With a red logo looking like a bank and a decor that feels cold like a real estate company, VIPS is an American diner, open all day long until the late hours of the night. It’s a blend of Mc. Donald’s and Chili’s combined, trying to speak the Spanish language. A varied menu proposes Poke bowls, ribs, burgers, starter combos, bowls, sandwiches and Chicago style pizzas.
Loaded with people at 4 pm, the restaurant seems to welcome the business employees of the surrounding towers. Arriving with our kids, they were offered a kit of pens and papers to fill their time. Not too friendly, and very slow, I waited for long minutes before being served.
Back to the decor, the architect has done a great job if it was an advertising agency or real estate office. Red all the way, metallic chairs, leather sofas, and fine quality curved wood. The tables are grey, and the floor is covered with wood.
We passed here on our way from the airport because the kids wanted a burger: the experience wasn’t up to my expectations.
The minuses:
- You can’t order a big bottle of water but small ones: it seems to be more profitable.
- Plates are not clean and not appetizing.
- Food is not tasty.
Let’s eat: I didn’t like the food. The club sandwich is loaded with mayonnaise and a synthetic chicken having an unpleasant taste and texture, the ribs are overcooked and lack texture, the pizza is chewy and lack tomato sauce... the salmon poke is the saltiest thing I’ve ever had in my life with rice that’s soggy and overcooked. Please don’t call this plate “poke”, it’s not close to being one. The noodle bowl has an excess sweetness to it.
Now the burger; a tender bun filled with the hardest and most chewy meat I’ve experienced in the last years. So hard-textured and containing chunks of gelatin that slide unpleasantly under the teeth. A chewy meat, a double dose of it.
VIPS food is way below average; not tasty and lacking the minimal knowhow a chef should have. Not a place I’ll recommend to my friends visiting Madrid.
