food. Thanks to the interesting marketplace theme, the space is bursting with energy creating a fun and lively atmosphere for restaurant guests.
The restaurant has a spacious basement level for those interested in a bit more privacy.
Creamy cuttlefish croquettes with cuttlefish ink (€7.96) - It's our first official meal in Madrid so of course, a Spanish tapas to start things off.
I always enjoy having Spanish croquettes and these were just seriously tasty. Underneath the crunchy shells were creamy cuttlefish ink with a bit of minced cuttlefish. Delish!
Firefly squid with potato (?) - This one came from the daily special menu.
The braised squid was really tender. I like the idea of serving it lukewarm.
Fettuccine with chicken, sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts (€7.93) - Something for our little one and he was so happy to see the fettuccine after a run of spagehetti Bolognese. This was pretty good. Didn't expect such a la dente pasta from a Spanish restaurant.
Seafood Paella (€10.95 per person) - I am a fan of traditional Spanish paella and you can't get more authentic than this. I thought the rice was bursting with flavors (seafood!) and there were so many ingredients in there (prawns, mussels, clams, cuttlefish and pork) providing contrasting textures and flavors for the flavored rice. Very nice.
Liquid tiramisu (€4.95) - We only had room for one dessert and we all agreed that a classic dessert like tiramisu with a modern twist was too good to turn down.
Many restaurants have tried to put their own spin on a traditional tiramisu. It's not the first time we had deconstructed tiramisu but I have yet to find one that's satisfying enough for an encore. Here they had tiramisu flavored cream (liquid tiramisu) served with ladyfinger, coffee ice-cream and fresh strawberries. It's really like having tiramisu ice-cream (both Häagen-Dazs and Mövenpick have it!) so I'm not entirely sure if I could count it as decontruction.
Looked like I have taken way too much time with my photos so my tiramisu is now officially a puddle.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: €€€
Address: Calle Libertad, 21, 28004 Madrid, Spain
Closest Metro Station: Chueca
Tel: +34 915-233905
Website: www.grupandilana.com/es/restaurantes/bazaar
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