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Textbook-perfect paella in...Latina? Madrid is a notoriously disappointing city when it comes to the rice dishes popular on the Mediterranean coast, but Aynaelda slam-dunks with its sizzling paellas flavored with heady aromatics and concentrated stock. Be sure to scrape up the socarrat, that swoon-worthy layer of crisp rice that sticks to the bottom of the pan. Avoid Sunday lunch as there's usually a waitlist.
Calle de los Yébenes 38, Madrid, 28047, Spain
Known For
- Rice dishes up to Valencian standards
- Bright airy dining room
- Excellent croquettes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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A 19th-century bodega (wine vendor), with barrel tables and dusty gewgaws hanging from the walls, Bodega de la Ardosa is a welcome anachronism in modern Malasaña and a tourist magnet for good reason. The bar's claim to fame—and the dish Madrileños make special trips for—is its award-winning tortilla española, or Spanish omelet, always warm with a runny center. The fried ortiguillas (sea anemones) dunked in lemony aioli are the menu's sleeper hit.
Calle de Colón 13, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- 100-plus years of history
- Tortilla española
- Draft vermú and unfiltered sherry "en rama"
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If you can't make it to the windmill-dotted planes of Don Quixote's La Mancha, you can at least get a taste of that region's flavorful, rib-sticking cuisine at this beloved neighborhood bar within walking distance from the Matadero. Beyond the Manchegan classics—atascaburras (potato-bacalao mash), machacón (mashed fresh tomato-pepper salad), and asadillo (cumin-scented roasted red peppers)—there's a long ever-changing list of Spanish craft beers.
Calle de Jaime el Conquistador 25, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Cheerful waitstaff
- Madrid's best Manchegan restaurant
- Pleasant patio
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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Never has an open kitchen in Madrid been so mesmerizing: at Cadaqués, black-clad cooks tend to rows of paella pans sizzling over pluming orange wood embers and flip Flintstones-worthy steaks and whole fish licked by open flame. It feels like the type of rustic experience you'd encounter at the Mediterranean seaside, but Cadaqués sits squarely on Jorge Juan, Madrid's poshest street. Achieving that transportive vibe was no small feat: the chef spent months fishing and cooking with seafaring communities along the coast prior to writing the menu, which features all sorts of pristine shellfish and raw-bar dishes in addition to the standout rice and grilled meat and fish preparations.
Calle de Jorge Juan 35, Madrid, 28001, Spain
Known For
- Best rice dishes in town
- A slice of the Levant in Madrid
- Refined Mediterranean decor with well-heeled clientele to match
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Casa Dani is a legendary bar in Mercado de la Paz whose tortilla de patata (potato omelet) is easily the best in town, and perhaps the country (if first place in the National Spanish Omelet Championship of 2019 is any indication). Each hefty wedge is packed with caramelized onions and served hot and slightly runny. Adventurous eaters should opt for the con callos version, topped with spicy tripe. The €13 prix fixe, which hinges on market ingredients, is a great lunch deal if you're not in a rush (prepare for long lines to be seated).
Calle de Ayala 28 (also Calle de Lagasca 49), Madrid, 28001, Spain
Known For
- Possibly world's best tortilla española
- Value prix-fixe lunch
- Long lines that are worth the wait
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Carabanchel's best-known bar, Los Minutejos, is synonymous with distressingly inhalable griddled sandwiches of crispy pig ear doused in fiery brava sauce. Tamer tapas are available for the squeamish. To drink? An ice-cold Mahou, of course.
Calle de Antonio de Leyva 17, Madrid, 28019, Spain
Known For
- Crustless "minutejo" sandwiches
- Ample space to spread out
- No-nonsense service
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Tinajas, huge clay vessels once filled to the brim with bulk wine (but now defunct), sit behind the bar at this raucous no-frills bodega specializing in Spanish cheese and charcuterie. Ask the waiters what they've been drinking and eating lately, and order precisely that. The washed-rind cheeses from Extremadura (Torta del Casar or similar) are always a safe—and pleasantly putrescent—bet.
Calle de Calatrava 21, Madrid, 28005, Spain
Known For
- Unforgettable old-world atmosphere
- Wide selection of wines and charcuterie
- Frazzled yet friendly staff
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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This gourmet shop (est. 1931) doubles as a cozy bar where you can sample most of the stuff on the shelves, including canned asparagus, charcuterie, anchovies, and a varied well-priced selection of Spanish cheeses and wines. It also serves good inexpensive breakfasts.
Calle del León 12, Madrid, 28014, Spain
Known For
- Regional wines and cheeses
- Delectable sobrassada-honey toast
- Quaint setting
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Approximate a vacation to northern Spain by dining at this true-blue Asturian restaurant (or at the more casual sidrería in the bar area), where that region's unsung comfort-food dishes—such as fabada (pork-and-bean stew), Cabrales cheese, and cachopo (cheese-stuffed beef cutlets)—take center stage. The obligatory tipple is sidra, bone-dry Asturian cider that's aerated using a battery-powered gadget designed for this task.
Calle de la Farmacia 2, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Authentic fabada
- Cider bottles with fun DIY aerators
- Local crowd
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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Whether you pull up a stool at at the marble bar or sit down for a soup-to-nuts feast in the azulejo-lined dining room, you're in for some of Madrid's finest traditional tapas with a twist here. Madrileños come from far and wide to share heaped plates of ensaladilla rusa, a house specialty, as well as textbook-perfect croquetas and hefty steaks served with sherry gravy and house-cut fries. Vermouth (on tap) is the nonnegotiable aperitif, and there are always several Spanish wines to try by the glass.
