In all our travels over the years we've had one almost constant - always make a bad choice for dinner first night!!!

So we're going to Madrid friday and to try and break this tradition thought we'd put the call out for recommendations for a good, atmospheric, friendly, reasonable restaurant/tapa's in Madrid. We like and will try most foods, no particular dietary requirements.

First time in madrid so not much geographic knowledge or indeed spanish, but we're staying in The Palacio San Martin hotel just off Calle Del Arenal. All suggestions welcome, we have to break this annoying tradition caused by arriving late and tired into new places......

Lots of possibilities but I'll leave it at this to start you off. DON'T plan on eating BEFORE 9PM at the earliest...much more fun to linger and late as the locals do.

i would wander around the plaza mayor, see the cave bars, and stop in any one you like at the counter.
plenty of choices, and for tapas.. glass of wine.. not too much to worry about.

also, if you feel like a salad, etc. try FRESCO which is off the pl. mayor, on loweer busy street, ask your hotel where it is before you leave.

it is 8/9 euros at night with unlimited gourmet salad bar,1 drink, unlmtd. coffees, desserts and main course/pasta dishes in back. we always go there for a healthy meal.

end up for drink on terrace of Café oriente looking across at palacio real lit up at night. Magical.
(behind the teatro real).

Here’s how you may want to get your dining experience start with a BANG in Madrid -how about some fresh roasted suckling pig and/or roasted baby lamb?

Asador de Aranda specializes serves those dishes family-style and locals assemble before 9 pm at the restaurant bar having aperitifs and some tapas of mostly high quality jamon and pickled olives.

Asador Fronton is also a popular establishment for such dishes.

There’s nothing like a hearty serving of good and tasty roasted lamb on the table to get you in the proper mood for the rest of your culinary jaunt in Madrid.

If tapas are your desire, then Calle Huertas and Cervantes have tapas bars in every nook, cranny and alleyway that are almost always filled to capacities with after-work locals and tourists, alike. It’s hard to go wrong with any of them, but we enjoyed Cerveceria Cervantes, along the street with the same name.

Here are some mini-reviews of the places where we ate (scroll down just a bit):

http://www.onelittleworld.com/madrid_3.html

We really liked the area around Plaza Santa Ana for tapas and before-dinner drinks.

Elsewhere, our best meals were at El Escarpin on Hileros, near the Teatro Real, and El Schotis, on Cava Baja.

Enjoy.