Cafe Madrid
2080 E. 3900 South, Holladay ; 801-273-0837
(see
map)
One of the few Wasatch Front restaurants that offer Spanish fare. Prices are a bit steep but the food is good.
| Overall |
 |
| Food |
|
| Mood |
|
| Service |
|
| Kid-friendly |
NO |
| Noise |
 |
|
Cuisine: Spanish, Tapas
Price: $$$
Hours: M-S, 5:30-10 p.m.
Liquor: Full Service
Reservations: Accepted
Accepts:    
Website: http://www.cafemadrid.net
Recommended Dishes: Gazpacho, beef tenderloin with blue cheese cream sauce.
July 14, 2006
Top tapas -- and prices -- at Café Madrid
By Lesli J. Neilson
HOLLADAY -- Ah, the price of fame. Or should I say, the prices one can charge because of fame.
Café Madrid has won many accolades since it opened; someone even pegged it as having the best flan in the United States.
Gabrielle and Todd McAfee purchased the 9-year-old Spanish restaurant in 2003 and have made it a successful business. The setting is intimate and bold: intimate because there are only 20 tables inside and out, bold because of the striking artwork by Juan-Carlos (J.C.) Pino, Gabrielle's brother. The service is hospitable and professional.
The kitchen setup is interesting. Executive chef Nacho Basurto owns five restaurants in mainland Spain and on the island of Tenerife. He employs 20 sous-chefs to man the restaurants' stoves and rotates five chefs three times a year to Salt Lake City. Miguel Rebolledo, a Tenerife sous-chef, is currently heading up Café Madrid's kitchen.
When a recent visit was pricier than I remembered, I went back and read a Tribune review from 2005. Hot and cold tapas were $6 to $12; now they are $7.50 to $15.50. Entrees a year ago were $18 to $24; now they are $22 to $28. (A 14-ounce beef tenderloin will set you back $36.)
The McAfees are in a unique position. How many other Spanish and true tapas (not small plates) places are there in Salt Lake City? Not one. I am sure the restaurant enjoys many longtime patrons, but more reasonably priced tapas would lure even more diners, who may not be as familiar with Spanish cuisine.
That said, the food is commendable, though there are a few misses.
The gazpacho ($8.50) is not one of them. A server presents a plain white bowl of parsley-tossed diced cucumbers and tomatoes and then cloaks the vegetables in an anything-but-plain purée. Coral-pink and tinged with smoky pepper notes, the bread soup could have made the perfect light supper. It went particularly well with the 2002 Mateus Portugual Rosado ($20). Rosé -- not white zinfandel -- is a seriously underappreciated wine. If you're into sangria, a glass is $5 and a carafe is $20.
The menu offers three salads; the least expensive costs $11.50. An ensalada mixta ($12.50) could feed four and included limp and briny white asparagus spears, a mound of albacore tuna, red piquillo peppers and baby greens. With green asparagus in season, I was perplexed by the use of the anemic spears. The ensalada de queso fundido ($12.50) fared better. Huge blocks of semi-molten Brie (what's Spanish about Brie?), dotted with walnuts and raisins, rested atop more baby greens. Curiously, both salads contained yellow, past-their-prime greens.
A few audible "eeews" were emitted when I ordered the tosta con sardinas encebolladas ($11), which combines delicate and not-at-all salty Spanish sardines, red onion, Manchego cheese and red wine vinaigrette, daintily presented on toasted baguette slices. When my dining companions got past the word "sardine" and bit into the savory morsels, they were converts.
I had to be a bit more convincing with the morcilla (blood sausage) and angulas (elvers or baby eels), special tapas on a recent evening. The onion-accented morcilla ($10.50) was delicate and moist, while the 2-inch-long angulas ($9.50) were in a pool of a pimentón and garlic-spiked olive oil. Eat them on bread and soak up some of the oil while you are at it.
Everyone was happy to try four crunchy, golf-ball-size croquetas ($9.50), filled with ham or spinach. Calamares fritos ($9), with an aioli-like crema alongside, could have been fried in hotter oil to become more golden in the time it took them to become toothsome.
Other hot tapas include pricey but good butifarritas con brevas ($11), four imported Spanish sausage quarters resting in a black mission fig sauce; cazuela de pimientos del piquillo con gambas al ajillo ($10.50), sautéed shrimp and piquillo peppers; and gambas con bacon ($10.50), six bacon-wrapped shrimp served piping hot in a cream sauce that just begged to be devoured.
For those who would rather order an entree, diners can choose from six, which come with salad and a choice of fried potatoes, red potatoes or pine-nut-and raisin-flecked rice.
Pechuga de pato ($24), or grilled duck breast, was gray and overcooked. Apples and honey sauce were too sweet, and tender-crisp asparagus spears were miscast as a side. Solomillo de buey al queso picón Bejes-Treviso (8 ounces, $28; 14 ounces, $36) was spot-on medium-rare beef with a silky sauce made of feisty Spanish blue cheese and cream that did not overpower and had us fighting over sopping rights.
Although paella ($19 per person), a Spanish rice dish with myriad versions, or tortilla española (the small serves 2 to 4, $15; the large serves 4 to 6, $24), a potato torte, can be ordered with 24 hours' notice, I was disappointed with the former, though the kitchen cannot be faulted on quantity. The use of deep, nonstick paella pans prevents the formation of socarrat, the coveted crunchy browned rice bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. And, the two times I have had Café Madrid's paella, it had the overwhelming bitter flavor of too much saffron -- the rice had a rich orange hue rather than a marigold yellow. Protein, in the form of chicken, chorizo, fish, mussels and clams, was properly cooked.
