Restaurante Santceloni, Madrid, 12/15/16

img_8563
Hotel that Santceloni is in

Santceloni is a fairly large elegant restaurant located in the Hesperia Hotel in Madrid. Large tables are spread out to give privacy to the guests and make service easy for the large number of staff.  The sparkler cart arrives as soon as you settle into your seat and the house Cava was not a bad buy at 11 euros a glass. The menu contains a number of a la carte items as well as a tasting menu with optional wine pairings.  We chose the tasting menu and our own bottle of white wine from the massive wine list. The sommelier helped pick a glass of red wine to accompany the one meat dish and gave us a complimentary glass of dessert wine to go with the sweets.  The wine storage is located off to one side of the room and is quite impressive.  

img_8564
Entrance

The room is modern yet warm and crowned with a large window looking into the kitchen and the many staff in there. It was a good show.  There is a smoking room to the side which is glassed off, and with the large array of cigars in the display case, I would imagine it gets used a lot.  It is a classic 2 star Michelin place with some added touches of lovely amenities in the bathroom for freshening up after the meal. Service was helpful, friendly (but not overly so) and they all spoke great English.

img_8566
wall decoration
img_8577
interior
img_8580
interior
img_8581
wine storage
img_8928
wine storage
img_8571
table set up
img_9028
Frankie played in the table decoration
menu cover
menu cover
information page
information page
Gastronomic Grand Menu
Gastronomic Grand Menu
menu 1
menu 1
menu 2
menu 2
img_9040
Frankie shared restaurant information

 

Tables are quickly served a number of amuse bouche, white and wheat breads and a bowl of their own olive oil. The breads continued to come and were varied with the dishes served. All the snacks were nice, some better than others but the crispy skin with cauliflower dots was the only one that stood out in memory.

img_8614
amuse bouche
img_8601
squid skin with cauliflower
img_8604
avocado and apple
img_8605
lentil soup with oyster
img_8612
mussel sauce
img_8620
crisp bread with parmesan
img_8636
Frankie flirted with the kitchen staff

 

The tasting started with noodles made from squid and combined with beet and yuzu. It was quite tasty and a beautiful color made even more stunning by the dark bowl.

img_8648
Squid noodles, beet and yuzu
img_8573
kitchen window in the dining room
Frankie studied the charger plate
Frankie studied the charger plate

 

The bit of pork with caviar was outstanding.  It was a lick the bowl dish.

img_8659
Pork dewlap with caviar
img_8661
closer
img_8686
wine

 

The grouper was marinated and served with ginger foam and smoked apple. The fish was totally fresh and really good but the smoked apple was what elevated this dish  to a winning level.

img_8681
Marinated grouper, smoked apple and spinach salad
img_8678
closer
img_8935
Frankie liked the flowers

 

The chicken was served in thin slices rolled into an “o” shape and served on some crispy skin.  The relish was amazing – this dish really sang and had the most delightful aftertaste.

img_8688
Free range chicken, vegetables, red pepper and wheat crust
img_8693
closer
img_8699
another angle
img_8854
Frankie and some olive oil

 

The smoked ricotta ravioli were open instead of the traditional closed packages. They were full of a yummy cream in the bottom and topped with caviar. Talk about lick-your-plate, this was a home run. The smokiness just added to the succulence on this flavor explosion.  Wow!

img_8716
Smoked ricotta ravioli, caviar and anchovy
img_8720
inside
img_8725
looking down

 

The crayfish seemed more like langoustine and may have been a translation issue.  It was served on a green leaf and it was suggested you roll and eat it. The lettuce added a little crunch and was actually an important component instead of just a vehicle to get it into your mouth.  It was really good. Another winner. Around now they introduced the tomato bread which was wonderful. It came with a slice of rye which paled in comparison.

img_8737
Grilled crayfish, Oriental aroma
img_8740
different angle
img_8749
closer
img_8759
Frankie liked the tomato bread

 

The sautéed mushrooms were served with codfish and ham. Lots of different kinds of mushrooms were used and it was very nice.

img_8774
Sauteéd mushrooms, olives and Iberian ham “pil-pil”
img_8788
underneath

 

The red mullet was served with moist scrambled eggs and crispy bread crumbs.  The fish and crumbs were reddish but not spicy. The fish had a quite mild taste even if you ate the skin and brown portions.  All combined there was some lovely textural contrasts and good flavors. Another good one.

img_8797
Red mullet, scrambled eggs, breadcrumbs and red pepper oil
img_8810
closer
img_8828
Frankie wanted the eggs

 

The last savory was the veal knuckle which was brought to the table before trimming (that we could watch through the window). They sauced it at the table with the same glaze that it had been coated with in the kitchen. It was served with creamy mashed potatoes which also blended well with the sticky, viscous sauce. This was a total flavor explosion. The meat had been roasted a long time, not cooked in a sous vide, which was obvious by its roasted flavor. This dish has always been on the menu and you can see why. It is a yum x3!  img_8841

img_8859
Presentation
img_8863
then add sauce
img_8868
White veal knuckle, cooked at low temperature, with creamed potatoes
img_8872
another angle
img_8925
Red wine to go with veal

 

The cheese cart is next and it is covered with a ton of choices. The waiter was nice enough to pick a selection of Spanish cheeses from soft to hard and mild to strong. It was served with a fruit bread but I would have liked a bit of honey or jam to further enhance the cheese.

img_8915
Frankie was impressed with the cheese cart
img_8919
Cheese selection from the cart
img_8922
Frankie likes blue cheese
img_8886
Frankie inspects the bread selection for the cheese course

 

The palate cleanser was an apple and celery slush with a juiced bit of green strawberries and covered with an apple cookie. There was also a sweetened pink strawberry that tasted like it had a white chocolate coating.  It was a nice taste of apple overall but would only rate a nice as it didn’t have the flavor content of the previous dishes.

img_8946
Chia soup, apple and celery slush with strawberry sorbet
img_8962
other side
img_8969
underneath
img_8931
Frankie appreciated the bathroom supplies of toothbrushes, mouthwash, shoe sponge and tissues

 

The fennel panna cotta was served at the same time as the chocolate mousse with coffee ice cream.  The latter was my favorite of these two. It was scrumptious.

img_8978
Fennel panna cotta, avocado and lemon
img_8983
closer
img_8993
Coffee cream with baked chocolate mousse
img_8994
other cup
img_8995
closer
img_8975
wine to go with dessert

 

A selection of Petit Fours finished the meal along with a needed cup of coffee. The puff was filled with ginger cream and sugar topping.  The chocolate covered marshmallow was okay. The small ‘taco’ shape was filled with a sweet cream and was really good as was the nougat bar. The long chocolate was filled with peanut butter cream and was a perfect ending for an outstanding meal.

img_9007
Frankie and our Petit Fours
img_9027
Frankie needed coffee after all this
img_8939
cigar case
img_9053
Chef Oscar Velasco and Frankie

 

img_9045
kitchen
img_9046
kitchen
img_9048
Huge range
img_9058
Frankie posed on their sign on the way out

Leave a Reply