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Scarfing down a hot calamari-filled baguette (bocadillo de calamares) while strolling through the Plaza Mayor is a Madrid tradition, and this bar's rendition is a cut above the rest.
Calle de Botoneras 6, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Plaza-side dining
- To-go hoagies
- Mix of tourists and locals
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Your reward for overlooking the soulless IKEA furnishings of this family-run dinette is honest home-cooked food served at exceptionally reasonable prices for the neighborhood. Try Cordoban-style flamenquines (ham-and-cheese-stuffed pork), salmon tartare, or (on Sunday) a crave-worthy paella Valenciana.
Reservations are a must for Sunday lunch; call ahead or visit the website to book a table and preorder your paella.
Calle del Noviciado 2, Madrid, 28015, Spain
Known For
- Budget weekday prix fixes
- Sunday paella
- Local crowd
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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This take-no-prisoners abuelo bar near the top of El Rastro is famous for griddled sardines, served hot and greasy in an odiferous heap with nothing but a flick of crunchy salt. Beware, super-smellers: eau de sardine is a potent perfume.
Pl. del General Vara del Rey 14, Madrid, 28005, Spain
Known For
- Sardine mecca
- Inexpensive and unfussy
- Busy on Sunday
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Thanks to independently owned gems like Toboggan, La Chopera neighborhood is beginning to attract a younger, cooler crowd. This corner bar with outdoor seating serves mouthwatering international tapas ranging from tacos to tortilla to homemade hummus in a sunlit space. It's a five-minute walk from Matadero Madrid.
Pl. de Rutilio Gacís 2, Madrid, 28045, Spain
Known For
- Local La Virgen beer
- Open late nights
- Good-vibes-only atmosphere
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Salt cod croquettes, fresh tomato salad, roast suckling pig—these are some of the comfort-food classics you'll find on the menu at this neighborhood haunt whose diner decor (steel bar, beige awnings, paper place mats) hasn't changed in decades. If you can snag a patio table in the summer, you've hit pay dirt.
Camino Viejo de Leganés 82, Madrid, 28025, Spain
Known For
- Affordable suckling pig
- Generous breakfasts
- Hyperlocal crowd
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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The grandmotherly upholstery, fringed lampshades, plush wingback chairs, and wooden bookshelves make Café de la Luz a cozy spot to curl up with a book, catch up with friends, or get some work done. Coffees will run you about €2 apiece, and if you're peckish, there's a good variety of sweets and open-faced sandwiches to sate your appetite. Come evening (closing time is 2 am most nights), the lights get dimmed and coffees turn into cocktails.
Calle de la Puebla 8, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Cheap and cheerful coffees and sandwiches
- Homey digs
- Laptops allowed
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Ooey-gooey oversize croquetas stuffed with hot béchamel and any range of fixings (start with the classic jamón) are the tapa to order at this snug neighborhood hangout.
Calle de la Madera 37, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Legendary croquettes and affordable Spanish snacks
- Cozy hole-in-the-wall
- Malasaña tapas crawl staple
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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The traditional tapa at this old-fashioned bar is battered salt cod fritters. Have a tajada de bacalao here, then meander over to Casa Revuelta (in La Latina), Madrid's other famous cod corner, and decide for yourself whose is better.
Calle de Tetuán 12, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Legendary fried cod
- One-time revolutionary hangout
- Open since 1860 (and hasn't changed much since)
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Madrid's oldest sidrería (cider house) is a grand cathedral-like hall with barrel-lined walls, double-height ceilings, and creaky wooden chairs. The star menu item is roast chicken, hacked up unceremoniously and served in a puddle of cider jus—old-school bar food at its finest (the other dishes are nothing to write home about). Casa Mingo is an ideal spot for a nosh after strolling along Madrid Río or visiting Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida, located next door; it's also well-suited to large groups.
Paseo de la Florida 34, Madrid, 28008, Spain
Known For
- Asturian cider
- Roast chicken
- A Madrid institution
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The tapas are offal-y good at this pocket-size bar specializing in variety meats like pig ear (served crackly with spicy brava sauce) and zarajos (lamb intestines wrapped around a stick and fried until crisp, an old-school Madrid snack).
