Restaurants in Madrid
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La Isla del Tesoro
Unlike some vegetarian restaurants that seem to work on the philosophy that basic decor signifies healthy food, the dining area here is like someone’s fantasy of a secret garden come to life. The cooking is assured and wide ranging in its influences; the jungle burger is typical in a menu that’s full of surprises. The weekday lunchtime menú del día (daily set menu; €11) is more varied than most in Madrid, taking a different national cuisine as its base every day.
reviewed
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Casa Mingo
Built in 1916 to feed workers building the Príncipe Pío train station, Casa Mingo is a well-known and vaguely cavernous Asturian cider house. It’s kept simple here, focusing primarily on the signature dish of pollo asado (roast chicken; €10.30) accompanied by a bottle of cider. Combine with a visit to the neighbouring Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida.
reviewed
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Sula
If you want to catch Salamanca’s happening vibe, head for Sula, a gourmet food store, super-stylish tapas bar and clean-lined restaurant where Quique Dacosta (voted Spain’s best chef in 2005) serves up a range of Mediterranean dishes that you won’t find anywhere else. Design touches added by Amaya Arzuaga help to make this one of Madrid’s coolest spaces. Rumour has it that David Beckham had one of his farewell parties here.
reviewed
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Cervecería 100 Montaditos
This bar with outlets all across the city serves up no fewer than 100 different varieties of mini-bocadillos that span the full range of Spanish staples, such as chorizo, jamón, tortilla, a variety of cheeses and seafood, in more combinations than you could imagine. Each one costs a princely €1 to €2 and four will satisfy most stomachs. You order at the counter and your name is called in no time. Menus are available in English.
reviewed
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Restaurante Momo
Momo is a Chueca beacon of reasonably priced home cooking for a casual crowd. It has an artsy vibe and is ideal for those who want a hearty meal without too much elaboration. Unusually, the well-priced three-course set menus spill over into the evening and the famous chocolate moco (literally ‘snot’, but really homemade chocolate pudding) is the tastiest of dessert dishes despite the worrying name. It’s a mostly gay crowd, but everyone’s welcome.
reviewed
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Bangkok Thai restaurant
Great Thai food, reasonable prices, good service and a Thai-style dining area make for a terrific meal in the heart of town. If you’re lucky, you’ll get one of the tables overlooking the busy pedestrian thoroughfare of Calle del Arenal. In addition to their à la carte choices, they offer a well-priced menú del día (daily set menu; €11.60) that’s available for lunch seven days a week, a menú de noche (evening set menu; €15) and a menú de degustación (€19.50). Their opening hours are particularly friendly to non-Spanish stomachs.
reviewed
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La Negra Tomasa
Bar, restaurant and magnet for all things Cuban, La Negra Tomasa is a boisterous meeting place for the Havana set with waitresses dressed in traditional Cuban outfits (definitely pre-Castro), decent food such as cojimar (shrimps in a tomato sauce with rice and slices of banana fritter) and typical drinks of the Caribbean. There’s often live Cuban music in the evening.
reviewed
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Nagoya
Madrid has its fair share of Japanese restaurants, but you won’t find any better than this one. The service is friendly and fast, and the food is outstanding – from the tempura and sushi to the kami yaki soba (duck with noodles and teriyaki sauce). Ask for your maki with sesamo por fuera (sesame on the outside) and you’ll be in heaven.
reviewed
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Maceiras
Galician tapas (think octopus, green peppers etc) never tasted so good as in this agreeably rustic bar down the bottom of the Huertas hill, especially when washed down with a crisp white Ribeiro. The simple wooden tables, loyal customers and handy location make this a fine place to rest after (or en route to) the museums along the Paseo del Prado. Galician music plays in the background and the kitchen stays open until 12.45am on Fridays and Saturdays. There’s another branch around the corner.
reviewed
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Taberna de Antonio Sánchez
Behind one of the best-preserved old taberna façades in Madrid hides this gem of a traditional tapas bar famous for its Madrid specialities – tortilla de san isidro, callos (tripe), morcilla (blood sausage), huevos estrellados (fried eggs) and a host of other excellent local favourites.
reviewed
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La Casa del Abuelo
The ‘House of the Grandfather’ is an ageless, popular place, which recently passed its centenary. The traditional order here is a chato (small glass) of the heavy, sweet El Abuelo red wine (made in Toledo province) and the heavenly gambas a la plancha (grilled prawns) or gambas al ajillo (prawns sizzling in garlic on little ceramic plates). They cook more than 200kg of prawns here on a good day.
reviewed
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Txakolina
It calls its abundant Basque pintxos (tapas) ‘high cuisine in miniature’ – the first part is true, but these are some of the biggest pintxos you’ll find and some are a meal in themselves. It does wonderful things with seafood and potatoes too.
reviewed
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Al Natural
Tucked away behind the Spanish parliament, Al Natural has an intimate ambience and terrific vegetarian food. There are the usual suspects such as salads and pastas, but some welcome creative touches, including grilled provolone cheeses, make this a terrific choice.
reviewed
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A Dos Velas
We’re fans of this place where the food is creative with Mediterranean cooking fused with occasional Indian or even Argentine flavours, a lovely dining area with soft lighting and exposed brick, and service that’s attentive without being intrusive.
reviewed
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Chocolatería de San Ginés
Perhaps the best known of Madrid’s chocolate con churros vendors, this Madrid institution is at its most popular from 3am to 6am as clubbers make a last stop for sustenance on their way home. Only in Madrid.
