Le Cabrera: A spoonful of French and a shake of Argentinean make a whole lot of Spanish.

A Spaniard, a Brit, a German, and two Kiwis go out to dinner. As much as this sounds like a joke, it was just another Thursday night. Over tapas we discussed the ins and outs of Spanish cuisine. Simultaneously digging our forks into tender stewed meat bathed in a dark wine sauce, Spanish Maria looked at me, ?Do you ever have problems? I mean do Spaniards ever question your authority on reviewing our food, or claiming the Top 10 Tapas Bars in Madrid??, she asked brushing a drop of the deep sauce from her lip. I steadied my fork half way to my mouth. ?Really I have no authority,? I said, ?only my taste buds.? I plunged my bite into my mouth, putting said taste buds to good use.

To illustrate my point I take you to Le Cabrera, a mishmash of cultures not only in name.

Le Cabrera is backed by Spanish Michelin stared chef Sergi Arola who lends his guiding hand as well has his signature dishes to his new undertaking. Enter the two level restaurant and either take a seat at the first floor gastrobar where French chef Benjamin Bensoussan will tickle your fancy with innovative Spanish tapas or descend into the downstairs cocktail lounge and let Argentinean mixologist Diego Cabrera shake up your life.

So how does this relate to my conversation with Maria?

Anyone who might think that a foreigner has no clout in local gastronomy might also suppose that a French chef is out of place in a Spanish kitchen. That would be a sad mistake, not only would they be living under false assumptions but be missing out on the truly delicious Spanish cuisine at Le Cabrera.

Some say the best cheesecake in town? Creamy cheese mousse paired with crispy spice bread croutons and blueberry coulis. The kicker is snippets of lemon zest on top.