Calle de San Vicente Ferrer 44, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Hidden gem in Malasaña
- Dependably exceptional old-school tapas
- Over-and-above service
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Many tapas bars serve pincho de bacalao (battered cod, an old-school standby), but the fan favorite is Revuelta's rendition, which is crisp, featherlight, and not too salty. Elbow your way to the 1930s-era bar and ask for a pincho de bacalao and a glass of Valdepeñas, a Manchegan red that comes chilled in tiny stemless glasses—just like the olden days.
Calle de Latoneros 3, Madrid, 28005, Spain
Known For
- Battered salt cod canapés
- Midmorning vermú (vermouth) rush
- Time-warp decor
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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Whether you approve of bullfighting or not, the culinary excellence of Casa Salvador—a checkered-tablecloth, taurine-themed restaurant that opened in 1941—isn't up for debate. Sit down to generous servings of featherlight fried hake, hearty oxtail stew, and other stodgy (in the best way) Spanish classics, all served by hale old-school waiters clad in white jackets.
Calle de Barbieri 12, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Time-warpy decor
- Walls packed with bullfighting paraphernalia
- Cloud-light fried hake and stewed oxtail
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner Mon.
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Crackly fried pig ear, fat wedges of tortilla de patata (potato omelet), and garlicky rabbit al ajillo are a few of the many old-school standbys that have kept this cubbyhole bar in business since 1934.
Calle de José Castán Tobeñas 1, Madrid, 28020, Spain
Known For
- Phenomenally affordable
- Classic tapas and breakfasts
- Off-the-radar gem that's worth the hike
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Always crisp and never greasy—that's the mark of a well-made churro, and Madrid Chocolat's piping-hot baskets of fried dough always hit the spot.
Calle de Santa María 30, Madrid, 28014, Spain
Known For
- City's best churros
- Comfortable dining area
- Terrific grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches
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One of the buzziest restaurants in Madrid, this modern seafood mecca—with sleek wooden tables and floor-to-ceiling windows—serves rare delicacies from the country's top fishing fleets. On the ever-changing menu, you might find quisquillas de Motril (sweet white shrimp with bright blue roe), precious little elvers, or Basque lobster stew—all accompanied by wines selected by Sergio Otero, of DiverXO fame.
Calle del Vivero 3, Madrid, 18613, Spain
Known For
- Finest seafood in Madrid
- Uber-trendy hot spot
- Twee old-school cheese cart
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No dinner Tues. and Wed., Reservations essential
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All the Galician greatest hits are on the menu at this Latina stalwart with an old tile floor and wooden benches. Paprika-dusted octopus, smoky lacón (cooked ham), and weighty slabs of empanada gallega (tuna pie) go down a bit too easily when accompanied by gallons of the house Albariño.
Calle de Saavedra Fajardo 16, Madrid, 28011, Spain
Known For
- Galician peasant food
- Devoted local crowd
- Hefty free tapa with every drink
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
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This low-ceiling dining room filled with plush armchairs, starched white tablecloths, and colorful bouquets is a welcoming spot to feast on refined Asturian dishes like sea urchin gratin, morels stuffed with truffled foie gras, pheasant with braised green beans, and suckling lamb confit. Weather permitting, you can request a patio table to watch Madrid's one percent parade down Calle de Jorge Juan. For power lunches and special-occasion meals, El Paraguas delivers every time.
Calle de Jorge Juan 16, Madrid, 28001, Spain
Known For
- Haute Asturian cuisine
- Romantic dining room and terrace
- Fantastic seafood
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Expertly pulled espressos, natural wines, and unexpectedly outstanding food—think velvety scrambled eggs, flavorful quiches, and homemade cakes and pastries—have made this café on Plaza del Biombo an instant hit with locals and expats, many of whom treat the roomy communal table like a coworking space (just be considerate and order more than a coffee if you plan on staying awhile).
Calle de Calderón de la Barca 8, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- €15 weekday prix fixe
- Genial bilingual staff
- Industrial-chic decor plus sunny patio seating
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues.
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This cheery yellow-tiled café serving Middle Eastern-inflected sandwiches and pastries is packed from breakfast to lunch, when neighborhood-dwellers show up for falafel, shakshuka, and spinach pie. At 8:30 pm, Golda morphs into "Golfa," its boozier late-night alter ego serving tapas and natural wine.
Calle de Orellana 19, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Laptop-friendly
- Expertly pulled espresso drinks
- Homemade salads and sweet and savory pastries
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This tony gastro bar serves newfangled tapas that are well worth their higher-than-usual price tag. Spring for the tempura soft-shell crab bao with chive mayonnaise, garlicky artichoke flatbread, or any other tapa del día, but whatever you do, order the famous tortilla de patata, irresistible with its molten core and handfuls of caramelized onions. The dulce de leche "volcano," cooled off by a scoop of banana ice cream, may be Madrid's most craveable dessert.
Pl. de Puerta de Moros 4, Madrid, 28005, Spain
Known For
- Nueva cocina tapas done right
- Earth-shatteringly good tortilla de patata
- Cheek-by-jowl crowds
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
