Mi Kitxen Restaurante Review

By J.R.

So you’ve been here in Madrid for a while and can now decipher menus.  Your days of pointing and timidly saying “uno por favour” are long gone.  You’ve finally joined the local food scene.  And why wouldn’t you?  The food on offer in even a bog-standard bar in Madrid beats hands down a bag of crisps in a pub in London.

We can all agree that the Spanish know how to make tasty food, but it’s also true that there’s something missing here.  For a city of its size, Madrid is a bit short on good southeast Asian options.  If we add to this is the problematic “I’d love a good chicken tikka masala or some fish and chips” moment that we’ve all had (but maybe never said out loud), then Madrid can at times disappoint.  The solution to this dilemma is Mi Kitxen Restaurante, which you’ll find hidden down a small side street in Chamberí.

The interior is light and stylish with some funky, quirky touches.  The crowd is a good mix, everything from hipsters to young families.  You might end up sitting next to locals, ex-pats or visitors.  Mi Kitxen is the sort of place you could go to on a date, take your visiting parents to or just go to for a catch up and gossip with friends.  And that’s the point.  There’s something here for everyone.

The menu has flavours of southeast Asia with dishes from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and The Philippines.  Peruvian and Mexican options are thrown in to give a Latin American vibe and homesick ex-pats can find comfort with dishes they miss from their pre-Madrid life.  To start, I decided to go to the Philippines with Kwek Kwek which are quail eggs in coloured tempura on a stick.  The colourful lollypop look meant that my starter was as Instagrammable as it was tasty.  Then a quick hop over to Thailand for my main dish of chicken Pad Thai.  My “if I can’t pronounce it, I’m not eating it” friend played safe and enjoyed an old classic of fish and chips.

The food at Mi Kitxen is tasty and the service friendly and efficient.  There was an English menu and our waiter was happy to explain the dishes to us in English.  Mi Kitchen is a place you’ll visit and want to go back to!