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The Quinta de los Cedros is a pleasant four-star hotel just off the Calle de
Arturo Soria, in what might be called the Hampstead of Madrid. With views over the city and a patch of pine wood alongside, it is about as close as Madrid gets to rus in urbe - if you can ignore the orbital motorway a hundred yards below. The restaurant, Los Cedros, is a new venture from Pedro Larumbe (whose eponymous restaurant on the top floor of the old ABC newspaper building on the Paseo de la Castellano remains one of the city's prime gastronomic addresses). It will surely win converts for Larumbe's excellent cooking, in which there is not a hint of pretension and everything is in its proper place. The restaurant is done up in a Tuscan manner with terracotta floor tiles and murals. Beyond the windows is a small garden with tables laid for lunch and dinner as soon as the weather allows.
Both setting and food may come as a relief after the new-wave restaurants of central Madrid and their sometimes exhausting need to draw attention to themselves. There is an attractive maturity and restraint about the cooking, which is presided over by Larumbe's deputy, Miguel Jiménez. The artichokes with clams were simply wonderful - 'simply' being the operative word, the only sauce a natural jus produced by the two main ingredients. Fried hake a la marinera (with parsley, spring onion and clams) and turbot with asparagus and romesco sauce (a Catalan speciality made from ground almonds and hazelnuts, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and vinegar) are two fine examples of the kitchen's respectful and intelligent treatment of fish. The meat section has its highlights too, such as the carrillera, a gelatinous cut of beef slow-cooked in oloroso sherry until meltingly tender. Prices are very reasonable, with starters averaging €10, main courses €15, and desserts €5.50. If it doesn't seem too far to come to this metro-less suburb of northern Madrid, the Quinta is well worth a visit.
CONTACT
Los Cedros, Calle de Allendesalazar 4 (00 34 91 415 4460). Open 1.30pm-3.45pm, 9pm-11.45pm
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