Ministy of Foodies Review
Cuisine: Spanish
Average price per person: 35€
Environment: 8/10
Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Other: Gluten-free options
Website: grupoardosa.es/casa-hortensia-en
Casa Hortensia in Madrid, is a well-known restaurant among those who enjoy Spanish cuisine. A long-standing establishment, it has been operating for around 25 years. Specializing in Asturian cuisine, it is mostly famous for its award-winning fabada asturiana (bean stew).
I would note that it should also be famous for its huge portion sizes. I visited with a group of friends intending to try a few dishes including the fabada. After a round of appetizers, I knew the effort was futile. We were defeated by the size of the portions.
Luckily we hadn’t ordered the main courses yet, so we opted for something less heavy than the fabada. A few days later I returned to try the famous bean stew.
Location/Environment
Casa Hortensia is located on a side street of the busy Calle Fuencarral. The building from the outside looks like a regular apartment or office building.
The restaurant of Casa Hortensia is on the 2nd floor, while the cidreria (cider house) is located on the 3rd floor. The restaurant is a bit more formal compared to the cider house and it has a different menu. However, some items (such as the fabada) are common. My first visit was at the restaurant and the second at the cidreria.
My first visit was at the restaurant and the second at the cidreria.
Menu
The restaurant menu contains most of the Spanish cuisine staples, including meat, fish and vegetable options. The dishes are traditional and there are no experiments or deviation from classic flavors.
Service
The staff is experienced and friendly. Knowing the portions, our server tried it to guide us away from over-ordering. I usually don’t like when people try to tell me that I have ordered too much. More often than not, my group is capable of finishing everything we order in these instances. However, i was glad for the notice this time, since the portions are indeed huge.
Most of our servers spoke very little or no English.
Casa Hortensia – Food
The first appetizer was grilled artichokes. Well cooked and still tender inside. Also nicely presented on a big platter, all of them opened up.
Next up the gambas al ajilo (garlic shrimp). Served in a clay pot, still sizzling and full of garlic oil. Extremely tasty and with a great level of spice. Don’t forget to dip as much bread as you can handle in the garlic oil.
A mixed salad so we can consume our veggies for the day. A very big bowl with tomato, lettuce and onion topped with egg and bonito. Nice acidity from the vinaigrette and very refreshing.
For the main courses, we opted for the veal escalope, served with french fries. The veal was thin, had a great crust from the breading and it wasn’t oily at all. Almost like a traditional schnitzel, but with different breading. Delicious.
Our other main was the tuna belly, which was very rich and had a great sauce with onions and garlic. Very well cooked and even the fries got a great flavor from the sauce.
We shared 3 desserts, the blueberry cheesecake, the orujo cheesecake and the chocolate sotobó with vanilla ice cream. All of them were very tasty with the blueberry cheesecake being my personal favorite.
Casa Hortensia – Cidreria Food
Fast forward to a few days letter, when I visited the cidreria with another friend only to try the fabada.
We opted for a classic tortilla de patatas as a starter. Another huge portion, but quite tasty. It could be creamier on the inside, but in general a very good dish.
The fabada was served in a huge bowl. On the side, there was a platter with sausage, black pudding and pork belly which are the meats traditionally served with fabada. The beans were very soft and the stew had great consistency. All in all a great and very hearty dish, but we were barely able to make a dent in it.
Conclusion
I concur that Casa Hortensia is one of the best restaurants in Madrid for those who enjoy Spanish cuisine. If you are looking for traditional Spanish restaurants then Casa Hortensia should be on your list. Expect a fully traditional experience, than for example at Casa Macareno which is currently one of the most trendy Spanish restaurants.
Make sure you are hungry when you visit, otherwise you will be crushed by the enormous portions.