Eating tapas, small servings of many foods, is a nifty way to sample what a restaurant offers.
I had forgotten how tasty and fun the tapas tradition is until I tucked into a feast of such morsels, served at a small establishment called Vi Cool, in the Literary Quarter of Madrid.
The quarter is an artsy neighborhood where popular 17th century poets and writers lived. On one side, the area extends to the Prado Museum. In the opposite direction, the quarter abuts Madrid's historical core, its oldest area, dating from the ninth century when the Moors founded the city. The city center is now home to the Royal Palace and Madrid's cathedral.
These areas — and much of the city, no doubt — are awash in tapas eateries. However, I wasn't in town long enough to make a dent in this subject.
I had traveled to Madrid with a press group, guests of Iberia Airlines and the Villa Magna Hotel.
The hotel, a luxury property and member of Leading Hotels of the World, offers private city tours and personal shopper services.
Our group sampled the tours, which included traditional elements, like the Prado, the Royal Palace and the Plaza Mayor. However, responding to special requests, the itineraries were laced with insider nuggets, often of interest to foodies.
Some examples were:
• Casa Mira, at Carrera de San Jeronimo 30, is a top spot for turrones, a Christmas sweet made with almonds, honey and egg white. It resembles marzipan.
A plaque on the sidewalk in front of Casa Mira tells passersby it has been in business more than 100 years in the same place, using an unchanged decor, making and selling the same products; Madrid presents these plaques to all local businesses that satisfy the same criteria. Casa Mira originated here in 1855.
• La Violeta, a candy shop on Canalejas Square since 1915, need wait only two years to get its plaque. This tiny shop, where many things are the color of violets, has made candies, including one using violet petals, for 98 years.
• A visit to Lhardy Restaurant, Carrera de San Jeronimo 8, is a trip to 1839 — or a movie set; it is a little overdone by modern standards, with wood-paneled walls, red velvet upholstery, gaslights (now wired) and silver sets on sideboards.
That was the upstairs dining room, said to have hosted a 19th century queen and her lovers.
The ground floor was a tiny space where customers helped themselves to coffee and sweets, from circular display boxes, then paid on the way out.
• Our group gleefully sampled churros dipped in thick chocolate, which the Chocolateria San Gines, on a sliver of a street next to the Church of San Gines, has served since 1894. As it should, the decor provided a sense of its Gilded Age origins.
There were others in the 100-year-plus club, including a cape maker, shoemaker and tavern, but we lingered at Boton near Plaza Mayor because Guinness crowned it the world's oldest restaurant. It dates from 1725 but has many challengers.
We arrived too early for lunch. However, our midday meal was at the Villa Magna, which sits on the broad Paseo de la Castellana, up the road from the Prado. The hotel is about a $13 cab ride from Plaza Mayor, but visitors with touristic pursuits in mind can walk from the plaza. I did both.
Villa Magna
Formerly the Park Hyatt, the 10-story hotel, built in 1972, recently received a $65 million refurbishment that involved gutting the interiors to reduce the room count from 182 to 150 and add suites, going from 18 to 30.
The property now claims the city's largest entry-level rooms, 377 and 430 square feet, among comparable hotels.
General Manager Charles Morris said the property is a supplier for Signature and Virtuoso and participates in American Express' Fine Hotels and Resorts program. The U.S. is its top market, he said, with 23% of sales, and Mexico second with 21%. The business is 70% leisure.
There are four eateries at Villa Magna, two offering fine dining. One is among Madrid's best Asian restaurants, the Chinese Tse Yang, and the other, the signature Restaurante Villa Magna, serves up classics. El Club is the hotel's updated fitness center and spa.
As guests, we found traditional elements, such as restored antique furnishings, and the modern, including TVs that are set in mirrors. My favorite was the large dressing area conveniently next to the bathroom (available in some rooms and suites), and my biggest complaint was no in-room clock.
Rates start at about $715, room only, or $750 with breakfast for one or two. A two-night City Break alternative, offered through 2013 for $860, includes a room upgrade, breakfasts, wine and tapas welcome plus two tickets for the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia museums.