Alfredo’s Barbacoa

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There was a time when Madrid didn’t know what a hamburger was, let alone those you can get in a minute at a fast food franchise. Onion rings, burgers, ribs, coleslaw, corn on the cob and chili all sounded exotic…until Alfredo arrived. Along with his cowboy hat and boots, Alfredo’s arrival in the 1980s began the era of American food in Madrid.

Born in New York City, Alfredo moved to Texas when he was 18, and eventually to Madrid while working for a multinational company. Here he and his wife Ana began catering for their friends – they actually lost money as they did it for free, but they loved preparing classic American cuisine so much that they decided to open a restaurant. Their success took off with a good newspaper review and today they have three locations.

The decor is as interesting as Alfredo himself, who moves throughout the restaurant chatting with the servers, joking with the cooks and meeting the customers. He is a free spirit who speaks mostly Spanglish and always has a cigar in hand. The decorations were all bought by Alfredo on his trips back to the United States. Don’t be afraid to come here to eat alone as there’s more than enough in the restaurant to keep you entertained all night.

The burgers are the stars of the menu, in particular the Brooklyn, an homage to Italian Americans of the neighbourhood made with olive oil, oregano and mozzarella. The Kefta is another hit and was added to the menu after curious customers would peek into the kitchen after service hours and ask the cooks what they were eating. You can also create your own burger and they even have gluten free buns. Everyone knows about the burgers but Alfredo’s true passion is ribs. His special barbecue sauce is slathered on racks that he specially requests to have a lot of meat on the bone. The hardest part will be saving room for dessert, but it must be done as they’re all homemade and have been perfected by Ana over the years. Warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream, brownies, chocolate cake and a giant chocolate chip cookie with nuts and chocolate syrup…you can’t go wrong with any of these homemade treats.

The restaurant is always full for lunch and dinner, and without a reservation you could be waiting for a while. The secret to their success for over 30 years is originality, affordability (which they refuse to change despite their success) and family. Alfredo has already retired and although he continues to visit his three locations, his wife, daughters Suzie and Lorraine and his granddaughter Sandy are running the business. They have wisely kept intact the essence of what made them successful from the beginning, and the spirit of Alfredo can still be felt even when he’s not there to greet you himself.