142 Best Restaurants in Madrid, Spain

A lively corner bar with a colorful trencadís (broken up tiles)-tiled facade, this is a solid spot for a cold beer and a nosh after visiting the nearby museums. Try the matrimonio ("marriage") tapa, which weds one pickled and one cured anchovy on a slice of crusty baguette.

Real talk: it can be hard to find a vegetable in Madrid. But in Navarra, the region this restaurant looks to for inspiration, there's never a shortage of asparagus, artichokes, cardoons, piquillo peppers, and other seasonal delicacies. Savor a vegetable-centric tasting menu that hinges on ingredients from the owners' family farm for €42, a steal in this increasingly overpriced neighborhood.

The average customer age in this time-warpy tavern is pushing 70, which is always a good sign—Madrid's abuelos and abuelas never settle for subpar Spanish cooking. In the snug tile-walled dining room, tuck into disappearing classics like braised squid in ink sauce and stewed baby fava beans (verdinas) with prawns; then satisfy your sweet tooth with a custardy fried torrija (Spanish "French" toast).

Tetuán is the unlikely location of this outstanding (and extremely well-priced) Italian restaurant run by a Naples native. Homemade pastas are the star of the show—try the ricotta-stuffed tortellini alla nerano topped with fresh basil and Parmiggiano or the paccheri al ragù swimming in a 10-hour meat sauce.

A modern urban interpretation of a traditional pulpería (octopus restaurant), this casual spot specializes in polbo á feira, boiled octopus cut into coins, drizzled with olive oil, and dusted with smoked paprika. Pair it with an icy glass of Albariño and a heap of blistered padrón peppers.

Shaking up Retiro's traditional tapas scene, La Raquetista is known for nueva cocina dishes that vary from night to night, including tuna "pastrami," uni with potato cream, and cider-marinated wild boar tenderloin, all served bar-side or in a snug five-table dining room.

Most budget prix fixes in Madrid are limited to lunch, but La Sanabresa offers a budget three-course dinner as well. Choose from more than 20 appetizers and 40 entrées that comprise a highlight reel of grandmotherly Spanish cuisine: gazpacho, ensaladilla rusa, fried anchovies, chicken cutlets, and on and on. Service is old-school and no-nonsense, just like the decor (think white paper tablecloths and wooden straight-back chairs).

La Tasquería, which moved to Chamberí from Salamanca in 2024, draws restaurant industry pros and food writers with its bold menu revolving around off-cuts like liver, kidneys, tripe, and tongue—onetime staples of the Spanish diet that fell out of favor but are now getting a modern makeover. Even the squeamish will be won over by delectable dishes like ravioli filled with lamb sweetbreads, and cod tripe fideuà (pasta "paella").

This budget-friendly bar—specializing in hot stuffed bread rolls (called casis) and flavored hard cider—has an industrial vibe, thanks to exposed pipes, high ceilings, and a semi-open kitchen. The best part, however, is the under-the-radar courtyard with room for spreading out.

Basque chef César Martín has a devoted local following for his hyperseasonal menus that show a sincere dedication to food sustainability. Lakasa may have moved into a bigger, more modern space, but Martín's specialties haven't wavered; be sure to indulge in the Idiazabal fritters, crisp orbs redolent of smoky sheep's cheese.

Find primal pleasure here picking the meat off a hake head served in a cauldron of gingery broth or slurping your weight of wok-charred noodles tossed with chicken and seafood. Stir-fried okra, sweet-and-sour pork ribs, and shrimp soup are other perennial favorites among the mostly Chinese clientele.

At this lively restaurant you'll find crowds of Spaniards gobbling up one of the city's finest, most upscale renditions of tortilla española (Spanish omelet) with unconventional add-ins like octopus, potato chips, and truffles. The menu also includes plenty of equally succulent non-egg choices (the rice dishes stand out).

For a country that borders France, Spain has a surprising dearth of good French restaurants, which makes Le Bistroman all the more remarkable—not only is the food good by Spanish standards, it would be a hit in Paris with its homemade everything, from terrines to breads to pastries. Wild game (venison, squab) features prominently on the menu, and other highlights include an old-school cheese cart and throwback desserts like babas au rhum and vanilla bean soufflé.

Sicilian chef Francesco Ingargiola recreates the bold flavors of his childhood—with plenty of fine-dining flourishes—at this inviting ultramodern trattoria one block from the Gran Vía thoroughfare. Start with an order of crispy artichokes, flavored with lardo and topped with Italian foie gras, before moving on to homemade pastas like linguini with shrimp or Madrid's best carbonara. 

