Desde 1911 Madrid

In every city and every country they will have their own specialty. But only in Spain the spectrum spans so broad and quality so high overall. We are only looking at seafood, but there are also the best Galician beef, the best Iberian pigs, great rice and vegetables, mushroom and so much more.

But what I love about Spain is that they excel both in the traditional AND contemporary ways of expressing the techniques and optimizing their ingredients. They can coexist with no conflicts. Last trip to Spain in fall 2021 I visited @losmarinosjoserestaurante which is a temple for seafood prepared in the most authentic Spanish style - simplistic approach to showcase the premium quality seafood. At @desde_1911 , they took a different direction.

The group @pescaderias_corunesas with 4 generations of history in artisanal fishing and sourcing the best seafood around Spain has been doing traditional seafood restaurants in Madrid and now they brought a brand new concept: one that provides a refined holistic experience to enjoying seafood. From creative approaches in preparing pristine ingredients (seafood other than aged turbot all served within 24 hours from the time they get caught), bread, olive oil, wine, cheese, dessert, performance, hospitality - they made effort in all aspects and guests can feel that when dining there.

Ingredients is one thing but you need execution. I like that the flavors of ingredients are amplified by using all parts of them (shrimp heads, turbot gelatine, squid ink, etc), not trying to add on unnecessary products. Some places do too much and overwhelm the natural flavors, here they elevate the original taste for maximum deliciousness.

Pic 2-3 are the menu & price for dining here. Seafood won’t be the same by season and they change it daily based on freshest caught of the day. At this price we can’t even get a fresh wild grouper fish in Hong Kong 😭. With the convenience of locating right within Madrid, I don’t see a reason not coming here and eat your heart out.

I can’t wait to come back here and eat every seafood they have on the menu 😆😍❤️ Less

I was praying the finale would live up to the standard of seafood and cheese at @desde_1911 , and they did not disappointed. My favorite was Torrija (Spanish french toast) which has always been one of my top favorite Spanish desserts. Here they paired it with chocolate mousse, olive oil and salt, plus another drizzle of hot velvety smooth chocolate sauce 😍😍😍 (pic 1-2). I mean salt, chocolate and olive oil, always the unbeaten combo and so Spanish.

Another dessert we had was “Milhojas de manzana com helado de leche quemada”, Apple “strudel” with smoke milk ice cream (pic 3-4) and finished with petits fours (pic 5-6) . I inhaled the smoked ice cream 😂 so good

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Who would have thought my best cheese course in Europe happened in Spain and not Paris? I spotted the cheese display when I walked into @desde_1911 I knew I must order it even cheese is optional on the menu. And it was so epic! Please do not ask me about the names of each cheese, there were so many options I failed on decision making and simply let @samarela1976 who had always been the most helpful to pick for us. Everything was just SO GOOD!

And we also got another special :
1948 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Ygay Reserva to pair (pic 4-5, 10) They open the bottle the old way (video 6). Drinking old wine in Spain is such a treat. Now that was really complete 😇

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13. Rodaballo del Golfo de Vizcaya en Horno de Leña
Vizcayan Bay Turbot in Wood Oven
@desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

Turbot has become so iconic as the fish to be enjoyed in Spain, I think partly due to the rise of Elkano internationally. But it is true that Spanish are the people who have the wisdom to utilize the gelatine from grilling fatty white fish to make a sauce, so everything goes back and nothing, especially the essence, is wasted. And only when you have fish this big that you can have such gelatinous texture from the skin and fins, literally my favorite parts to eat (pic 1 &3). They made a nice coating on my lips 😝. Heavenly moments right there 😇😌

They also had four sides with the turbot (pic4) and I loved them all, esp those samphires, the mineral taste with the sauce and fish was so perfect.

It was definitely a substantial portion after so many seafood courses (12 kinds of seafood preparation to be exact). But I still couldn’t help but finish the whole plate. No sauce left 😄

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12. Arroz meloso com Pulpets de la Costa Brava
Meloso rice with Costa Brava’s Baby Octopus @desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

No one will be surprised if one claims Spain has some of the best octopus (plus another 100 types of seafood 😜). I love these baby octopus because they won’t get chewy like the big ones (although when properly prepared the giant ones can be so mesmerisingly tender); and their head is like another capsule of umami. These baby octopus with arroz meloso (creamy rice in between paella and caldoso in texture) did just that. The heads of the baby octopus were like spheres of sauce made by nature. The tiny legs / tentacles 🐙 gave great texture when eaten with the rice. So comforting and delicious 😌

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11. Berberechos de Cambados en Escabeche con Menestra de Verduras
Pickled Cambado’s Cockles with Vegetable Stew

@desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

Spring vegetables did not lose out to the seafood here, especially when they were combined. We got the season first white asparagus which were huge in size, so soft with zero fibre (pic 3); sweet teardrop peas (guisantes lágrima) worked wonders when paired with berberechos, the huge cockles from Cambado. The incredible oceanic flavor from the sea and the most amazing sweetness from the land literally elevated each other hand in hand.

