Mexican cuisine was one of the great forgotten foods in the Salamanca neighborhood, until the arrival of Gracias Padre. Yes, there are great Mexican restaurants like Punto MX, but there are days when what you want is to get your hands dirty eating tacos and drinking jars of margarita. For those moments, Gracias Padre is the perfect solution for you and your entire group of friends.
The ground floor is like a street taquería on the beach. The kitchen is in plain view and you can see how they prepare the food, then sink your teeth into their tacos. The upper part has a large mural and is the perfect place for dinner with friends watered with tequilas and cocktails. In fact I’m already convincing my acquaintances to hang out up there.
Word of this new Mexican restaurant is spreading like wildfire. Besides being one of the coolest new venues in the Salamanca district, the important thing is that you eat well. And since you know that I only recommend cool places where you eat well, I went to try Gracias Padre.
I’m not going to lie to you, the dishes bite. They bite because they haven’t mellowed the typical Mexican flavor to suit the European palate. I’m not especially fond of spicy food, but what I do like is that the recipes are faithful to the originals. And in Gracias Padre they even write in the menu the location where each dish is typical, so you can learn a little more about the origin of each one.
The bottom part is usually always full, so I placed myself at a silver table above, next to the window. It’s like sitting down to eat at a beach bar in Tulum. The menu is short but very interesting. They have the most well-known tacos and some recipes of their own, so I let myself be advised by the staff to live new foodie experiences. To start I had a dish that I had not eaten before: “corn esquites mayas”. It’s an appetizer consisting of corn covered in cream and “cotija” cheese. It’s a small appetizer with a spicy touch that prepares the palate.
Then I attacked the tacos. The ration has 3 units, and believe me, they are quite powerful and large, so they fill up a lot. I tried three different tacos so I could tell you several options, two with meat and one with fish. They were “Crispy Fish”, “Barbacoa de cachete de res a la olla” and of course “Tacos al pastor”. They’re so beautiful it’s a shame to eat them, but after the first bite you have no remorse 😉
To reduce the level of spiciness and finish the meal I ordered a “Tarte 3 leches” for dessert. This dessert is originally from Latin America, some say Nicaragua and others Mexico, but what’s clear is that it’s designed for the sweet tooth. The typical recipe, like in every family, is made in a certain way and passed from parents to children, and I think I would like to ask Gracias Padre because it was delicious.
So far I can only talk about the culinary theme, because eating during the week prevents drinking a jar of margarita or tequila. But if I’m in the Salamanca neighborhood on weekends, I’m definitely going to eat at Gracias Padre. I had not added to my list of Mexican restaurants in Madrid for a long time, but I came back in style, with good tacos and Chavela Vargas music in the background.
Translated by www.StoryOfMadrid.com, the podcast about Madrid in English.
Gracias Padre
Phone: +34 910.66.00.85
Opening hours: everyday 12:30 to 1:30 h.
Address: José Ortega y Gasset, 55, Madrid.
Gracias Padre on our map
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