The opening of the new Urso Hotel & Spa in Madrid has brought with it an exciting new restaurant and culinary concept, The Table By. Not exclusively for hotel guests, although conveniently located if you are lucky enough to be one, The Table By is permanently situated downstairs in the hotel, but with a different ´pop up´ chef each month. Each chef will arrive at the restaurant from a different region of Spain, bringing with them their own gastronomic heritage and style.
With each pop up everything in the restaurant will change, including the concept, the menu, even the décor, giving you a new culinary experience each time. StyleNest headed over for the turn of Michelin starred chef Jesús Sanchez, who brought his Cantabrian restaurant Cenador de Amós to Madrid for December.
We had a reservation for 9pm, early by Spanish standards, so the restaurant was quiet when we arrived, but still with atmosphere and the slight buzz of a Saturday evening. We were offered a complimentary glass of champagne, and our earlier than usual reservation gave us time to relax with our drinks, and take a leisurely look at the menu before ordering. We were familiar with Spanish food in general, in fact my dining companion was Spanish, but having never experienced Cantabria or it´s food before, the menu was fairly new, for me at least. However our waiter was only too happy to help talk us through the menu, explaining more about Cantabria’s local gastronomy, its traditional dishes and ingredients, and answering any questions we might have. The two tasting menus were explained to us, and we opted for the shorter first menu, but both choosing different dishes so we could still sample a range of Cantabrian food. Our waiter offered to match each course appropriately to a local Cantabrian wine so we happily put our trust in him.
To start our Cantabrian experience, we were brought an appetiser of marinated mackerel accompanied by a dome of jellied gazpacho, and anchovies on a bed of red pepper, fish being one of the most important and well-known ingredients in Cantabria´s gastronomy. Both were delicious, and definitely set the tone for the rest of the meal, we were left excited and hungry for more. Our starters arrived shortly after, a creamy lobster ravioli and a dish of caramelized duck, and for main course, roasted lamb with vegetables and ´callos´, a traditional Cantabrian dish of pork stomach. Everything was absolutely delicious, well presented, and rich and full of flavour. My only problem was a fault of my own, I had opted for the lamb, not feeling brave enough for the more traditional and Spanish callos, and although my lamb was delicious, I regretted my decision. My Spanish friend assured me that this was no ordinary callos, what is normally regarded to be a peasant dish had been elevated to Michelin standards, and I made a note to self to be more adventurous with my menu choice next time. Dessert, always my favourite part of a meal, was up next, and I had high hopes after what we had already sampled. We had chosen the chocolate cake with coffee ice-cream, and a traditional pastry with a caramel ice-cream, and like the rest of the meal, they did not disappoint. The cake was so light it was more mousse like in texture, fluffy, creamy, and intensely chocolately, if I´d have been at home I would have definitely gone for seconds. The wine throughout had been, as promised, perfectly matched, and with the dessert our waiter had brought us Crema de Orujo, more of a Baileys style crème liquer than a dessert wine, but still a delicious way to end the meal. We sat and enjoyed the rest of our wine, and some melt in the mouth chocolate petit fours before leaving, a little full, very happy, and wondering which chef was to pop up next, so we could head back very soon for a new Spanish culinary experience.
Tasting menus are priced at 49€ and 69€. All drinks are additional.
Calle Beneficencia, 15, Madrid, 28004