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Isla del Tesoro 
 based on 10 member reviews
Manuela Malasaña, 3, Madrid
915931440
Type: Lacto, Indian, Thai, International, Beer/Wine
Info: Large portions. Reservation suggested. Open 13.30-16.00 and 21.00-23.30, closed Mon, Sun night, and August month. Price: Moderate.
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| "Absolutely stunning"
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My Rating |
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5 |
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Posted on: Friday, July 24, 2009 |
Review: A friend of mine found the listing for this place. Despite living in Madrid for 4 months I'd never heard of it.
What a find!
Our first attempt to eat was thwarted by out-of-date opening times, but we went there for Sunday lunch. No reservation required - we got there at 1.45 pm.
The place itself is beautiful inside. Lit with candles or low lamps, there are lots of little niknaks (not to mention the purple velvet double bass just inside the door!)
It is based on Pacific Island cuisine and culture which leads to an interesting fusion of Asian and Indian. It's also macrobiotic.
The aperitif that is automatically brought to your table was gorgeous. Warm cooked chickpeas in olive oil and (paprika?) with caramelised onions, topped with garlic mayonnaise, with a basket of fresh, dark, nutty and/or fruity bread.
My friend had the jungleburger and home made fries - very tasty, and I went for glass noodles with red curry and cashew nuts. I can safely say it was the best veggie meal I have had in years. Both dishes were cooked to perfection, beautifully presented and interesting.
We were so full, we couldn't even consider dessert, unfortunately (!) so we went for fresh mint tea. Divine.
Just a week later, I went again with a different friend, this time for Sunday dinner (9.30). We'd reserved, which was a good idea as it was fairly busy. The aperitif was the same (fortunately as I'd been really looking forward to it!).
This time I had kinotto (risotto made with quinoa instead of rice) with green leaves (chard and chicory we think!). My friend had the Energy Wok - a stirfry full of healthy, energy boosting veg and spirulina.
We had a bottle of the house white wine (organic and vegetarian) which was perfectly drinkable, and only €10.
The staff are friendly, unobtrusive, and wear beautiful blue crossover almost kimono-style tops, and black trousers.
Over the back tables, hangs a sort of fishing net strung with twinkling white fairy lights.
If you're in Madrid, I would say this is a must but I would recommend booking. Check the opening hours too (the website is currently distinctly lacking in up-to-date info).
Pros: Amazing food * Atmosphere/ambience * Staff
Cons: Website needs updating * * |
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| "yummy yummy yummy and more yummy"
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My Rating |
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5 |
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Posted on: Thursday, July 09, 2009 |
Review: This was one of the best veggie restaurants I have ever been to. We arrived right at opening time (21h) without a reservation. Bad idea! But they managed to squeeze us into their schedule if we agreed to leave by 23h. Two more couples managed to get in this way but by 21.30 the place was completely full.
And it's popular for a good reason: the food is absolutely delicious! I had croquetas and a jungle burger. Not a very adventurous option, considering the decor, but they were delicious and not liek anything you'll eat at a fast food place. My boyfriend had something more daring (don't remeber the name but it had weird mushrooms and sushi rolls) and he was very enthousiastic as wel.
Conclusion: try it if you get a chance, you will not regret it. But do make a reservation, or you might not get in.
Pros: very yummy food * lovely decor * lot of choice
Cons: you need te make a reservation * * |
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| "Treasure Island - it's true!"
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My Rating |
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9 |
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Posted on: Thursday, June 04, 2009 |
Review: Very very very good food! The price is worth it and justified and moderate. Every friday they have a menu which has great offers AND is cheap.
It's an amazing place, has a wonderful atmosphere, has nice art on the walls and makes you feel like in a special place, which it is.
They have many options for vegans as well. It is absolutely delicious and I recommend it to everyone who is coming to Mdrid! You won't regret it!
Pros: great food * great atmosphere * price is justified, moderate
Cons: I can't go every week * * |
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| "Better than the British Veg places!"
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My Rating |
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1 |
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Posted on: Friday, April 10, 2009 |
Review: I loved the dinner I had here, left feeling well fed and healthy. Prices reasonable. Would love to return!
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "Absolutely brilliant!!"
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My Rating |
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3 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 |
Review: Me and my boyfriend visited here recently after seeing it on happy cow. The 'indian, thai' description is misleading and nearly put us off visiting. Thank god we went as it was superb! The decor is amazing and the waiters are extremely helpful. We were given an English language menu when they realised we ciouldn't speak Spanish and they squeezed us in despite us not having a reservation. The menu is wide and varied, all wholesome and exciting ingredients. When you sit down you get bread and chick pea dip on the house so a starter is not necessary!! I ordered the aduki burger and my boyfriend had the seitan. Both were superb. There is a good selection of wines including organic. If it wasn't our last night we would've visited there again. Visting this restaurant is a must!!!
Pros: Gorgeous decor * Amazingly varied ingredients * Helpful staff
Cons: * * |
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| "Second Best Restaurant in All my Travels"
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My Rating |
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1 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 |
Review: I travel all over the world and try to hit as many veggie restaurants as I can. Isla del Tesoro is now my second favorite anywhere. I am vegan (vegano) and they were very good with it. They explained to me what was already vegan and what could be made vegan.
