Eateries
Madrid is a city where you want to share experiences, meet people and take long walks through the streets and squares full of historical monuments and interesting tourist attractions. In Madrid, it is especially important to plan your itineraries, choosing the best places to stop and recharge. That is why it is impossible to talk about Madrid cuisine without mentioning the art and tradition of tapas. Drinking a glass of beer or vermouth, as well as a simple meal in one of the typical bars of the city, on its many verandas or in small restaurants that can be found in all districts, is, without a doubt, also an integral part of our culture.
An extensive range of gastronomic pleasures invites the visitor to try different options, offering snacks and a la carte dishes in a huge range of prices and formats, while always maintaining a high level of quality of the original products and the skill of the chef. Are you ready to try these delicious dishes?
If you want to visit high-end eateries, the best solution is to go to restaurants that also offer a selection of snacks at the bar – such as Lua, Albora, Alabaster, ViavSlez, Rafa, San terra or Cuenllas with its excellent selection of wines. On the other hand, the Sala de Despiece restaurant and bar offers a more creative atmosphere with its stylized bar counter for seasonal cuisine.
Apart from cold and high quality beer and a huge variety of wines, some of the typical snacks that can be tasted in restaurants all over Madrid are high quality preserves, salad salad, croquettes or the famous potato tortilla. Establishments such as El Doble, Najera, Sylkar, La Maquina or Quinto Vino can attest to this.
The traveler visiting the Prado Museum, Thyssen or Jeronimos Church in the central area will find at every turn an endless choice of gastronomic options and, among others, the Vinoteca Garcia de la Navarra vinotheque restaurant. Here you can taste excellent seasonal cuisine, washed down with wines from the rich menu of this restaurant, which includes several wines from the Autonomous Community of Madrid with the protection of the designation of origin.
Tablafina Restaurant has an interesting selection of dishes, and if you’re looking for a quick bite to eat, there’s nothing better than the typical squid sandwich at El Brillante Bar. Next to the Congress of Deputies, we recommend visiting the Estado Rigaud bar-restaurant. And if you delve into the Las Letras area, you can find interesting opportunities for a snack in the bars E1 Rincon de Jose, La Dolores, Los Gatos or Tandem.
We certainly cannot miss the area, which is currently perhaps the best area in Madrid for tasting light snacks. This is the Retiro district, in close proximity to the park of the same name – the green heart of the capital. For example, we can name La Catapa restaurants in this area, with author’s cuisine and very high quality products, Laredo; with simple and delicious recipes and a rich selection of wines, and La Raquetista with a very attractive menu. We also recommend the restaurant La Monteria, with its hot grouse salad, cold salmorejo soup and beef tail stew; restaurant La Castela, where they offer one of the best beers in the capital, offering to accompany it with fresh seafood, or Arzabal’ with quality dishes and a wine list. In the same area, the Kulto bar is a great place to have fun and have a bite to eat, and in Restaurante Rafa the visitor will find, in addition to wonderful seafood, one of the best Olivier salads in the city. In the Retiro Park itself, the Florida Bar & Restaurant offers a variety of light snacks, as well as a hearty lunch or dinner with a performance.
In this section, we also cannot miss the Alonso or Fogon de Trifon bars, two establishments that are the most characteristic representatives of the bar culture in the Spanish capital.
Among the tempting options Madrid offers for a light, informal bite, the sandwich has a special place in many of the establishments mentioned, but in the El Porron Canalla bar it turns into a real art.
And yet, Madrid is full of other amazing places, such as the El Viajero restaurant in the Latina district, where you can enjoy beautiful views of the old city from the rooftop, or the spectacular rooms of the Platea restaurant, a real feast for all the senses, where you can find an extensive selection of dishes of all kinds.
One of Madrid’s greats, the Sacha Restaurant, with over 40 years of history, deserves a special mention, where bone marrow roast or fake sea urchin lasagne never disappoints. Also not to be missed is the Viridiana restaurant, headed by the famous culinary and writer Abram Garcia; in his establishment, this forerunner of the new Madrid cuisine offers unforgettable dishes, such as curried lentil stew or eggs of farm hens on mushroom mousse. We highly recommend trying the legendary fried eggs at Casa Lucio, a gastronomic sanctuary often visited by celebrities from all over the world when visiting Madrid.
