CHECK OTHER REVIEWS FOR THIS PLACE:
Despite its single review and no rating yet on google maps, I felt this restaurant, and walk straight in to experience it. Part of The Grand Hotel Ingles, open for six months now, the restaurant is classy, neat and feels upscale. Beautiful decor, refined menu and high-end seating let the excitement build. Every detail counts, the team is professional and well trained.
It starts with the welcoming: the team speaks English! A head waiter wearing a bow tie makes sure to give you the best table. The team takes over bringing you a stand for your bag; they then distribute table napkins individually using two spoons without touching the fabric... the pampering continues when the waiter drops a slice of lemon in every glass of sparkling water. It’s the only restaurant I visited this week where the waiter asks if we need water without opening the bottle automatically to boost the bill.
The plates imprinted with a blue wolf (Lobo), a bread plate with a fine Laguiole knife on it, Spiegelau wine glasses, inox cutlery, black tables, and leather sofas. Choose to have the set menu or choose a-la-carte. At Lobo8, the product is the main feature. Homemade bread, sourced products from the region and good chefs to create magic. “This Madrid hotel restaurant’s entire culinary offering features a carefully-selected range of products: only the best, freshest ingredients make it to your plate every day. Where, how and from whom we purchase our food is very important to us. We enjoy and believe in fresh, seasonal cooking and our specialty is Mediterranean cuisine.”
“The LOBO 8 restaurant is set to become one of the most popular Madrid restaurants. Renowned for giving a fresh twist to traditional cuisine, it’s where time-honored dishes and contemporary sophistication combine. Rockwell Group has designed a classic space that pays homage to a bygone era. It features two private dining areas where you can organize special events for a maximum of 20 people.”
Excellent... everything is excellent and this before the food arrives. Dinner starts with a loaf of bread; the famous homemade rye bread served with goat butter. Pure white, the butter is not like any I’ve had before. The bread is moist, intense, a crunchy envelop and a tender heart, rich flavors, leaving pleasant endnotes in the mouth.
How do you like your wine, the waiter asks. Dry or sweet? Fruity or with notes of oak? Red or white? I have something for you he says changing the glass into a bigger one. Gentle and subtle pampering follows your experience through the night. The choice came up to a Rioja 2012, Marques de Vargas.
Gourmet dining indeed; I believe this restaurant is aiming for a Michelin recognition soon. Foie gras served in balls with crunchy cauliflower, a crumble of apple and gingerbread and orange pickled sauce. It’s so yummy. Make sure to have a bit of every ingredient on your fork and let yourself travel; a slight bitterness, a smooth sweetness, a beautiful texture, an enjoyable creaminess... a journey! Sea bream carpaccio served on a cold plate with pickled chili, coriander cress, ginger, and vermouth; a perfect balance of flavors combined.
The tomato, as simple as a tomato can be, is served with avocado ice cream, cucumber pearl (molecular cuisine), black olive bread and beetroot cream. The food combines technology, style, finesse, hard work, and know-how. Every flavor is added to impress combined with another it leaves an impression. French fries on another hand are undercooked and not appealing at all. A chef that creates food as good as the one I had tonight should focus a bit more on his fries adding a touch to them and making them look appetizing. Potatoes are cheap, fill up your plates chef; generosity is key.
Roasted beef sirloin, grilled sirloin, sea bass, pizza and spaghetti, all were excellent! Super tender beef cooked red served with mustard grains and mini mushrooms on the side. Bell pepper wrapped around mashed potato for the roasted sirloin and the sea bass that makes you want to scream. A Michelin star deserved will surely be given to the restaurant soon.
Before dinner, make sure to order your apple pie because it needs 45 minutes to bake. With that, I chose the chocolate biscuit. Yummy! Served on a fine glass plate, the thin apple tart made of puff pastry and served with three scoops of vanilla ice cream made my heart skip a beat. Lightly crunchy, airy and light, the apple is caramelized and best enjoyed with this superb vanilla ice cream. It was worth the 45 minutes baking time. The chocolate biscuit is complicated; a gooey chocolate mousse, crunchy chocolate bits, thickened milk, chocolate cake crumbles and sticky chunks of caramel. Probably too sweet for some, I enjoyed this unique dessert that combines modernism and creativity at the same time.
Thank you, Raul, you made our night memorable. Great experience from start to finish: a pleasant welcoming, professional service, tasty food, soothing ambiance... A restaurant I’ll recommend to my friends visiting Madrid.
