Where to eat in Madrid: my 27 favourite restaurants
Nobody eats well following the tour buses. These are the 27 restaurants in Madrid I'd send a friend to: the cheap neighbourhood place, the one locals keep to themselves, the splurge that's genuinely worth it. No photo menus.
Bar La Campana★ 4.5 · €5-12 · Spanish (bocadillos)Casa Rúa's direct competitor for «best calamari bocadillo»: 1 min walk south of Plaza Mayor, family-run since 1983. Directions
Book a TableBodega de la Ardosa★ 4.3 · €20-35 pp · Spanish (tapas)Madrid's most authentic tapas + vermouth bar: opened 1892, never renovated. Directions
Book a TableCafé El Despertar (live jazz since 1981)★ 4.3 · €15-30 pp · Café + live jazzMadrid's longest-running live jazz café: opened 1981 in the bohemian Lavapiés neighborhood. Directions
Book a TableCasa Dani★ 4.5 · €12-18 · Spanish (tortilla)Winner of Madrid's «Best Tortilla» championship multiple years: a tiny counter inside the Mercado de la Paz in Salamanca, serving the platonic ideal of tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelet, runny inside) for €4 a slice. Directions
Book a TableCasa González★ 4.6 · €20-35 pp · Spanish (deli + wines)1931 family-run deli + wine bar in Barrio de las Letras: Madrid's literary quarter. Directions
Book a TableCasa Lucio★ 4.2 · €35-55 pp · Spanish (Castilian)The Cava Baja tavern beloved by kings, presidents, and Pedro Almodóvar: opened 1974, famous for huevos rotos (broken eggs over fried potatoes + jamón, €18). Directions
Book a TableCasa Macareno★ 4.6 · €25-40 pp · Spanish (tabernas)The Malasaña neighborhood's most beloved taberna: opened in the 1940s, taken over in 2020 by the same team behind Casa Salvador and given a careful refresh that kept all the wooden bar, tile walls + Madrid soul. Directions
Book a TableCasa Mortero★ 4.7 · €60-90 pp · Spanish (modern Madrileño)Chef Lara Roguez (ex-El Celler de Can Roca) reinterpreting traditional Madrileño cuisine: callos a la madrileña, cocido, tortilla, all rebuilt for 2026. Directions
Casa Rúa★ 3.9 · €5-12 · Spanish (bocadillos)The Madrid bocadillo institution since 1926: a 2m-wide standing-only bar on the south side of Plaza Mayor, serving the city's most famous bocadillo de calamares (fried-squid baguette) for €4.20. Directions
Book a TableChocolatería San Ginés★ 4.3 · €5-9 · Churros + chocolateOpen continuously 24 hours since 1894: the legendary churros-and-thick-hot-chocolate spot tucked into a passageway off Calle Mayor. Directions
Book a TableCoque★ 4.7 · €230 tasting menu · Spanish (2* Michelin)The Sandoval brothers' 2-Michelin-star showpiece: a 4-room culinary journey (champagne cellar → kitchen → wine library → dining room) over a 3-hour tasting experience. Directions
Book a TableCorral de la Morería★ 4.4 · €100-160 pp + show · Spanish (Michelin-starred tablao)Madrid's most legendary flamenco tablao: opened 1956, the only flamenco venue in the world with a Michelin star (for its gastronomic dining room). Directions
Book a TableDiverXO★ 4.4 · €365 tasting menu · Asian-Spanish fusion (3* Michelin)Chef Dabiz Muñoz's 3-Michelin-star + #3 in the world (World's 50 Best 2023): the most theatrical tasting menu in Spain. Directions
Divorare★ 4.8 · EUR 10-20 · Italian focaccia sandwiches★ Tip: There is almost no seating, so order at the counter and walk it to the Plaza Mayor steps two minutes away. That is also why the queue looks worse than it is: nobody is waiting for a table. The Nutella one, the Capriccio, is EUR… Directions
El Riojano€4-12 · Pastelería · churros and pastriesA pastry shop on Calle Mayor since 1855, opened by the confectioner who had worked for Queen María Cristina, and still run behind the same painted glass and dark wood counters. Directions
Book a TableHundred Burgers★ 4.7 · EUR 15-20 (burgers 10.50-14.50) · Burgers★ Tip: It books out, so reserve before you fly rather than on the day. Ask for The Singular: dry-aged patty, cheddar, bacon, caramelised onion and camembert cream, EUR 11.50, and the exact burger that won it the title. Directions