Opened in 1839, Lhardy—with its spiral staircase, varnished leather walls, gleaming chandeliers, and marble fireplaces—is one of Madrid's most treasured restaurants, and it maintains much of its original decor despite being acquired by a local restaurant group in 2021. Meals, as always, begin with hot consommé poured from a silver samovar and spiked with a chispín (sip) of sherry and continue with French-inflected dishes, ranging from duck à l'orange to sole in champagne sauce. Though the kitchen is still ironing out a few kinks, the grand museum-like surroundings more than make up for any foibles, especially if you stick to the cava, charcuterie, and pastries in the downstairs bar.   

Diverging in spirit from the stuffier baroque-style cafés of the neighborhood, this cozy spot with mismatched vintage furniture attracts an artsy crowd. 

Unhinge your jaw and devour a bocadillo de calamares, the classic Madrid sub overstuffed with fried calamari, at the most popular outpost of this local chain; ask for lemon and aioli to zhuzh it up.

For groups larger than two, reservations are a must at this cozy neighborhood bar decorated with books, colorful knickknacks, and fresh flowers. You can count on British chef Scott Preston to provide craveable pub food like craggy-crispy potato skins and oozy baked feta, plus healthier, more Mediterranean options like curried vegetable couscous and flake-apart hake with clams and salsa verde.

Don't let the crowds dissuade you from entering this Cava Baja stalwart—tables and barstools open up fast. The nonnegotiable dish to try here is huevos estrellados, "bashed" fried eggs tucked between olive-oil-fried potatoes and topped with optional add-ons like jamón, chistorra sausage, and pisto (Spanish ratatouille). The perfect pairing? A glass of tart, citrusy rosé Cava by one of Catalonia's top producers, Raventós i Blanc.

This hole-in-the-wall, opened in 1940 and run by a third-generation tabernero, serves no-frills Castilian classics like patatas revolconas (mashed potatoes with pork rinds), ham croquettes, and meatballs so good they're often gone before the dinner rush. Go before it closes for good: "The bar dies with me," the owner told El Mundo in 2023. "I give it two or three years."

Hand-rolled New York–style bagels, made fresh daily, hit the spot when continental breakfast fatigue sets in.

Perhaps the only worthwhile tapas restaurant on Gran Vía, Madrid's main commercial artery, Mercado de la Reina serves everything from croquetas to grilled vegetables to tossed salads. Enjoy them in the casual bar area, in the slightly more formal dining room, or on the outdoor patio. A downstairs lounge bar with an extensive gin menu accommodates those who want to keep the night rolling.

The scenic cobblestone street that winds down to La Latina from Mercado de San Miguel is lined with mediocre touristy tapas bars—this, however, isn't one of them. Inside the stone-walled tavern, locals and visitors alike chow down on the house specialty: griddled mushrooms with jamón (dry-cured ham) and garlic-parsley oil. 

This bar opened in 1964 and has been feeding garlicky griddled mushrooms to the hungry masses ever since.

Beyond the single-origin coffee drinks made from locally roasted beans, there are warming chai lattes, shrubs, and (seasonal) cold brew at this quiet café that has an abutting pastry shop called Misión Bakehouse. There are plenty of plant-based options on the breakfast and lunch menu as well. Tables are for coffee-sipping and dining only, so if you brought your laptop, sit at the high-top communal table or on the wooden "bleachers."

Hand-rolled pastas, craveable vegetable dishes, and reimagined Italian classics keep Salamanca prepsters pouring in night after night. Wow your date, boss—or simply your hungry self—with dishes like leeks and cockles swimming in saffron cream, tagliatelle tossed in arugula ragù, and crunchy broccoli and beef lasagna. Don't skip dessert: the cocoa-dusted tiramisu orb is the stuff of foodies' dreams (and, shh, Italian nonnas' nightmares).

Catalan chef Oriol Balaguer takes chocolates and croissants to new heights at this ritzy bombonería, whose attractive treats make phenomenal gifts—or afternoon pick-me-ups.

Traveling as a vegan in Madrid is becoming easier thanks to affordable inviting restaurants with palate-popping food like Oveja Negra. Try vegan takes on Spanish classics like sidra-braised soy chorizo, leek-and-squash croquetas, and meatless pâtés.

In an aerie above one of Madrid's oldest, most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, the dining room and rooftop terrace of this tasting-menu-only restaurant are decorated with playful, almost circus-like elements such as bright blue pushcarts, checkered floors, and yellow velvet chairs. The cuisine is as thrilling and whimsical as the decor, with dishes ranging from crunchy sardines with ají romesco sauce to spicy ethereal pig ear fritters. This is fine dining for the lighthearted.

The Madrid outpost of a legendary Vitoria-Gasteiz pintxo bar, Perretxico is known for its cocido doughnut—cocido being Spain's famous boiled dinner of chickpeas, various meats, and sausages. These are blended into a paste, stuffed inside a doughnut, and served alongside a demitasse of umami-packed bone broth for dunking, a wink to the classic doughnut-coffee combo.