El Padre

Overpriced, mediocre food. Really fancy setting inside, with mostly suit and tie clientele. I ordered an oxtail croquette and their puff pastry with shrimp and scallops. The oxtail croquettes were not that great, the flavors and texture were "bleh" and the puff pastry dish was so salty, I couldn't even tell what I was eating anymore. There were two pieces of shrimp (not fresh) and I don't know where the scallops were. The best part of the meal was probably the free bread. Would not consider coming back.

While you can't see this little gem from the sidewalk, go down the stairs and their entrance is to the right. Cool vibe with tableside cart to make your delicious cocktails. Mario and David speak English and are great help with gluten free. They have GF bread, homemade GF crustless cheesecake and numerous GF meal choices. The food is outstanding.

After a week in Madrid trying different restaurants each night, I have to say that El Padre was the best restaurant that I tried by far. Food is reasonably priced, although portions are small--we were a party of 3 and ordered 5 dishes, which was a perfect amount for us. The food quality was really terrific, definitely top notch. My favorite dish was the octopus--perfectly cooked and seasoned. They have an English menu for the entrees and the waiters have passable English. The decor was intimate and modern. The restaurant is hidden downstairs underneath a small shopping plaza--but if you see a Starbucks, it's just next to the Starbucks down the stairs. There is a pretty large sign reading "El Padre" and steps down. The only thing I was disappointed in was the bread--I tried both the regular bread (tasteless and cold) and the gluten free bread (even worse and was literally a slice of bread that you could use for a sandwich). However, I wasn't there for the bread, if the bread was subpar, the rest of the food was amazing!