Ministry of Foodies Review
Cuisine: Spanish/Contemporary
Average price per person: 50€
Environment: 9/10
Food: 8.5/10
Service: 9/10
Other: Vegetarian options, Gluten-free options
Website: https://fismuler.com/home/madrid/
Fismuler Madrid has been operating for several years. It’s one of the restaurants that will often come up in discussions with people in Madrid about casual yet elegant restaurants in the city. Some of its dishes such as the San Roman schnitzel, are really famous so I was eager to visit. Fismuler also has a restaurant in Barcelona.
We visited Fismuler Madrid for dinner on a Friday night.
Location/Environment
The restaurant has a mix of industrial, casual, and retro elements. There is wood, neutral colours and counters with inox shelves where you can see glasses, plates and other bits necessary for the service. Nevertheless, it’s a rather relaxing environment without being overly casual or disorganized.
There is also live music on certain evenings for the second part of the dinner service.
Fismuler Madrid – Menu
The menu isn’t particularly extensive but has various options with both meat and fish. You can find Spanish dishes with some twists as well as Fismuler’s versions of other classic dishes. Little bites, raw or curated, fried or stewed, there are all kinds of dishes for everyone’s tastes.
There is also an interesting cocktail list and some good wine options, although Fismuler doesn’t have an extensive wine list.
Service
The service staff is very attentive and pleasant. Some of Fismuler’s dishes also require certain table-side preparation; the staff is mostly well prepared for that. I will explain further down this post how this part of the service worked.
Fismuler – Food
We begun with a complementary appetizer of pork and chicken pate with cucumbers. While I am not a big fan of pate, this was very flavorful without being overpowering. The cucumber was cutting the richness and adding a refreshing element.
Our first appetizer was the pig’s ear sandwich. A classic Spanish dish, and this was a good version. The ear was well cooked and crispy and it was topped with a spicy brava-type of sauce on top.
The sea bream ceviche with almonds and grapes was a very balanced dish. I might have enjoyed some additional acidity but overall it was very good.
The roasted cabbage was served with black garlic, lemon verbena and a hazelnut butter sauce. An interesting dish with bitter, nutty and rich flavors combined. I enjoyed this as it had combinations that you would not often encounter.
Next, the red creamy rice with baby squid and fried crab. This was probably my least favorite. The rice was well cooked but the flavor was too “fishy” and the fried seafood was mostly soggy and not crunchy.
Following that, we had the San Roman schnitzel with egg and truffle. The staff will bring you the schnitzel and they will top it with the poached egg, scallions and grated truffle to create a form of sauce right next to your table. This is an impressive performance, although our server forgot to bring the truffle and had to interrupt and return to finish the sauce.
The schnitzel was flavorful and very well cooked but as it takes time to prepare all this table-side, it’s served in what I would consider slightly above room-temperature. Still a nice combination and served with a creamy potato puree.
Finally in terms of mains, we tried the steak tartare, which is also prepared table-side. The staff will mix the ingredients and ask you how spicy you want the tartare. They will also allow you to try it so you can adjust the spice level to your liking.
For dessert we tried the tarta de queso, which is one of the most popular in Madrid. It is very creamy with an intense flavor, so if that’s what you enjoy, this will be your favorite.
We also got the tarta fluida de chocolate which was very tasty without being overly sweet. On the side there was ice cream and some biscuit crumble. That worked well with the flavor and texture of the tart.
Conclusion
Overall we had a pleasant experience at Fismuler. Both the environment and the dishes on the menu were very close to what I typically like. For anyone looking to explore an elevated dining experience in Madrid without spending a significant amount of money, Fismuler is a very good option.
Visit: March 2025