Dine like the 1900s Intellectuals of Madrid

Walk down any street, turn any corner, and you will find a gem in the beautiful city of Madrid, unsurprising from the European Capital of Culture. The city offers an array of cultural venues and activities in all shapes and sizes. Madrid likes to keep their secrets more hidden with alternative meeting places for social and cultural debates, unlike its more flamboyant sister city Barcelona. Among these meeting places are numerous culinary delights, including a century-old restaurant with an exquisite menu and winery.

After a day of exploring some of the hidden treasures Madrid offers, I had stopped by a little bar that the locals claimed had the best mojitos in town, Plaza Menor. This cozy bar gives off an old school vibe with its stone walls and classic decor. While I only had one of their infamous mojitos, they offer a small selection of tapas and even cakes to delight your palate. However, my night was beginning with just a two-minute walk in the crisp night air.

Opening in 1908, Cantina La Traviesa began as a meeting place for intellectuals and influencers to enjoy a good wine bottle, accompanied by the most exquisite and varied tapas. For over 100 years, this family restaurant had adapted to the latest food and wine trends creating a cozy and friendly environment to enjoy tasty Madrid cuisine made from quality and fresh ingredients. With such high-quality products and succulent dishes that rival even my mom's homemade grub. It's no wonder this eatery has been in business for over a century despite the high failure rates of running a restaurant.

Its popularity evident by the queue as my friends and I approached and found it was well worth the 10-minute wait. The owners offered us free tapas and wine, whose mixed essence made the wait for a table pass effortlessly. Once seated, the very attentive staff quickly served us. Their maitre'd was very knowledgeable and assisted us with the best wine choice to complement our meal's flavors from their extensive cellar's variety of wines from all over Spain. They offer authentic delicacies from Madrid and all over the Spanish Region, specializing in dishes such as Paellas, Callos a la Madrileña, Octopus, and even Bull Tail.

I highly recommend the Huevos Rotos con Jamon or their delicious tenderloin grilled to perfection. If meat is not your thing, they also offer various grilled or battered vegetable dishes though my vegetarian companion recommends the scrambled eggs and mushrooms. I finished my meal with the tastiest fleshly made raspberry cheesecake. It was so creamy and smooth it seemed to melt in my mouth; no freezer cheesecake here, sorry Cheesecake Factory. I was tempted to get another slice despite being full from my meal, though that didn't stop me from stealing a bite of my friend's "Death by Chocolate" cake.

However, little did we know that we were in store for not just dinner but a show. It turns out, while we were there, it was a patron's birthday. To everyone's surprise, a local fraternity from the University of Madrid came in and gave a fantastic performance. They sang "Happy Birthday' and a few other numbers for the customers who, of course, did not hesitate to get up and dance; even the owners joined in the dancing. Check out more videos of their performance and pictures here.

When it comes to historic traditional restaurants, Madrid does not lack them. Among them, my next sampling, the record-holding "world's oldest restaurant" Sobrino de Botín, a classic Spanish restaurant w in 1725 and known for its cochinillo asado, who have also perfected their recipes over the years. The fire oven, interestingly enough, has not been extinguished since the first day they opened.

With a welcoming and cheerful environment, our time at Cantina La Traviesa just seemed to fly by. Between the fun entertainment, delicious food, excellent hosts, and relaxing family-like atmosphere, I'm counting down to my return to this unique Madrid jewel, clearly committed to satisfying their customers with excellent food and a memorable experience. There is no shortage of fine cuisine that Madrid offers, and I can't wait to sample them. For more about places to check out in Madrid, look here.

*Note: Trip and Videos were taken pre-Covid.