Santceloni

Frommer's Review

Santceloni [SSS] MEDITERRANEAN -- Santi Santamaría is justly ranked among the top three chefs of Spain, along with his chief rivals, Juan Mark Arzak and Ferran Adrià. Many rate him as higher even than that illustrious duo. He made his fame in his restaurant outside Barcelona, and this much-praised branch in Madrid has met with equal success (though his enticing and imaginative cuisine is essentially Mediterranean). The wine list is eclectic and adventurous, and dishes range from exquisite starters like terrine of tuna and foie gras -- an unusual combination, both appealing and sensually captivating -- to supremely inventive main courses like caviar with pork jowl and creamy potatoes and frogs' legs with garlic paste and parsley emulsion. The seafood dishes are similarly impressive including red prawns with sweet-tasting and lightly sautéed onions and the more conventional but no less delicious John Dory with fennel. One of the best examples of Santamaría's innovative wedding of unlikely ingredients is cream of pumpkin with crisp sweetbreads and black olives, a tasty "troika" that breaks all the rules yet comes off masterfully. Need I say more? So bring along your very best credit card and dig in.

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