reviewed
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Baco y Beto
Friends of ours in Madrid begged us not to include this place in the guide and we must admit that we were tempted to keep this secret all to ourselves. Some of the tastiest tapas in Madrid are what you find here, either ordered as a tapa, such as quail’s eggs with salmorejo, or raciones (larger tapas servings), such as aubergine with parmesan. Their croquetas are wonderful and they’re not averse to bringing international influences into their dishes. The clientele is predominantly gay, but they, like our friends, can’t have it all to themselves.
reviewed
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Casa Lucas
Receiving plaudits from food critics and ordinary punters alike, Casa Lucas takes a sideways glance at traditional Spanish tapas and heads off in new directions (the foie gras with port and caramelised fruits, for example). There are a range of hot and cold tapas and larger raciones (large tapas servings). The menu changes regularly as they come up with new ideas, and they pay particular attention to their wine list.
reviewed
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Restaurante Integral Artemisa
With a couple of options for meat eaters, this mostly vegetarian restaurant does a brisk trade with its salads, moussaka and rice dishes. The decor is simple, the service is no-nonsense and the salads are what marks this place out as worthy of a visit. Alternatively, try the plato degustación (from €24.95) for a range of tastes.
reviewed
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La Tasquita de Enfrente
To succeed on the international stage, Spain’s celebrity chefs have to take experimentation to new levels, but to succeed at home they usually have to maintain a greater fidelity to traditional bases before heading off in new directions. And therein lies the success of Chef Juanjo López: it’s difficult to overstate how popular this place is among people in the know in Madrid’s food scene. His seasonal menu never ceases to surprise but also combines simple Spanish staples to stunning effect. His menu degustación (tasting menu; €48) and menú de Juanjo (€65) would be our choice if this is your first time. Reservations are essential.
reviewed
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Sula Madrid
A gastronomic temple that combines stellar cooking with clean-lined sophistication, Sula Madrid – a superstylish tapas bar, top-notch restaurant and ham-and-champagne tasting centre all rolled into one – is one of our favourite top-end restaurants in Madrid and we're not the only one - when master chef Ferran Adrià was asked to nominate his favourite restaurant, he chose Sula. The kitchen, its seasonal menu and the extensive wine list is overseen by wunderkind Quique Dacosta (voted Spain’s best chef in 2005) and there's a leaning towards Navarran cuisine, the finest jamón (ham) and creative twists on old staples. Design touches added by Amaya Arzuaga help to make…
reviewed
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Zalacaín
Where most other fine-dining experiences centre on innovation, Zalacaín is a bastion of tradition, with a refined air and a loyal following among Spain’s great and good. Everyone who’s anyone in Madrid, from the king down, has eaten here since the doors opened in 1973; it was the first restaurant in Spain to receive three Michelin stars. The pig’s trotters filled with mushrooms and lamb is a house speciality, as is the lobster salad. The wine list is purported to be one of the best in the city (it stocks an estimated 35,000 bottles with 800 different varieties). You should certainly dress to impress (men will need a tie and a jacket).
reviewed
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Jockey
Fine Spanish cooking, with the occasional nod to international sophistication, and celebrities and royalty dotted around the dining room (Prince Felipe, heir to the Spanish throne, and Letizia Ortiz chose the Jockey chefs for their wedding banquet in May 2004) make for a top-quality dining experience. The menu is more traditionally European than most in this price range, although there are some innovative flourishes. Otherwise, it’s along the lines of Persian caviar, snails and soufflés. If we could choose one dish, it would probably be lobster ragout with truffles and fresh pasta. Men must wear a tie and a jacket.
reviewed
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Santceloni
The Michelin-starred Santceloni is one of Madrid’s best restaurants, with luxury decor that’s the work of star interior designer Pascual Ortega, and nouvelle cuisine from the kitchen of chef Óscar Velasco, protege of master chef Santi Santamaría. Each dish is an exquisite work of art and the menu changes with the seasons, but we’d recommend one of the menús gastronómicos to really sample the breadth of surprising tastes on offer. Make no mistake: this is one of Madrid's best restaurants.
reviewed
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Casa Alberto
One of the most atmospheric old tabernas (taverns) of Madrid, Casa Alberto has been around since 1827 and occupies a building where Cervantes is said to have written one of his books. The secret to its staying power is vermouth on tap, excellent tapas at the bar and fine sit-down meals; Casa Alberto’s rabo de toro (bull's tail) is famous among aficionados. As the antique wood-panelled decoration will suggest straight away, the raciones (large tapas servings) have none of the frilly innovations that have come to characterise Spanish tapas. Jamón (ham), Manchego cheese and croquetas (croquettes) are recurring themes.
reviewed
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Nina
Sophisticated, intimate and wildly popular, Nina has an extensive menu (available in English) of nouvelle Mediterranean cuisine that doesn’t miss a trick. We like the decor, all exposed brick and subtle lighting, we love just about everything on the menu, but we adore the honey-and-sobrasada-glazed grilled ostrich steak with a salmon and raspberry crust. What we’re not so keen on is the policy of two sittings (at 9.15pm and 11.30pm), which inevitably means that staff can start to hover when your time’s nearly up. The weekend brunch (€21.90, noon to 5.30pm Saturday and Sunday) is excellent.
reviewed