The Travel Critic

There is nothing quite as opulent as a long lunch. Dinners are all well and good, but lunch—proper lunch—now that’s the real indulgence. The kind that stretches into the afternoon, where the wine keeps flowing, the conversation sparkles, and the food, ideally, makes you wonder why you’d ever eat anywhere else. Nuevo Gerardo is exactly that kind of place.

From the moment you walk in, you know you’re in for something special. The seafood is proudly displayed on ice—gleaming, fresh, as if it had just leapt from the ocean and onto the counter. The room is sumptuous yet effortlessly welcoming, all polished wood, crisp white tablecloths, and that unmistakable hum of contented diners who know they’ve made the right choice. Sunlight streams through the windows. The waiters, seasoned professionals with the kind of charm that can’t be taught, glide between tables, ensuring glasses are never empty and nothing is ever rushed.

And then there’s the food—ethereal, on another plane entirely. The prawns are so sweet and fresh you’d swear the sea was lapping at the doorstep rather than hours away. The jamón ibérico is the sort of thing that makes you briefly consider moving to Spain, just so you can eat it daily without judgement. And then comes the lobster paella—a golden, glistening masterpiece, the kind of dish that makes you want to weep for all the substandard rice-based atrocities you’ve eaten before.

The year has only just begun, but if I have a better lunch than this, I’ll be a very lucky man. If you’re in Madrid and want to ruin all future meals, come here—because after Nuevo Gerardo, nothing else will ever measure up.