I can't remember the last time that I went out to dinner and my greatest regret of the evening was not having had taken a photo of the octopus.
The pulpo, or octopus, dish was tasty, I'll give it that, but it was also so incredibly overpriced and ridiculously tiny (think 1-2 bites a person for a group of four) that I kept expecting it to jump up and sing Dixie, just to get my money's worth.
Truly anyone would have been shocked and appalled to pay 16 Euros for the one (small) tentacle of grilled octopus that came out on a massive plate accompanied by four, lackluster acorn-sized boiled potato cubes and a squirt of mango cream. This was hardly the fancy sounding dish that was advertised on the casual sounding menu for 16 Euros, but then again this was hardly a fancy enough place to be able to get away with this kind of blatant customer abuse either.
Fortunately, my guilt at bringing the outrageous price and quantity of the dish to the waitress' attention was assuaged by her surly attitude and uninterested, dismissive response. It seems that Clarita, a cozy looking cafe/restaurant squeezed between the edge of Malasaña (neighborhood) and the iconic avenue Gran Vía, is nothing if not consistent: small portions complemented by soaring prices and heaps of bad attitude. Welcome, neighbors, to the first candidate for the Worst of Madrid Dining in the Overpriced Octopus Category.
Clarita
Corredera Baja de San Pablo, 19
Madrid
5 comments:
For 199 Euros you should have had a great dinner for four! Sorry to hear you didn't. Won't try out "Clarita" while in Madrid!
Well fortunately the 199 Euros was for more than 4 people. Even so, several people split entrees and they were pretty darn small.
Thanks for your comment!
They were also out of the special mollete bread for the pricey burger, the bacalao dish, the burrata dish and the wine we wanted...and our waitress wasnt remotely embarrassed or sorry. Im so sick of being raped by these kinds of places in Madrid. Clarita can kiss my grits.
Malasaña is getting too big for its britches. I've pretty much stopped going anywhere there. Gee, you have a teeny weeny goat cheese with ickberry marmalade canape for 6€, a splash of Rioja in a sherry glass for 3.50 and a waitron who exudes hostile rage because s/he's serving you and not writhing on the stage of El Matadero? Thanks, I'll stay home and watch Treme on Series Yonkis and happily scarf down a bottle of Verdejo and some home-made delights. Oh, and clean the damn piercing in your nostril before you serve food to people.
Yes, Sarah, it really is enough to give you heartburn! I've always maintained that I don't mind forking over the cash as long as you are getting something good and worth it. Nothing worse than feeling that you've been taken advantage of.
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