MADRID, SPAIN. Chirrión restaurant is a Mexican restaurant located in the barrio of Chueca in Madrid. While Chirrión claims to serve authentic Mexican food, its food is heavily influenced by Spanish cuisine, lacking the strong yet subtle flavors that are common within Mexican cuisine. While one can expect a certain cuisine to taste differently in another country, I am very confident that dishes are recreated quite easily thanks to globalization and its facilitation of ingredients.
Chirrión offers a gluttonous menu called the menu comilón, which is available from Monday to Friday around Spanish lunch (almuerzo) time for a scandalous 9,90 Euros. As suggested by the name, this menu includes an “all you can eat” course selection and is probably the best deal available at Chirrión, especially for those with large appetites. Some of the dishes include a delicious gazpacho that comes with a lazy susan containing copious amounts of diced green pepper, croutons, onions, scallions among others. The lazy susan was taken away after I finished the delicious gazpacho, making me wonder what they would do with the left over diced vegetables that I had not finished. I had two different types of taco dishes before I stopped being a comilón. I had to wait twenty minute intervals between ordering different dishes. I was asked which taco I had ordered three times, each time by a different server.
The tacos were quite good, with rich flavor, the taco shell does give a different flavor than what I have had. The service at Chirrión while efficient and friendly, can be at times sporadic and inconsistent. Like at all places, when ordering tap water, stress the tap or you will end up paying extra for a bottled water. Overall the menu is delicious, but lacks the authenticity of Mexican cuisine, nonetheless I will continue my search for authentic Mexican cuisine in this city.
Chirrión Restaurant
Calle de Augusto Figueroa, 32 28004 Madrid
Metro: Linea 5 Stop: Chueca
Telephone number: +34 915 21 53 80