The food: First - they bring you raisin bread with a chickpea dish covered in a garlic sour-creme sauce (soy) which was out of this world. I wanted to bring a five pound bag of it back to my hotel room! We ordered the croquetes appetizer which they made a vegan version of. It was six croquetes of different kinds - seems like beets, quinoa (maybe) and and olive one. It was hard to tell exactly but they were all great with the greeen sauce they came with. We also ordered the Ensalada Zanzibar. The sald and dressing portion was fantastic and there was a tofu and grain portion that was elegant and flavorful. Got this one!
For our main course we ordered the combo and the Tan Tan de Seitan. The combo was pretty good with two fresh rolls, three wontons (rice paper) and some sushi rolls. It was a nice clean compliment to the very rich Tan Tan Seitan. The seitan was sovered in a whipped potato ring with vegetables and the whole things was topped in sauce with these crunchy flake like things on top. imagine a vegan fish flake from a Japanee restaurant but without the fish taste. This was Fantastic!
Also - we had some "eco beers" which were good. I'm going back tomorrow to find out the name of it.
I don't say this lightly - this was the best dining experience I've ever had outside of the U.S.. Not only was the food good but the staff was helpful. When we got there we didn't have a reservation but they let us dine under the plan that we'd be out by 10pm when the reservations came in. I thought that was cool of them. Make a reservation - if you are in Madrid go here!!
Pros: flavor * service * beer
Cons: need reservations (is this a bad thing?) * * |
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| "Useless for vegans"
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My Rating |
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21 |
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Posted on: Saturday, July 12, 2008 |
Review: This place is not vegan friendly at all. Despite having my 'Vegan Passport' (which translated my requirements into Spanish) they still seemed to have no knowledge what a vegan required. They claimed dishes were ok and then bought meals covered in cheese. Probably fine for vegetarians but vegans should avoid.
They also brought items at the wrong time, starters as main courses and vice versa!!
Pros: Centrally located * Good for vegetarians *
Cons: No idea what vegan means * Wrong dishes brought * |
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| "UNBELIEVABLE! YOU CANNOT MISS THIS PLACE!"
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My Rating |
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5 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 |
Review: we went there twice in our 6 day trip to madrid, once at lunch, once at night. you really need to make reservations if you can, especially at night otherwise you will for sure not get a seat. the food was incredible and the staff were friendly-ish. there is an english menu so you can understand wha tyou are ordering. the food is inventive and combinations unique, we truly felt it was gourmet.
i am in love!!
Pros: everything! * *
Cons: need reservations * * |
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| "Set lunch"
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My Rating |
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7 |
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Posted on: Friday, December 07, 2007 |
Review: Most restaurants in Madrid offer a set lunch menu for around 10€ and this vegetarian restaurant is no different. My meat-eating friend and me turned up on a Wednesday afternoon for a pre-flight meal and found the menu theme to Italian. They seem to have a five-day menu, which takes in a different cuisine each day, as Tuesday was Indian curry day. The restaurant opens at 1.30pm and stays open till about 4pm and opens again at 9pm I think. The décor itself is a bit hard to explain, although there is the odd palm tree around, but the restaurant is nice and dark with lights for each table.
By the looks of the menu you can chose between a starter then main or main and dessert, although we were not told of this option and just given a starter. The starter we had was basically grilled Italian cheese on a bed of salad, which was nicely presented and which we both enjoyed. The main was lasagna, which again nicely presented and a good size portion. The lasagna was nice and tasty and again we both enjoyed it. We washed the meal down with a couple of beers each and the bill came to about 25€, which was very good value.
I cannot comment on options for vegans, as I am not one myself, but the lunch menu will only work for you on certain days I guess. Overall the restaurant was worth visiting and the food very good value. The service was not the best I've had but neither was it poor and they do have a menu in English.
Pros: Good Value * Good food * Nice decor
Cons: Lunch not always vegan friendly * * |
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| "Fully satisfied!"
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My Rating |
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Posted on: Saturday, July 21, 2007 |
Review: We found this restaurant on this web site, and called to make a reservation. We got a table for 2 at 11:00! The restaurant has such a wonderful funky feel...GREAT decor! And the food was excellent!!! Two of us shared one starter, one first plate, one second, a dessert and a bottle of wine. For 56 euro, we were fully satisfied with our meal, the service, everything. Great atmosphere for a date night, but, me and my friend (a meat eater at that) were very happy too! The portions were generous, and beyond that, let me repeat, that the food was EXCELLENT!!
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "Wonderful food"
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My Rating |
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6 |
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Posted on: Thursday, April 05, 2007 |
Review: Wow! The food here is amazing. Imaginative and beautifully presented. This restaurant is very popular so book ahead. We didn't book but just turned up on the dot of opening time on Friday night and luckily managed to get the last table! Staff weren't particularly friendly or helpful, but that was par for the course for Madrid. Quite a lot of vegan options (though you will need to ask for them in Spanish) including some lovely desserts. The menu has four courses but we were warned by the staff not to order more than two and they were right - the portions are large and very filling. The restaurant is in the Bilbao neighbourhood, which is good for bars.
Pros: Vegan options * Big portions * Amazing food
Cons: Very busy at weekend * * |
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