best tapas in madrid
 

Would love to hear about your experiences & recommendations about dinning in Madrid - particularly about tapas places.
What time do they start serving tapas usually? I know restaurants open very late.

Just got back from Madrid. I couldn't tell you the name of any restaurants we ate at but if you get there before 9 pm you'll be dining alone. Dinner usually was at about 10-10:30.

There's a difference between dining and tapas. The Plaza Santa Ana is a good place to try several places, and we've gone after 7 pm and found lots of people there, it's like happy hour for locals and tourists alike. I prefer this location to some of the larger squares.

Well, there's a difference, but most young people call their dinner the tapas :) No money for both outside home. And the truth is that if you eat a handful of them...it's filling enough. And if you want bigger portions of something ask for "racion"

Hi, paulchili,

the bar you can get into and get close to enough to the bar to order and still breathe is the best one! if you can get a seat, even better.

off the main street is generally better than on it.

go to the right places, and you can indeed make meal of tapas /raciones. lots of fun, but not necessarily cheaper than eating especially if you have Jamon and queso [ham and cheese] which tend to be expensive.

tortilla, squid, etc. tend to be cheaper.

regards, ann

Thank you all. I do understand the difference between tapas & dinner. However, as I am not willing to wait til 10:00 PM or so to have dinner, I will gladly use tapas as dinner. I love tapas anyway. I guess I was looking for specific names for tapas bars & hours of service. I do appreciate the other suggestions ( i.e. Plaza Santa Ana, side streets vs. main streets, etc)

hi, paul,

the great thing about Madrid [and most of spain] is that you can eat just about any time of day/night. Tapas seem to be available from about 12 noon onwards.

regards, ann

Hi Paul-
Here's my journal about Madrid (and other parts of Spain). I always write a lot about food, and we primarily ate tapas, so maybe this will help.

http://www.wired2theworld.com/spain2005.html

You may also want to look at the message boards on www.chowhound.com for the the most current recommendations.

Kristine, Your report of your trip and pics are just the kind of info and accounts I have been looking to find. My daughter and I are planning a trip to Spain April 08 to the places you went. This is so helpful and at the same time such an enjoyable read. Thank you so much.

The name should be Kristina. Sorry I was not reading it correctly.

Thank you, Ann - that is the answer to my question.
Kristina - I am enjoying your report ( still reading it). It so happens that we too will be staying at the Palacio San Martin and I have read about many of the places ( restaurants/bars)you have visited. Excellent report, great pictures - thank you!
Paul