Calle de la Cruz 14, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Legendary greasy spoon
- Shockingly affordable
- Terrific offal tapas
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues.
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Fried calamari a la romana, made with fresh, ultra-tender squid as opposed to the standard frozen stuff, is the star tapa at this 117-year-old Hemingway hangout that's confusingly not Alemana (German) in the slightest.
Pl. de Santa Ana 6, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- White-suited waiters with big personalities
- Top-notch calamari
- Historical digs
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Cervecería Cervantes is improbably down-to-earth for such a posh, tourist-oriented neighborhood—the kind of place where you throw your olive pits right onto the floor. Most patrons come for the ice-cold cañas (half-pints), but there are traditional tapas of varying quality.
Pl. de Jesús 7, Madrid, 28014, Spain
Known For
- Free tapa with beer
- Diamond in the touristy rough
- Perfect for a drink after the Prado
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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San Ginés is to Madrid what Café du Monde is to New Orleans: a historical fried-dough mecca. For generations this 19th-century café has been frying spirals of piping-hot churros and porras (the churro's fatter, chewier cousin—try them) day and night. Dunk your breakfast in café con leche or Cola Cao (Spanish chocolate milk) since the melted dark chocolate, which tastes processed, isn't what it used to be.
Pasadizo de San Ginés, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- A local institution
- Chocolate con churros
- Central location
View Tours and Activities
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Trace the western side of the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales until you reach Chocolatería Valor, an ideal spot to indulge in piping-hot churros dipped in thick hot chocolate. Valor's churros are chewy, puffy, and snipped into batons, more akin to porras (churros' baking-soda-leavened sibling) than to standard crispy churros.
Calle del Postigo de San Martín 7, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- One of the best chocolaterías in town
- Family-friendly atmosphere
- Outdoor seating
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These carb geeks cut no corners—breads here are leavened with sourdough and made with organic stone-ground flours, and the beans for their complex coffees are roasted in-house. Drop into the postage-stamp dinette for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up, and savor airy all-butter croissants and any range of sweet and savory pastries and breads. Seating is limited and there's no Wi-Fi.
Calle de Fernando el Católico 17, Madrid, 28015, Spain
Known For
- Sourdough breads and pastries
- House-roasted coffee beans
- Across from Mercado de Vallehermoso
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The opulent Confitería El Riojano was founded in 1855 by Dámaso Maza, the personal pastry chef of Queen Maria Christina of Austria, and the original mahogany counters and ornate display cases are still in use. The pastries are hit-or-miss these days, but the ladyfingers (soletillas) dunked in hot chocolate are a safe bet and the historical ambience compensates for any culinary foibles.
Calle Mayor 10, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- Ladyfingers dipped in melted chocolate
- Art Deco interiors
- Lots of history and lore
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Rialto's famous moscovitas, slightly salty almond-toffee wafers coated in chocolate, are one of Madrid's most delectable confections. Moscovitas are also sold at some El Corte Inglés locations.
Calle de Núñez de Balboa 86, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Retro feel
- Traditional Spanish pastries
- Famous toffee cookies
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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Step straight into Havana at this hidden Cuban bar and restaurant where rumbas and sones flow from the speakers and regulars burst into impromptu dance parties. Whatever you end up eating—a €7 ropa vieja (cumin-scented beef stew), or perhaps the heftier €10 picapollo (fried chicken)—be sure to nab an order or two of fried plantains for the table.
Calle de los Cabestreros 10, Madrid, 28012, Spain
Known For
- Home-cooked Cuban food
- Kitschy decor
- Music that makes you want to dance
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Faraday is a chic little café known for its meticulously roasted beans, mathematically precise baristas, and gorgeous midcentury modern furniture. Laptops are allowed.
Calle de San Lucas 9, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Great music
- Closed 2–4 pm
- Excellent coffee
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Crack open a can of pristine Spanish seafood—elvers, scallops, cockles, and more—at this veteran bar on Ponzano and you'll never think about tinned food the same way again.
Calle de Ponzano 8, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Old-timey steel bar
- Affordable high-quality conservas
- Flinty Galician white wines
