Flavia Italian Restaurant (Madrid, SPAIN) ★★★☆☆

After spending the last 36 hours exploring the flavors of Spain, I knew no one would object to switching to a different cuisine this afternoon. There were a number of options being kicked around but at the end of the day, I decided to pick Italian food for the sake of the little one.



From my two-day observations, Spaniards do indeed eat very late. We were the only customers around when we arrived at 1:30PM but lone and behold, the place was buzzing just before 2PM.



I didn't know too much about Flavia except the fact that it's an Italian restaurant in the busy Retiro district. There weren't too many pictures posted online about the restaurant or its dishes so my fingers were crossed when I came in. Fortunately for us, it was a really proper restaurant with a comprehensive food menu and I could really see the authenticity of these dishes. On top of that, it's kids friendly too.



Some cured ham to start everybody off on the right foot. This was finished within a couple of minutes. Obviously, we were all starving.



Caesar Salad - Everyone wanted some salad after all the meat and seafood the last few days. This was elegantly prepared table side by our server.




Romaine lettuce with crispy croutons and parmesan cheese and grilled chicken. You can't get more authentic than that. Very nice.



Penne with cream and funghi - All-time classic pasta dish we ordered for our little nugget. The penne was done the traditional way with truffle cream and lots of mushrooms. Yeah, he's a happy camper now.



Tagliatelle Gamberi e Porcini - I was craving for something simple so this was right up my alley. This came with loads of prawns, Boletus mushrooms and truffle cream. Simple but very satisfying.



Risotto di Funghi Porcini e Vongole Veraci - Only three risotto to choose from and we picked this one called "Sea and Mountain". This came with the perfectly creamy, silky texture we were all looking for. And surprisingly, not only did it come with mussels, clams (sea) and different kinds of mushrooms (mountain), there were also prawns and scampi in there.



We just couldn't believe our luck picking a restaurant randomly and coming up with a gem like Flavia. All the dishes were pretty tasty and I thought service was spotless throughout the meal. Too bad we didn't have room for their tiramisu (rumored to be very very good); otherwise, it would make this a perfect afternoon for us.

Wait, one more thing that would make this a perfect meal...if she was our server (such a lovely smile! Wow...). 








Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: €€€
Address: Calle Gil de Santivañes, 2, 28001 Madrid, Spain
Closest Metro Station: Colón / Serrano
Tel: +34 914-939051
Website: www.flaviamadrid.com