Las Terrazas del Náutico (El Escorial - Madrid)

As you may have guessed from the title, it is an establishment near the Los Arroyos Yacht Club development, on the Los Arroyos reservoir, at the main arm of the Valmayor reservoir. To get there, heading towards El Escorial, before reaching Valmayor follow the signs for Urbanización Los Arroyos and, along the road on the left, you will find a sign pointing to Las Terrazas del Náutico.

A place ideal for an aperitif or lunch (on weekends) or for a light evening snack by the water’s edge, with the freshness the water brings on days when the thermometer soars. If you go especially at night, it is advisable to bring a light jacket, yes, even in August, we almost always needed one. But let’s move on to the food, which surprised us in a positive way, as all the dishes we ordered were of superior quality, very well prepared and a good portion size.

The kitchen opens early in the evening; in our case we started at 8:30 pm without any problem. Upon arrival and once our drinks were served, they brought us an aperitif of delicious fried almonds and fried potatoes. There were two of us; we ordered four dishes but asked for them to be served in two rounds, two and then two more, so the plates would not pile up on the table. The first “round” consisted of two dishes to share: wrinkled potatoes with red mojo and mayonnaise (excellent in size and flavour), and homemade ham croquettes (a portion of 6 units with real ham flavour and filling), excellent.

The second round also consisted of two dishes: salmon salad with walnuts and mustard vinaigrette, very correct and all the ingredients of very good quality, and the other dish was Iberian pork cheek tacos in the Mexican cochinita pibil style (perhaps a little lacking in spice, but of very good quality).

All the dishes, there are around fifteen (there are some special dishes such as the Angus sirloin on a hot stone), but in general all are priced between 7 and 10 euros. There is a dessert menu with various options, but what caught our attention was the number of beer options they offer. Five regular ones (some on tap) but around fifteen craft beers.

An establishment where, in addition to good food, you can enjoy excellent views of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the reservoir, and the sunset if you happen to be there when it occurs. It has a very spacious terrace and an indoor dining room which is used in colder seasons or if unexpected weather arises. It is a pleasure to enjoy the countryside by the water’s edge, with the refreshing breeze that this brings on hot days. Enjoy!!!

Madrid Un jamón #aperitivo #croqeutas #embalse #papas arrugas #tacos mexicanos #vistas