Casa Mingo - Madrid, Spain

Paseo de la Florida, 34
28008 Madrid, Spain
915.477.918
http://www.casamingo.es/

Casa Mingo is an Asturian style tavern/restaurant that opened in 1888. No 1888 wasn't a typo. This is definitely the oldest restaurant that we have ever been to. The restaurant's decor is a bit of a rustic and darkened wood throughout.

Check out the wall of cider. Don't think they'll be running out of cider anytime soon. The restaurant is known for their reasonably priced food and a simple and concise menu. The most popular items on the menu are the roasted chicken and the cider.

La Cidra (5,20)
The Sidras Mingo is only 5E for a bottle. I now understand why this restaurant is popular with the local college kids. It's the cheap booze.... The bottle of cider had nice bubbles and a faint apple flavor to it.

Chorizo a la Sidra - spicy chorizo sausage cooked in cider (3,30)
I didn't find anything about this chorizo spectacularly special. Was good but nothing to rave about.

Cheese
A generous amount of cheese was given with each order. Once again cheese was good but nothing fantastic.

Mixed Salad (5,50E)
I wasn't very impressed with the mixed salad. It came in a pre-packaged container with saran wrap covering it. The dressing was two packets of vinegar and one of olive oil. Nothing special about this salad.
Is it that much harder to at least put in a bowl and make their own dressing?

Casa Mingo Roasted Chicken (9,50E)
Ahhh the moment I had been waiting for. One of the main reasons why Casa Mingo is as popular as it is. The chicken was moist and nicely roasted. Overall we all enjoyed the chicken but once again was nothing spectacular.

Casa Mingo is popular with the locals and tourists alike because of the fact that it isn't expensive and serves solid and simple food. Ohh yeah.. the fact that they sell alcoholic cider doesn't hurt them either. I think my expectations of Casa Mingo were too high coming in. If I only had a few days in Madrid, I don't feel Casa Mingo is worth a special stop.