Top-shelf tapas

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This article was published 14/12/2024 (283 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A glass of sweet vermouth to launch the evening. Order in waves. Eat and drink standing at the bar. Don’t make a pig of yourself. After all, dinner’s at 10 p.m.

These are the “tapas tricks” of tour guide and chef Arantxa Lamas.

My son, Alex, and I have joined Lamas and a gaggle of other hungry tourists for Devour’s Tapas, Taverns & History tour in Madrid.

It runs 6:30-9:30 p.m. with three food and drink stops, thus the sage advice not to be a glutton.

After an evening of tapas grazing, many Spaniards then have a notoriously late dinner.

“But, just something light like a bowl or soup or some more tapas,” Lamas says, almost dismissively.

Her primer pep talk comes while we’re standing in the Plaza de las Descalzes before we even start walking to our first stop — Casa Labra.

The circa-1860 restaurant has a line up waiting for it to open.

Lamas quips that the exterior, decor, food and drink of the establishment has hardly changed over 164 years.

We start with the requisite sweet red vermouth to rev up our taste buds in preparation for the cod fritters and Manchego cheese to come.

Continuing to follow Lamas’s advice, we eat and drink standing, laughing and chatting at the bar “where the best gossip is.”

A short walk with more culinary talk brings us to Casa Ciriaco, established 1887, for the house specialty of hen in saffron and almond sauce and some Abuelo Rueda Verdejo white wine.

Continuing to stroll, we come across El Lacon, in a 16th-century building, for a final wave of croquettes, fish nuggets, ham and potato with Roger de Flor cava (Spanish sparkling wine).

Everything in Spain somehow incorporates tapas — the famous shareable small-plate foods served in almost all 15,000 of Madrid’s bars and restaurants.

That’s how Alex and I, on another day, find ourselves wrapping up a Tim Bikes Madrid Highlights cycling tour at La Taberna de Ramales for codfish and patatas bravas tapas and glasses of Mahou (Madrid’s favourite beer) and cava.

Even our combination tour of the Royal Palace and Prado art museum with Walks has a stop in between for a sweet treat of churros with a chocolate dip.

There are three schools of thought on how tapas became synonymous with Spain.

One, innkeepers of old would serve drinks to customers with a slice of bread, meat or cheese over the glass to keep flies and dust out.

Two, in the 13th century when King Alfonso X was sick he was prescribed lots of daily wine, which he soaked up with small bites of food.

He liked the habit and suggested everyone should serve small portions of food with drinks.

Three, workers in the Middle Ages could only take short breaks, just long enough to grab a quick drink and bite.

Whichever is true, or whatever you choose to believe, it’s a fun way to nosh and sip.

Since Canadians generally flock to Europe in the summer, Madrid in November might sound like an odd choice. But it’s actually an inspired one.

Madrid has mild winters, the tourist hordes have thinned, the tours are still operating, the attractions remain open and locals and tourists alike continue to eat and drink on patios and rooftop bars (albeit, usually ones with outdoor heaters).

Air Canada has embraced this concept and flies year-round, three times a week between Montreal and the Spanish capital.

Air Canada also flies year-round to other European cities such as London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Toulouse — reinforcing the fact they are desirable destinations in the winter, too.

The base for me and Alex in Madrid is the circa-1851 Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá (Palace of the Dukes) hotel.

Yes, as the name suggests this five-star property (part of the Spain-based Gran Meliá chain and a member of the Leading Hotels of the World group) is the former city mansion of the Dukes of Granada de Ega.

The palaces of such nobility were all in close proximity to the Royal Palace for handy access to the king and queen when needed.

In the case of the Palacio de los Duques, that equates to an impressive 300 metres from the Royal Palace.

The hotel is also handy to all of Madrid’s other Old Town activities and attractions from the aforementioned Plaza Mayor (ringed by tapas restaurants, of course), the Gran Via shopping street, Puerto del Sol (another plaza with lots of tapas) and the Prado Museum with its masterpiece paintings by Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya and Hieronymus Bosch, among others.

Palacio de los Duques took inspiration from Velázquez for an opulent and ornate, yet avant-garde, restoration including many reproductions of his 1656 signature painting Las Meninas starring little Princess Margarita.

The princess’s likeness is big and bold behind the check-in desks, in the executive lounge (where there’s endless tapas and free-flowing Ruinart Champagne), in hallways, on the doors of all the rooms and on the fabric headboards of all the beds.

Our sumptuous room strikes the right balance of stark white duvets covering the comfy beds and dramatic, heavy draperies covering the Juliette balcony windows overlooking the garden.

The garden also lends its name to the hotel’s new signature restaurant — Jardin de los Duques.

The restaurant is actually in the former stables of the palace and is endlessly atmospheric with its soft lighting, exposed brick walls and a see-through Plexiglas floor to preserve and showcase the original cobblestone floor of the stables below.

It’s definitely the place to enjoy the croquettes appetizer and loin of beef for two with a bottle of El Hombre Bala 2020 Garnacho.

We’ll also hit up two other five-star hotels for memorable meals — Dani restaurant at the Four Seasons for sea bass paired with Fefinane Año 2021 Albariño and the Palm Court at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz for Beef Wellington matched to Numanthia 2019 Tempranillo.

For more information, check out devourtours.com, aircanada.com and .melia.com/en/hotels/spain/madrid/palacio-de-los-duques-gran-melia