Hiding underneath were grilled artichokes, tender and juicy. It was spring flavors from the garden and the sea in the most welcoming combination.

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(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) Carabinero, espardenyes, kokotxas, jamon iberico, etc are some of the ingredients that immediately ring the bell of uniquely Spanish. Angulas aka baby eel also belongs to that category.

I LOVE angulas but I don’t always come to Spain when it is available. This time we were fortunate to catch the tail end of angulas season at @desde_1911 , and it was so off-the-chart amazing ❤️‍🔥 In pic 1-2 you can see the thick angulas piled up, almost like noodles, with olive oil, garlic & chili, the most traditional way and honestly I can’t think of a better way. They served it with vintage spoons and forks (pic 3-4).

In video 5 you can see the weight of the angulas when I tried to fork in. Wow 🤩 That amount was incredible. I literally ate it like spaghetti (video 6), because each strand had substantial thickness. And the texture 🤯 I still remember that snap of the baby eels in the mouth and the fresh fish flavor that came from them, spiced up with just a touch of chili and garlic. Jaw dropping delicious, like 100x better than spaghetti with caviar. I was literally smiling like an idiot when I had it.

Of course I wouldn’t waste that super flavorful chili garlic oil that got so divine after cooking the baby eel. Bread in, mop it up, I think I left the bowl spotlessly clean 😆😎

One of the best bites in this trip for sure. It was unforgettable.

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8-9. Chipirón de Anzuelo en dos maneras
Fish Hooked Baby Squid in two ways
@desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

If you have had chipirons in Spain I am sure you will understand why they are so addictive. Here we got two preparations, one was just grilled for the original taste (right of pic 1); the second was to cook it in squid ink and stuffed with onion confit and red pepper (pic 2). My picture for the stuffing was ugly but this was really #uglydelicious . The sweetness from onion and red pepper worked so well with the sea flavor! And the soft crunch of the squid body with the soft and almost melt in the mouth filling was a great combination too!

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(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) 7. Camarones de Cambados a la Brasa
Grilled Camarone Shrimp from Cambados, Galicia

@desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

Served with the grilled big carabinero was a bowl of small camarone shrimp from Cambados (pic 1-2). They were small compared to the red prawn but actually big to the regular camarones you find, and were alive before being grilled (pic 6-7).

Once again you can see the premium quality from the color, the unbroken tentacles and legs, and every shrimp was plump (pic 3). Try your best to keep the tail when you peel the shell, I love every bit of the shrimp even down to the tail (pic 4).

The flesh was small but so juicy and sweet, and many had shrimp eggs (pic 5). They are like little sea candies packed with oceanic sweetness. I ate half the bowl myself but for sure can do the whole if I don’t have to share 😆

Three types of prawns / shrimps in one meal in Spain made me so happy 🌈

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(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) 6. Carabinero de Huelva a la Brasa
Huelva’s Grilled Red Prawn
@desde_1911 , Madrid, Spain (March 2022)

The carabinero was served with camarones (pic 2) but I will do two posts separately. I mean, in Spain I have had red prawns in many restaurants and most of them were impressive. But THIS was one of the biggest I had, I was 😱 when I saw it came and I put a full size table spoon next to it for you to visualise the actual size.

The prawn was grilled and sprinkled with generous amount of salt. You can see all the legs and tentacles are intact, a sign of freshness and quality. (Pic 1).

The flesh was succulent and juicy as expected, but the highlight was of course the giant head 😍(pic 3). Because of the size I could even use a table spoon to scoop out the brain and roe, and the color of the roe was the m deepest red I had ever had (pic 4-5). The flavor was OMG 😱😱😱so mind blowing, not the one like in Etxebarri which had a sign of smokiness adhered to it but just pure prawn head umami taste in the most intense level I have had. My brain literally went blank and then exploded 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 How can there be such delicious thing on earth?

Of course every prawn even from the same restaurant/ supplier / origin is different, so the next time it may or may not be the same. But for this particular one I had, it was hands down one of the most delicious prawns / thing I have ever had. Beyond heaven

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(REPOST: SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) 5. Tartar de Quisquilla de Motril con sus cabezas flameadas
Motril’s Quisquilla Shrimp Tartar with their heads fambleed in Cognac

@desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

I am reposting this as I mixed up on some pictures 😬🤦🏼‍♀️🙇‍♀️. For me shrimp / prawn family has always been the most outstanding seafood in Spain both in quality and variety, so whenever I am in seafood restaurants in Spain, I always want to try as many as possible.