Book a TableLa Casa del Abuelo★ 3.9 · €15-25 pp · Spanish (gambas al ajillo)Madrid's legendary gambas al ajillo bar: opened 1906, four generations of the same family, still serving the city's most iconic garlic-shrimp dish in a sizzling clay cazuela (€11). Directions
Book a TableLa Tasquita de Enfrente★ 4.2 · €80-130 pp · Spanish (market-fresh)Chef Juanjo López's no-menu restaurant: you arrive, sit down, and López tells you what came in fresh that morning. Directions
Book a TableLe Petit Chef★ 3.6 · EUR 109 (veggie 99 · kids 59) · Dinner show · 3D table projection★ Tip: Book the earlier sitting and arrive 30 minutes ahead: the show runs to its own clock whether you are seated or not. And come for the spectacle rather than the food. At EUR 109 a head with drinks on top, the animation is what you… Directions
Book a TableMercado de San Antón (rooftop)★ 4.1 · €25-40 pp · Spanish (modern)3-floor gourmet market in Chueca: ground floor fishmongers + butchers, second floor wine + tapas counters, third-floor rooftop terrace restaurant La Cocina de San Antón with retractable roof. Directions
Mune Prado★ 4.6 · €15-30 · Lebanese · Mezze · ShawarmaLebanese cooking on Calle del Prado, in the middle of Barrio de las Letras: hummus done properly, shawarma off the spit, mezze built for sharing, and enough vegetarian plates that nobody at the table compromises. Directions
Restaurante Casa Lucía★ 4.6 · €25-40 pp · Spanish (Castilian)A family-run Castilian restaurant in the Barrio de las Letras: not to be confused with the famous Casa Lucio on Cava Baja. Directions
REVUELTO★ 4.7 · €10-18 · Brioche sandwiches · Brunch · CoffeeBrioche sandwiches are the whole idea here, and they are built properly: soft bun, generous filling, nothing pretending to be healthier than it is. Directions
Book a TableSala de Despiece★ 4.4 · €50-80 pp · Spanish (modern)The flagship of Madrid's Calle Ponzano tapas-bar street: a modern restaurant designed like a butcher's workshop, with marble counters + giant prep tables. Directions
Book a TableSobrino de Botín★ 4.3 · €30-70 ppThe oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world: officially recognized by the Guinness Book of Records since 1987. Directions
Book a TableStreetXO★ 4.4 · €45-75 pp · Asian-Spanish fusionTriple-Michelin-star chef Dabiz Muñoz's «punk» Asian-fusion concept inside El Corte Inglés Serrano. Directions
UMAMI Specialty Coffee★ 4.6 · €6-14 · Specialty coffee · Brunch · ToastsA specialty coffee bar on Calle de la Alameda, three minutes from the Prado's south door, which is the whole reason to know it. Directions
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Book a TableCasa Macareno★ 4.6 · €25-40 pp · Spanish (tabernas)The Malasaña neighborhood's most beloved taberna: opened in the 1940s, taken over in 2020 by the same team behind Casa Salvador and given a careful refresh that kept all the wooden bar, tile walls + Madrid soul. Directions
Divorare★ 4.8 · EUR 10-20 · Italian focaccia sandwiches★ Tip: There is almost no seating, so order at the counter and walk it to the Plaza Mayor steps two minutes away. That is also why the queue looks worse than it is: nobody is waiting for a table. The Nutella one, the Capriccio, is EUR… Directions
Book a TableHundred Burgers★ 4.7 · EUR 15-20 (burgers 10.50-14.50) · Burgers★ Tip: It books out, so reserve before you fly rather than on the day. Ask for The Singular: dry-aged patty, cheddar, bacon, caramelised onion and camembert cream, EUR 11.50, and the exact burger that won it the title. Directions
Book a TableLe Petit Chef★ 3.6 · EUR 109 (veggie 99 · kids 59) · Dinner show · 3D table projection★ Tip: Book the earlier sitting and arrive 30 minutes ahead: the show runs to its own clock whether you are seated or not. And come for the spectacle rather than the food. At EUR 109 a head with drinks on top, the animation is what you… Directions