Bristol Bar - Madrid, Spain

Calle Almirante, 20

28004 Madrid

Spain

Website

Full English Breakfast served Saturday only

Between 11.30am - 3.00pm

Trying to find a Full English in Madrid is no easy task, luckily I had read about Bristol Bar whilst planning the trip.

An up-market slice of the UK in central Madrid.

The plush seating area continues towards the rear.

It is also famous for it's vast selection of Gin's on offer.

Breakfast didn't come cheap but...

Standards are high.

A great selection of sauces are on offer.

The coffee came with the breakfast and was delicious.

The toast and jams arrived at the table despite not being mentioned on the menu as being part of the English breakfast, no extra was charged so a bit of a bonus really!

It cost a small fortune but tasted delicious and was incredibly filling!

I do really enjoy eating the local food whenever visiting another country but that said it has also become a perfect opportunity to sample another fry up if I can find anywhere serving them. I had found out about Bristol Bar in Madrid a week or so before I was due to arrive and knew that I just had to pop in and sample their English breakfast. The night before we had found some great places, a Tiki bar, an American diner and a Mexican restaurant (Hmm. maybe not strictly local food but well nice anyway!). So the next day we were off to visit Toledo (south of Madrid) for the day, first though we wanted to sample the breakfast at Bristol Bar...

Upon entering - The first thing you notice before even walking through the door is how up-market this place is, a lot of time and money must have been used to create it. There is a bar in the area at the front and some fairly high tables and chairs which we decided to sit at, by the front window are also some comfy looking sofas, softer black and red tables and chairs can be found towards the back of the bar. Menu's can be found on each table where your order will be taken. 8/10

Service - We seemed to have much more of a problem communicating in Madrid with our Spanish being understood than we had in Barcelona, the lady serving us who may have been the owner was English so we were able to order what we wanted without a problem. Once our order was placed everything arrived soon after at the table, drinks, sauces, toast and finally the cooked breakfast. The people serving us seemed friendly enough and very efficient. 7/10

Contents - 1 sausage, 3 bacon, 2 fried eggs, half a grilled tomato, mushrooms with onion, beans, toast served with butter & jams and a hot drink. 7/10

Presentation - Everything that arrived on the table looked fantastic, even the sauces were top brands. 8/10

The food - The sausage was top quality and cooked nicely, the bacon tasted really nice but was really small and thin rashers that were a bit overcooked for my liking. The fried eggs were cooked nicely in olive oil so tasted quite rich and went perfectly on top of the toast and butter. You can never go wrong with Spanish tomatoes and this grilled beauty was no exception, full of flavour and a real joy to eat! The mushrooms were cooked beautifully with a few onions. There was a very small amount of beans that were a tad overcooked but a welcome addition. Chives were sprinkled lightly over everything. 8/10

Value for money - Hmm.. This is the most I have ever spent on a breakfast. It tasted great, the place is nice, it came with a drink and the toast was a nice surprise we weren't expecting... 14 euros though! With so many places in Madrid offering a starter, main course, dessert, bread and glass of wine for 9 euros it did feel a bit overpriced for what it was. 5/10

Veggie option - No (cheddar and curried scrambled eggs is the only alternative on the menu)

Overall - To be honest up-market and expensive is not really what I am looking for on my search for the perfect fry up experience. This visit was a bit of an exception really though as I was just determined to find a fry up in Madrid that I could add to my blog. The place is amazing and no expense has been spared in making it look so good, the food was delicious and although it may not look like masses on the plate I did leave incredibly full up. I didn't see anywhere else in Madrid offering a full English breakfast so if you don't mind spending 14 euros and simply must have one then Bristol Bar is worth a look. 7/10