Quisquillas is on the top of my favorite shrimp list, no matter raw or cooked. Here the bodies of the very very fresh shrimps (pic 2) were chopped up for tartare; the intensive work went to the heads of the shrimps - they first sautéed on pan, then flambéed with a splash of cognac. The heads were transferred to a mortar and hand crushed, went through the sieve to squeeze out the juice (see video 1). The head juice was mixed with olive oil and poured onto the shrimp tartare as a sauce (pic 5-6).

And this was SOOOOOOOO delicious. Possibly one of the most intense shrimp flavor dishes I ever had, every bite was a burst of shrimp head umami and shrimp flavor. The flesh was so fresh and pristine in quality that you still feel the bounciness of the live shrimps, but it was so smooth on tongue because of from the sauce and the coating of the oil. Even the salt level was just perfect!

This dish was so good I was still thinking about it days after I had it. It is a MUST HAVE at Desde 1911 if the ingredient is available!

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(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) 3-4. Sashimi y Ceviche de Salmonete Asturiano
Asturian Mullet Sashimi and Ceviche @desde_1911 , Madrid (March 2022)

The 3rd and 4th preparations came from the same fish - red mullet (salmonete) from Asturias. Unlike red mullets from the South, these Asturian red mullets have a different diet eating mostly shrimps (which means they have better diet that all of us as they are eating Spanish every day🦐 😂) and relatively bigger in size.

The fish was filleted in front of us, with the back of the fillet (right side of pic 4) slightly torched on skin and served as sashimi with soy (pic 6) and wasabi from Japan (!) (pic 8). The back part had more flesh than fat and the meaty yet tender texture was rare to find in red mullet and torching released the thin layer of gelatinous fat from the skin. It was beautiful.

The belly (left side of pic 4) was used for ceviche, topped with a vinegary emulsion on top. It made sense as the acidity helped to alleviate the fattiness.

In the past I tend to think red mullet is best to be cooked as the heat from fire can accentuate its delicate flavor. With this red mullet which has developed more flavor from its size and diet, the sashimi preparation can showcase the pure flavor of the fish. It has changed my view about red mullet in Spain and I am so glad they served this fish to me

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Video 1 & pic 2-4 : Salmon Ahumado Ecológico
Ecologic Smoked Salmon

Pic 5-6: Coquina de Cádiz a la Brasa
Grilled Cadiz’s Coquina

Pic 7-9: Bread and Olive Oil

@desde_1911 , Madrid, Spain (March 2022)

We kicked off with thinly hand sliced ecologic smoked salmon (video 1) that had a very smooth texture and the oil and flesh were superb in flavor, it clearly stood out with its pristine quality compared to so many smoked salmon in other restaurants. The oil was sweet and not cloying at all. This kind of smoked salmon you can really eat a whole plate without overwhelmed with “richness” (pic 2-4)

Then a small bowl of Coquina from Cadiz (pic 5-6), these tiny clams were grilled and packed with sea umami, so good we literally used the clam shells to spoon up all the juice left in the bowl and drank it

They also served some serious bread here but it was the olive oil, the viscosity and flavor that really left me longing for more even till now (pic 7-9)

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(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) I always want to get good seafood meals when travelling and it is literally a must when in Spain which IMO has the best quality and variety of seafood as a whole.

Last fall(Sep 2021) I visited Los Marino Jose in Malaga which was arguably one of my best ever seafood meals in my life. In March 2022, I visited @desde_1911 , a relatively new seafood restaurant in Madrid, a lot easier to travel to and served yet another outrageously delicious seafood meal that topped as one of the best meals in this trip.

Desde 1911 belongs to the group Pescaderías Coruñesas which owns several seafood restaurants with different concepts in Madrid. Last time we visited @restaurante.opazo from the same group which served seafood prepared in simple traditional cooking. Here the space is more contemporary and nordic feel (see last two video and pic), and everything was done with a touch of creativity to maximise flavors and holistic experience.

Before our meal we were presented with some of the seafood that we would experience (there were more in the meal): Cadiz’s Coquina, Asturian Mullet, Quisquilla de Motril (😍 one of my personal favorite), Carabinero and Langostino de Huelva 😍, Chipirón de Anzuelo (baby squid), Berberechos (cockles from Cambados), Angulas (baby eels), Costa Brava’s Baby Octopus, Vizcayan Bay Turnot, caviar, also vegetables such as white asparagus, wasabi, asparagus sprouts, and guisantes lágrima (teardrop peas 😍). That was just parts of our meal.

How can you not get excited when eating at a place with all these ingredients?

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