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MADR ID
FEATURE
ILSE WOUTERS, 43, A BELGIAN NOW
LIVING IN MADRID,
signed up to Invite
for a Bite (inviteforabite.com) because
she wanted to meet local people while
away from home, as well as get insider
knowledge of where to eat, have a good
time and enjoy good company.
Ilse suggested meeting at the Puerta de
Sol square in central Madrid, so she could
show me Madrid’s famous Plaza Mayor on
the way to the restaurant she had picked
for lunch. Her home knowledge was soon
evident: “Plaza Mayor ’s fine for a drink and
people-watching, but you don’t really want
to eat here. The prices are inflated and the
food usually isn’t special.”
Instead we headed for Galician
restaurant Orixe (orixerestaurante.com)
in the Latina neighbourhood, set on a
road crammed with restaurants and bars.
Here we ate from the Menu Orixe, which
weekday lunchtimes offers four choices of
starter, main course and a choice of dessert
or coffee, plus a glass of wine or beer for
just €15. It’s a good cut above standard
tourist fare – a cold, incredibly garlicky
sopa fria de almendo
(almond soup) is
followed by perfectly cooked seabass
mero, fresh melon and then a small glass
of bright-yellow, home-made
orujo de
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012
WIZZ MAGAZINE
57
hierbas
– a kind of gentle-tasting grappa.
After lunch we wandered up the
road to Mercado de St Miguel
(mercadodesanmiguel.es) – one of several
markets in the city which have been
recently renovated from basic food markets
into places selling beautifully presented
fruit, meat and cheese alongside stalls
where you can have a drink, eat tapas or
choose your meat and have it cooked to
order. “It’s quite expensive, but sometimes
it’s nice to treat yourself,” Ilse said.
Cressida Howard
Cressida Howard, who set up
Invite for a Bite, says: “I’ve
lived in Barcelona and Japan
and while the days alone
tend to be fine, whether
you are travelling or newly
arrived to live in a city, solo
eating every evening can get
a bit lonely.
“I think it’s often more
difficult for women to go out
alone to a bar or restaurant
– men tend to find it easier to
go out for a pint and chat to
some other bloke at the bar.
The site is meant to be about
having fun – that’s all!”
inviteforabite.com
GETTY
THE MERCADO DE ST
MIGUEL IS AN EXPENSIVE
TREAT.
BELOW:
ORIXE
RESTAURANT IS A GOOD
SPOT FOR LUNCH