El Rincón de Jaén

Cuando un cliente me dijo que tenía un bar andaluz en el barrio de Salamanca, nunca imaginé que fuera a estar a la vuelta de casa y que me iba a atrapar tanto.
¡Y es que me encanta!
Es un lugar ideal para cañear con los amigos: por 2 € te ponen una señora copa Mahou y una generosa ración. La primera es de pescaíto frito, calamares y calabacín rebozado; la segunda de choricito frito, morcilla y algo más que no recuerdo; la tercera de tomate, cebolla y ventresca; la cuarta de montaditos y aceitunas… Vamos, que cuando pides la cuenta ves que por 8 € has cenado.
Pero no todo es birrear en barra o alrededor de un tonel: Te puedes sentar a comer en las mesas, también barriles. Os lo recomiendo todo, buenísimo. Primera calidad. No tienen carta de postre: cuando pides la cuenta te obsequian con unos granizados de limón, helados y licor de hierbas y crema de café.
Lo único que me chirría es la música: no me va nada el «flamenquito». Menos mal que está bajita y con el jaleo apenas se oye. ;-)

Final night in Madrid and wanted to try somewhere that was a «locals only» type of place. Definitely found it and it was great. Ordered a drink, received enough tapas to have been my meal. I ordered their «Ensalada Rincón de Jaén» (essentially, their specialty salad) and it was wonderful. A very large piece of fish, perfectly cooked, and very tasty. Thought I was done with my meal, but no… they brought me their free dessert. Something that tasted like a frozen limeade, an ice cream bite, a double chocolate dipped cherry and something that looked like chocolate milk, but was actually a very nice liqueur drink. The place was packed (I arrived at about 8:30pm) and only continued to get busier until about 9:45 when it seemed to mellow a bit. The only thing that was a smidge challenging was that there were predominately only cocktail tables, so you need to be prepared to stand the entire time.
Kudos to El Rincon!

A friend of mine brought me here for a little taste of Spain. With two locations just across the street from each other and a few more scattered about Madrid, these restaurants specialize in Spanish cuisine typical of the southern regions. Jaén, the restaurants’ namesake, is actually the city where my friend is from and this, as he says, is his embassy.
A family owned venture, the space itself isn’t very large but it makes the most of the area with standing bar tables in front, a few sitting tables in the rear and a bar where you can get a drink or some tapas.
On this occasion the bar was decorated with banners and streamers celebrating the holidays in Spain. It was Saturday night, 9pm, prime time for tapas bars. The place was definitely busy, though not too busy to notice a familiar face. We snagged a standing table and ordered a round of brews. With one beer each we acquired two plates of tapas: fried treats (zucchini, calamari, and a small fish called boquerones) and «Russian» tostas (bread with a mixture of lettuce, fish and mayo). With the next round of beer we received chorizo and special little crackers, then croquettes (fried outside, stuffed with ham and a potato like filling), and last little fried fish cubes, called adobo, seasoned and topped with lemon, my favorite of all. I was starting to think I was in over my head.
After a mountain of tapas and beers we asked for the bill. The beers, at only 2 € each, come with the tapas for free so we had an entire meal for a small price. With the bill came two small vases of alcohol, one was baileys, the other a typical Spanish liquor, light green in color, called licor de hierbas. Each vase had enough for 3 shots. You also get a tiny ice cream bar and a small frozen lemonade.
In addition to tapas you can order from the menu. They have a lot of seafood specialties and the steak is also one of the more famous items. The menu is a few pages long and it may take awhile to make a decision. No matter what you order though it will come out hot and fast.
Aside from the amazing food, the service is so nice and friendly. Everyone here was having a great time, including the people that were working there. Makes for great ambiance. I’m sure I’ll be back very soon for more tapas and more smiles.