El Tigre

Yesterday I went out with my flatmate to eat out in the city all together and have a few beers. My Italian friend proposed we should go to El Tigre and we all happily listened to him, as he was already living here in Madrid while he was doing his own Erasmus 7 years ago. I already know a lot of tapas places in Madrid, but I have been to El Tigre only once and it was a long time ago.

We went to the bar that is located somewhere near Gran Via subway station, but we gave so many turns that I wouldn't even be able to find it again. Last time I went there, I went into a different El Tigre bar, on a street that there are two of them. I remember it perfectly, because I was supposed to meet my friends there and my phone died on the way, so I couldn't contact them. I came to the correct street and saw the El Tigre bar, but when I went it in, it turned out that they were not there. Great, I thought to myself, they have already left, and probably left me a message which I couldn't answer because my phone is dead! But luckily, when I got out of the bar there was lady with some pamphlets, who asked me if I was looking for my friends in there. Surprised, I said that I was, but it seems like there were not there anymore. She told me to try out the other El Tigre bar, located just a few metres away from this one. The other one was supposed to be bigger and indeed, it was. But honestly, to this day, I have no idea why the hell would anyone have two bars of the same name at one street, only a few street numbers away from each other. Surprisingly, each of these two locals were full. And I finally did find my friends in there.

So yesterday we went to the one situated somewhere in Gran Via. And the first thing that stroke me when we entered was that the floor was so dirty. It was full of dirty papers and chicken bones all over the place. So I made a remark of that to my friends, and while we sat on one of the tables in the corner of the room, which was empty, my Italian roommate explained to me that the tradition here in Spain in all of the tapas bar is that while people eat and if they enjoy it, they just throw the used napkins onto the floor. They do the same with the chicken bones and other kind of bones. At least there were no smashed potatoes to step into... I don’t find this tradition very appetizing. It actually felt quite uncomfortable to be eating in these conditions. And I have no idea why I haven’t noticed it before. I have been to so many tapas bars in Spain. And now that I recall it, it is true. I remember that the floor was also dirty in La Risueña the first time that I went there. Maybe I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to it, but now that I think about it, it was also full of napkins and papers. What a weird tradition. I am not used to throwing my papers onto the ground, not even on the street, let alone in the middle of the bar where people go to eat!

Anyway, yesterday in El Tigre, I drank the best sangria ever. It was the best sangria of all times, the best I have ever had in my life and during all these months that I have been living in Spain and these were quite a few. It reminded me of a mojito, because it had sugar and mint in it, but it was just delicious. Only that it was a bit expensive, as it cost me 5 euros, but it was definitely worth it and from now on, whenever I want to have a sangria, I will go to the El Tigre bar to have it. I wanted to have it for like a week now and it was delicious!

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Apart from that, they gave us a lot of food for free. My friends bought some beers and as there were just three of us, we got three plates of different meals: patatas bravas (Spanish potatoes in spicy sauce – at least, it is said to be spicy, but I do not find it spicy at all), some montaditos (little sandwiches) with cheese and jamon iberico and some albondigas (meatloafs). Jamon iberico is one of Spanish famous hams, which I don’t like because it is a bit raw and chewy; never say to a Spanish person that you don’t like their ham because they will get upset. And never ask a Spanish person how many dialects they have in Spain. They will start yelling at you that these are not dialects, that these are languages. And apart from that, they are very proud of the regions that they come from and they will always start telling you that their city is the best in Spain and that you have to see it and Madrid is nothing compared to their home city.

And so, just a simple visit to one of the most popular tapas bars in Madrid turned out to teach me yet one another surprising thing about the Spanish traditions. Not to mention the delicious sangria and the enormous plates of tapas with which we had out dinner.

I recommend you to go to El Tigre.

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