Madrid – Oven Restaurant

Located opposite the city’s history museum was this Italian restaurant, which is part of a small national chain. As it was hot and I didn’t feel the need to walk very far, I thought that it looked a pleasant place for lunch. The heat outside also made the restaurant’s name of Oven feel just that bit more appropriate as well.

The restaurant had no other customers when I entered. Nor indeed did they have any customers whilst I was in there, so I was the sole diner. That did mean that I could choose the table I wanted, so I picked the window seat so that I could people watch. Although, since there was scaffolding up, I spent half the time people watching and the other half scaffolding pole watching.

Nicely presented menu, which as the flag suggests, is available in English.

When in Spain it’s only sensible to have, er, an Italian beer. I was brought over some olives whilst I waited for the pizza.

The diavolo pizza, which looks a little burnt, but it wasn’t, it was perfectly cooked. The beef was similar to that in a bolognese sauce, and that worked nicely on the pizza. There was some pepperoni and the base was thin and crispy, just as I liked it. It was clear that the pizza had been wood-fired and it was all at the appropriate hot temperature.

The pizza cutter seems a bit superfluous with a pizza they had sliced, but the chilli oil added extra spice. The service at the restaurant was attentive and friendly, with the staff member speaking excellent English. All very friendly, the pizza and beer cost around £11, which wasn’t the cheapest in the city, but it was central and I liked the dining environment.