A bottle of 2004 Burgans Albariño ($32) went well with the fish-based tapas, while the 2003 Finca Antigua La Mancha Tempranillo ($26) complemented the meat offerings. Wine markups on the red-heavy but Spanish-centric list tend to be three times the price in the wine store.
The dessert list boasts eight selections, from $4 to $6. I was most intrigued by the mousse de limón ($6), the texture of soft yogurt with a delicate lemon tang, glazed with honey and sprinkled with walnuts. And the kitchen's flan ($4) was good. I don't know if it is the best version in the U.S., but at least the dessert prices are reasonable.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
March 25, 2005
By Nancy Hobbs
Good food, by itself, can't keep a restaurant alive. The history of Cafe Madrid over the past decade, from humble beginnings to local favorite, then to near death and now popular again, is a clear example.
Salt Lakers hungry for a taste of Spain embraced the tiny Cafe Madrid when talented chef Encina Arias introduced it in the mid-'90s. She nurtured its growth from a coffeehouse and lunch spot to a favorite destination for delicious tapas and a night of fine dining.
When new adventures drew Arias away from Utah two years ago, she sold the restaurant. The new owner believed that his non-Spanish heritage wasn't critical to Cafe Madrid's success. He had acquired Arias' recipes with the sale and retained some of the staff to provide continuity.
Early on, it seemed to work. The food, at least in the early stages of transition, was still good. But the cafe's Spanish "flavor" didn't last. The friendliness that had been so much a part of the dining experience under Arias was supplanted by a stiffness, a change that obviously wasn't good for business.
When Gabrielle McAfee, a native Spaniard, took a visiting friend to Cafe Madrid for dinner in late 2003, they were the only customers. It was a stark contrast to the days when she worked at the restaurant as a server for Arias, when a full house was commonplace. And her friend, an acclaimed chef who had won "best young chef" and "best restaurant in Spain" awards in recent years, was appalled that there wasn't a soul on site who could speak Spanish.
That friend, Nacho Basurto, persuaded McAfee during dinner to make an offer on Cafe Madrid and, with his help, turn it back into a real Spanish restaurant. As they left, they handed the owner a napkin on which they had scribbled a proposal and phone number if he was willing to sell. He returned their call before the night was over.
McAfee's emotional ties to the restaurant run deeper than just collecting a paycheck and tips years ago. She met her husband, Todd McAfee, while working there, and it was the site of their first date. When she and Basurto returned from dinner and told Todd what they had done, Gabrielle says he was supportive.
"He agreed that the place of our first meeting shouldn't die. It was a strange night, but it turned out we made an offer and [the owner] accepted."
That was about 15 months ago, and to visit Cafe Madrid today is to revisit the past. High energy fills the small, crowded dining room, and the gracious staff bends over backward to ensure diners are well tended.
In fact, if there is a fault, it might be that the owners are too cordial -- a difficult criticism when you're on the receiving end. Diners seem so relaxed and comfortable at Cafe Madrid, they don't want to leave. And as proprietors, the McAfees refuse to pressure anyone to hurry up, pay the bill and vamoose.
On both occasions we visited Madrid, that meant our reservations couldn't be honored on time. We had to wait, and with a restaurant this intimate (a dozen tables and only the entranceway as a waiting area), it was easy to see where the holdup was. But who can blame anyone for wanting to forestall the end of a nice evening?
Those of us waiting knew our time would come, and no one got out of sorts. Most, like me, seemed to consider it a minor inconvenience. Todd, as the weekend host, said he is still trying to perfect the art of scheduling so there's little lag on the kitchen/serving side and no waiting for guests.
Once seated, we were happy to find the food at Cafe Madrid as good as it's ever been. Some of the original menu items are still offered, such as the breaded and fried croquetas, shrimp wrapped in bacon with a delectable cream sauce, and beef tenderloin with a roquefort cheese sauce.
But there are new items, too, including a flaky poached salmon with green peppercorn sauce and sea bass with a shrimp sauce and caramelized onions. New on the tapas menu are pungent sardine filets on baguette toasts, irresistible piquillo peppers with a seafood stuffing and fried calamari.
Chef Basurto, who continues to regularly visit and consult with Gabrielle, initially worked with her on perfecting sauces for many of the tapas and entrees, and they are indeed good enough to eat by the spoonful.
In fact, JC, our consummate server (and Gabrielle's brother), suggested we not be shy about sopping up the sauces with our bread. Rather than being viewed as unmannerly, it's considered a genuine compliment to the chef. Uncouth or not, I didn't want the plate of Spanish sausage to go anywhere until it was wiped clean of its luscious black mission fig sauce.
Though the entrees at Cafe Madrid are excellent, particularly the lamb shank in port wine sauce and the frequently featured osso bucco, my preference is a parade of tapas, with a good selection of hot and cold plates offered that range from $6 to $12. Pair those with a robust Spanish wine, of which there also are ample choices, in addition to a popular homemade sangria, and you won't leave unsatisfied.
The restaurant's soups and substantial salads can't be dismissed, either. The delicious winter chicken soup we enjoyed as "soup of the day" has been replaced for the season with either gazpacho or garlic soup, says Gabrielle. The creamy lobster bisque, however, is still on the spring menu.
For dessert lovers, Cafe Madrid's version of tiramisu is one of the best adaptations of the Italian specialty I have tasted, and certainly worth the indulgence. We were likewise glad to have heeded JC's advice in splurging for what he calls "the pride of Cafe Madrid": a 30-year-old Spanish liqueur made of figs -- P.X. (Pedro Ximenez) 1975 -- one of several dessert wines served.
It was delivered to our table by a young man who pointed out, with charm and humor, that it was bottled before he was born.
Cafe Madrid has returned to its roots and been reinfused with a healthy dose of Spanish charisma and congeniality. Combine that with delicious food, and it's a delightful place to dine.
|
