Taberna de la Reina: enjoy an authentic Spanish menu in Gran Via

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Taberna de la Reina: authentic Spanish menu in Gran Via

About Taberna de la Reina

Ham croquettes

Crispy chicken, emmental cheese and portobello mushrooms with roasted garlic aioli

Roasted chicken with “papas arrugás” and their two mojos

Baked salmon with creamed spinach

Madrid chocolate custard with its wafer

Idiazabal cheesecake with blueberries

About Taberna de la Reina

La Taberna de la Reina is a restaurant located in the heart of Madrid. To be more precise, in Gran Via, one of the most important avenues of the city.

As Diurno, it belongs to the Mercado de la Reina Group. If you don’t know this restaurant yet, I strongly recommend you to read the following post: Diurno Restaurant: having dinner like a movie star.

In Taberna de la Reina you can find two very well delimited areas. On one hand, you will find an area with high tables that is intended for tapas and snacks. On the other hand, there is the restaurant area, with low tables and a much more intimate and quiet atmosphere.

Although the most noteworthy thing of this restaurant is its dishes, its decoration makes it a very cozy place. What stands out the most is the fake lawn on the walls and the ceiling with small pigs grazing on it, which gives it a modern and funny appearance.

In addition, its menu is marked by the spirit of Madrid but without forgetting the specialties of other Spanish regions.

After reading this, you’ll probably understand why this restaurant is often full. What is my recommendation? Call to book a table because. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait a long time to be able to eat there.

This map will help you to find out where it’s located.

Ham croquettes from Taberna de la Reina

Ham croquettes are a classic in all Spanish restaurants and in Taberna de la Reina they couldn’t be missed.

Even though, in my opinion, they were very small, they were exquisite. On one hand, their filling was very creamy and it had a strong ham flavor. On the other hand, its coverage was quite crunchy.

I highly recommend them… We loved them!

Crispy chicken, emmental cheese and portobello mushrooms with roasted garlic aioli

Despite of not being the first time we ordered this dish, we got a big surprise when they brought it to the table. Not because of its taste, but because of its size. This time it turned out to be much smaller than we remembered!

Although at first we get a disappointment, in the end, its good taste and its very pleasant texture remained so we liked it anyways.

For me, it’s one of the most delicious starters on the menu but I have to admit that it hasn’t been as good as the first time we’ve tried it. Also, it’s not too nice to know that the size of a dish has been trimmed.

Roasted campero chicken with “papas arrugás” and their two mojos

Although, at first, it may seem like a messy dish where too many ingredients are all together, honestly… It was delicious!

The chicken was very tender and juicy. The “papas arrugás” gave it the necessary touch of salt to not be bland. And if you have ever been to the Canary Islands, you will know that those sauces are very nice.

We really liked it. Even though it wasn’t the best dish of the meal, we’d definitely repeat it.

Baked salmon with creamed spinach

There is only one reason to say that the previous dish was not the best… And it’s this salmon dish! When the waitress brought it to the table it was still so hot that the tomato sauce kept bubbling.

On one hand, salmon and tomato sauce make a very good couple. Only with these two ingredients, it would have already been a very tasty dish. On the other hand, the spinach mixed with the cream gave the dish a very pleasant soft texture. In addition, it helped to slightly attenuate the taste of the fish.

In the end, the mixture of flavors has made it my favorite dish of Taberna de la Reina. I totally recommend it!

Madrid chocolate custard and its wafer

Although you can explicitly read on the menu “and its wafer”, to be honest, its wafer did not appear anywhere.

Beyond that, it turned out to be a very tasty dessert. For me, it was perfect. Although custard might be somewhat too much, the cream helped lessen that feeling.

To be honest, it was really good but I really missed its wafer!

Idiazabal cheesecake with blueberries from Taberna de la Reina

In many cases, the appearance of a dish does not show how tasty it is. It looks like that this is one of those occasions.

Despite of its appearance, this is one of the best cheesecakes I’ve tried in a long time. The cake itself was quite creamy and not too sweet. The blueberry jam gave its strong sweet touch .

Although at first we didn’t think it would be the best dessert, in the end it has been. Next time, we’re going to repeat it!

If you are thinking about eating in the center of Madrid and you are not sure where to go… Taberna de la Reina is a very good option! Not only for its food, but also for its good atmosphere. If you go someday or you have already gone, we’d love you to share your opinions with us!