Highly varying service quality: Restaurant Ático by Ramón Freixa (11. December 2016)
My expectations were rather high – especially given that the restaurant is by Ramón Freixa. To be completely honest upfront, they were not fully met. The restaurant is located on the 6th floor of a hotel and when you get up there, you are warmly welcomed by a lovely friendly waitress who brings you to the table. The friendliness and professionalism continues as long as that waitress served us.
However, we got two small amuse bouche, something like a “broth” …
… and “Iberian muffins with truffle” as a greeting from the kitchen. However, there was absolutely no explanation of what we just had received. The waitress put it, including some bread (EUR 3.00 per person – which is an absolutely rip-off for that very regular bread), without saying what we had. Only when I specifically asked again, it was clear what was served. The muffins were delicious, the soup was rich but nothing special.
As a pre-starter we went for “Jamón Ibérico con pan con tomate (Iberian ham with bread and Fresh tomato)” (EUR 28.00). The ham was great, the bread slices with DIY tomato sauce were lovely. However, EUR 28.00 for that tiny piece of ham is also a bit steep. What was great though – as I had originally forgotten to tell the waitress that we wanted the ham – was that they managed to ‘stop’ the preparation for the starters and bring the ham first without rushing us when eating the ham.
As a starter, I went for the “sopa castellana con yema trufada y fideos en directo de ajo negro (Castilian soup with truffled egg yolk and live black-garlic noodles)” (EUR 11.00) …
… where the noodles would be squeezed in from a tiny little bottle (which turned out to be not so easy as it was probably planned). The soup was aromatic and rich, so overall a sound dish.
The “La coca de boletus, con foie, manzana y sardina (coca with porcini, foie gras, apple and sardine)” (EUR 20.00) on the other hand were actually an outstanding combination of various flavours, textures, and consistencies. This course was actually my highlight although I had not ordered it but just tried a bite.
The “láminas de jarrete de ternera glaseadas, boniatos, setas y castañas (slices of glazed veal shank, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and chestnut)” (EUR 30.00) was definitely the dish I had the highest expectations for. However, unfortunately, the dish did not live up to my expectations. The meat was tender and dissembled easily, so it was of perfect consistency but somehow the sauce, the flavours did not really stand out in any way. It was somehow to standard. The chestnut, the sweet potatoes, and the mushrooms added a bit of this extra to the dish but it did still not add up entirely.
For dessert, I went for the “gota de agua de frutos rojos con chocolate blanco (drops of berry water with white chocolate)” (EUR 7.00) which was actually surprisingly good (given I am not a big fan of desserts). The combination of consistencies was great – the liquidity of the white chocolate, the red jelly, the crumbles, the powder, and the original berries with the ‘plop effect’. Besides the sardines I didn’t order, the best dish.
Again, I want to lose a word about the service. It is a pity that it was varying so much between the different employees – while the waitress who served us originally (and was apparently also the only waitress to speak English) did an outstanding job, the rest was somehow not ready for the task. I mean, I get it, you want to hire locals, fine, but train them properly, make sure they speak English – especially given that this evening approximately 75% of the guests were not Spaniards.
When it comes to the prices, it was overall very fair – with a little effort to go the extra mile, the place definitely has potential. And when it comes to prices for the beverages, it is quite fine too (i.e. 0,5L San Pellegrino, EUR 3.50; 0,75L “Luis Cañas Reserva”, EUR 45.00 or 0,75L “Abadía Retuerta”, EUR 42.00, or “Double Espresso”, EUR 5.00). What I don’t get though is the fact that a restaurant which has the ambition to be great – especially when running under the name of Ramón Freixa – serves water in plastic bottles. Like, this just does not fit the concept in my head!
Overall, lovely restaurant, service quality varying highly between different employees (depending on the one you have, great, or not), fair dishes (with room for improvement), and last but not least, a great atmosphere (especially in summer when you can sit on the terrace). Still, overall room for improvement!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Ático by Ramón Freixa
The Principal Madrid Hotel
6th Floor
Calle Marqués de Valdeiglesias 1
Corner of Gran Via 2
28004 Madrid (ES)
Tel.: +34 915 32 94 96
Homepage: http://restauranteatico.es
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
