Bolboreta, open about a year, was a small place run by a husband and wife team.  Chef Aaron Quaife was the only staff in the kitchen while Patricia Grandío was the entire front-of-house.  She is Galician and he is an Englishman (Hastings) who met while working in London. The name means butterfly in Galician, which is something his grandmother loved and collected.  There were just 7 tables but a menu that changes regularly, some with distinct English touches, that keep it interesting for the owners as well as the diners.  The menu had 3 items in each 4 courses of the meal.  All are a la carte and she was happy for us to share them all and bring them out one by one.  The small bare brown wood tables were in two rooms with art on the walls and jars of their pickled products along one wall.  Music was in the background but there were sound panels on the ceiling so noise was not a problem.  Both of them spoke good English and were super friendly.  They are living their dream and it’s to our benefit.  Put this one on your list the next time you’re in Madrid, you won’t be sorry.   It’s excellent.

Set-up

Food

Fried bread with Welsh rarebit was an appetizer sold by the piece.   It used a fried brioche and topped it with a cream of cheese and rabbit then garnished with pickled onion.  Very good.

 

Hashbrowns with chorizo was another appetizer. Here the hashbrowns were topped with chorizo then grated egg yolk.  It was spicier with the yummy hashbrowns on the bottom.  It was the winner of the two but both were quite tasty.

 

Beetroot, sesame and cherries was made with red and yellow beets, pickled cherries, hazelnut chile oil, soy,  and radicchio all sitting on a yogurt dressing.  There was a nice spice to the dressing and the sweet beets were wonderful with the tart cherries.  It was a cool and refreshing combination.

 

Quail raviolo was in a fabulous game bird consommé.  The pasta was filled with lovely quail and the broth was made from its bones along with that of pigeon, duck and guinea fowl.  Some winter vegetables and porcini mushrooms completed the dish.  The tasty raviolo was well stuffed and the broth had an amazing depth of flavor without being salty.  Yes!

 

Coruxo (fish in the turbot family) was on a bolognese of squid and topped with broccoli and salsify.  The broccoli had a wonderful char and some pickled slices of salsify were in addition to the crisp ones on top.  The perfectly cooked fish was fabulous.

 

Confit duck leg was plated with cabbage and ratte potato in a version of ‘Sunday roast’.  Braised red cabbage was topped with Brussels sprout leaves alongside chestnut purée.   The skin on the duck was perfectly crisp and the meat was well enhanced by the flavorful sauce.   The charred Brussels sprouts were lovely as was the tender potato.  A good plate.

 

“STP” with apple and meadowsweet stands for sticky, toffee pudding and this was a fabulous version.  The super moist cake made with dates and caramel was topped with caramelized apple mousse, raw Granny Smith apple pieces, and caramelized almonds .  The meadowsweet ice cream added even more moisture and richness.  This was a lick-the-plate good kind of dessert and lovely Patricia brought us a glass of sweet wine to go with it.  I’ll dream about this one.

 

The last treat was white chocolate fudge with yuzu.  It had a slight lemon flavor with the sweet dense fudge.  A great finish.