I had been hearing for several years, and from just about everyone I know, what a great restaurant (and nightclub) Ole Madrid is. On a recent rainy Saturday night I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I went in with an open mind but I must admit that with the kind of hype a popular place like this enjoys, I expected to be a little let down. However, I was not disappointed. A restaurant can not sustain the kind of rave reviews and popularity that Ole Madrid has if they don’t continue to come up with delicious new dishes and stress exceptional service. Yet, mouth-watering food and top-notch service were only half the story.

The building that houses Ole Madrid is a historic San Diego landmark built in 1885. Over the years it was home to a hardware store, theater, bookstore and a couple of other colorful businesses. When I entered the restaurant I couldn’t help but take in the interesting and attractive decor (and patrons, too). What I liked most about the ambiance is that it was classy without being pretentious. It was clean and well laid-out without being corporate. I could tell right away that this wasn’t going to be a boring evening when the hostess, dressed elegantly but wearing her hair in colored dreadlocks, greeted me and led me to my table on the upstairs balcony and introduced me to my waiter Aaron. I suspect many corporate (read: chain) restaurants would have frowned on Aaron’s choice of hair style and color, but this guy was professional and personable and a guru about food. He was especially knowledgeable about the chef and the menu. He took time to talk about the specials and gave some of his own personal preferences about what the chef does best (soups and sauces).

Chef Brendan McCormack did not disappoint! His soups and sauces were the highlights of the meal. Immediately I was presented with FRESH bread and two incredible (and unusual) dipping sauces ‹tomato basil and lemon garlic aioli. From the “tapas” section I sampled the crab cakes which featured an amazing Spanish remoulade sauce and an outstanding calamare served with spicy marinara. I settled on the soup of the day, saphron chicken. Wow! For my choice of an ensalada I selected the ensalada endive (but all the salads looked good). It blended together a variety of candied walnuts, dried cherries, manchego cheese, radicchio and grilled chicken topped with a honey citrus vinaigrette. Double wow! For the main course I was confronted with an array of tasty looking dishes of every imaginable kind. There are pizzas, pastas, paellas and plethora of other dishes including fish, chicken, steak and lamb. I settled on the tequila steak accompanied with a mouth-watering serving of garlic mashed potatoes. There was a burst of flavor with every single bite, I am not exaggerating. After all this as-good-as-it-gets food, desert was merely average. That said, the meal as a whole was even better than I expected ‹ and that’s saying something.

The best part of the evening, believe it or not, was not the attentative service, distinctive decor or even the exceptional food. What I found the most exciting was the dualing guitar players and flamenco dancers who put on a super show. (The dancers are there on Friday and Saturday nights only.) The price per person for a complete meal along with soup or salad, appetizer, drink and desert will cost you between $25 and $50 per person.


Let me tell you something, the show alone was worth the price. Ole!

Lee Silber is the award-winning author of ten books and a San Diegan since 1975. To learn more about Lee go to www.creativelee.com.