Begin at the Beguining
Pro Fantastic value MdD
Con Not a wide offer for the non-meat eaters.
Pay
€
Per Person €10 main course, drink, dessert or coffee.
Gratis: our slice of pie came supersized to XL.
Booking recommended for weekends.
Find
Website On El Tenedor
Access Step free.
In Short
Hopes? A decent value menu del dia.
Reality? As good a cheap lunch as we've found. Really!
First Impressions? Smart and greenery.
A USP? Cheap Cuban lunch in Chueca.
The food in three words? Absolutely first class.
Can they get the staff? Two affable chaps on hand.
Service with a smile? Really friendly and enthusiastic. Excellent.
Friend friendly? Main courses are pretty much all meaty. You'd be on the side dishes.
Rating for dating? Yep. It's got a lot going for it.
Tip? 10%
Change one thing? More time to try more stuff
Going back? Absolutely.
Compare & Contrast
Head south to Havana Blues for more authentic eating.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Borax offers a delicious, enjoyably quirky Cuban experience.
Breaking news...this is really good. Abandon your burger bars, people. Get a cheaper, more authentic and incredibly friendly lunch down here instead!
Borax doesn't advertise its MdD outside, but ask and they'll pass over the plasticated card with a short selection of options. It might not be extensive, but as an advertisement to get you keen on a return visit it's a powerful marketing tool they might make more of. And it's amazing value.
Sitting down, none other than Sir Julian Churches was warbling away in the background. If Chueca had a national anthem...although Camilo Sesto would have something to say. But in the end, as a singer, Julio is one heck of an ex-goalkeeper. The stories we could tell of him serenading the ladies in East Kent in the 60s...anyway, lunch!
For starters, there are no starters. You're straight into well-proportioned main courses. Ropa vieja (when in Habana, have a rumba at the Nacional), picadillo, roast pork and a fish dish are the options, with tostones or fried plantain plus rice, beans - which are a starter substitute, I suppose - and a salad garnish.
Our choices? Having been spoiled (some might want to pass on the next link) by the best roast pork on the planet years ago in Havana, we didn't want to risk expectation disconnection. So - two of the classics:
Now, the presentation's not at its most artistic, but there are two first class main courses, here. More than enough for one, the beans mixed with rice top things off nicely. Bread came too, but is slightly out of place. If we're going to be picky, the Ropa V (the first picture) could have used a smidge more spice to deepen the flavour a bit, but it still tasted and looked like the real thing. The picadillo was on the mildish side too, but didn't lose its impact. A sign of decent slow cooking, usually.
Choosing tostones for one and fried plantain for the other, the server swapped them round on the plates "For me, one goes much better with that, so I changed it!". We'll take that. A waiter taking an interest? Fanfare, Alberto!
Set menu allows dessert or coffee. Say hello to an outstanding - and generously bonus-sized - apple pie.
Slightly too chilled, but nevertheless this is a top notch slice of crumble-tart that'd be at home in a tudor tea-room in Torquay. Not a hint of dodgy splodge-o-cream. You might hanker for a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, but it didn't need it to impress. It felt homemade, which is always - always - a bonus in a Madrid set lunch.
Service is welcoming and chatty, and were we talking goalkeepers? This one has a doppelganger at Borax. The decor is quirky and creates an unexpectedly authentic-feeling garden atmosphere. Never have so many plastic plants been so well used. Combined with the slightly daffy, knowing music choices, it's memorable. We were astounded to be the only customers on a Thursday lunchtime.
The full menu covers plenty of Cuban favourites. An extra note mentions empanadas, which could probably let you create a V-friendly meal. Traditional Cuban dishes just don't lend themselves to the plant-eater. There are obviously cocktails a go-go too.
So, you know how the land lies. If it sounds like it'll work for you, go. We're heading back soon.
Pro Fantastic value MdD
Con Not a wide offer for the non-meat eaters.
Pay
€
Per Person €10 main course, drink, dessert or coffee.
Gratis: our slice of pie came supersized to XL.
Booking recommended for weekends.
Find
Website On El Tenedor
Access Step free.
In Short
Hopes? A decent value menu del dia.
Reality? As good a cheap lunch as we've found. Really!
First Impressions? Smart and greenery.
A USP? Cheap Cuban lunch in Chueca.
The food in three words? Absolutely first class.
Can they get the staff? Two affable chaps on hand.
Service with a smile? Really friendly and enthusiastic. Excellent.
Friend friendly? Main courses are pretty much all meaty. You'd be on the side dishes.
Rating for dating? Yep. It's got a lot going for it.
Tip? 10%
Change one thing? More time to try more stuff
Going back? Absolutely.
Compare & Contrast
Head south to Havana Blues for more authentic eating.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Borax offers a delicious, enjoyably quirky Cuban experience.
Breaking news...this is really good. Abandon your burger bars, people. Get a cheaper, more authentic and incredibly friendly lunch down here instead!
Borax doesn't advertise its MdD outside, but ask and they'll pass over the plasticated card with a short selection of options. It might not be extensive, but as an advertisement to get you keen on a return visit it's a powerful marketing tool they might make more of. And it's amazing value.
Sitting down, none other than Sir Julian Churches was warbling away in the background. If Chueca had a national anthem...although Camilo Sesto would have something to say. But in the end, as a singer, Julio is one heck of an ex-goalkeeper. The stories we could tell of him serenading the ladies in East Kent in the 60s...anyway, lunch!
For starters, there are no starters. You're straight into well-proportioned main courses. Ropa vieja (when in Habana, have a rumba at the Nacional), picadillo, roast pork and a fish dish are the options, with tostones or fried plantain plus rice, beans - which are a starter substitute, I suppose - and a salad garnish.
Our choices? Having been spoiled (some might want to pass on the next link) by the best roast pork on the planet years ago in Havana, we didn't want to risk expectation disconnection. So - two of the classics:
Choosing tostones for one and fried plantain for the other, the server swapped them round on the plates "For me, one goes much better with that, so I changed it!". We'll take that. A waiter taking an interest? Fanfare, Alberto!
Set menu allows dessert or coffee. Say hello to an outstanding - and generously bonus-sized - apple pie.
Service is welcoming and chatty, and were we talking goalkeepers? This one has a doppelganger at Borax. The decor is quirky and creates an unexpectedly authentic-feeling garden atmosphere. Never have so many plastic plants been so well used. Combined with the slightly daffy, knowing music choices, it's memorable. We were astounded to be the only customers on a Thursday lunchtime.
The full menu covers plenty of Cuban favourites. An extra note mentions empanadas, which could probably let you create a V-friendly meal. Traditional Cuban dishes just don't lend themselves to the plant-eater. There are obviously cocktails a go-go too.
So, you know how the land lies. If it sounds like it'll work for you, go. We're heading back soon.