A city the size of Madrid certainly makes you hungry! You can calm it down with a quick snack bought at a kiosk in the park or market or indulge in a succulent meal at one of the city’s chicest restaurants.
There are thousands of options for eating in Madrid. Not to be missed on any trip to Spain is a tapas tour of the city’s best traditional cafés, to which you should add a snack of churros and hot chocolate… maybe on your way back from the disco, just like the Spaniards do. Walking around Madrid you will come across historic tapas bars and pastry shops that proudly carry on the tradition.
For your dinners, alternate evenings in traditional restaurants, perhaps with a flamenco show, with others in more modern restaurants offering creative cuisine.
After days of feasting on bocadillos, croquettes, Iberian ham and gambas a la plancha, you may find yourself craving a salad again: don’t worry, you will also find vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Madrid.
Eating in the Spanish capital is an exhilarating experience: from claustrophobic neighbourhood bars offering traditional tapas to award-winning restaurants, here is a guide to where to eat in Madrid, with the addresses of the best tapas bars, restaurants, taverns, markets, patisseries and chocolate shops.
Spaniards eat lunch and dinner very late compared to European standards: generally lunch is at 2pm and dinner from 9pm onwards, until late. You do not necessarily have to adapt to these times because many restaurants, especially in tourist areas, have longer opening hours.
Avoid rush hours if possible, especially if you want to eat in a traditional restaurant: they are often small and crowded.
Madrileños like to be out drinking and eating with friends, so you are almost guaranteed to find plenty of bars and restaurants wherever you are. But if you’re looking for something special or want to make sure you don’t miss out on the best Madrid has to offer, follow our recommendations!
As in all big cities, the most touristy areas of Madrid are invaded by international chains, fast food restaurants, fixed-menu restaurants and trattorias offering all kinds of food: they may not be the best choice, but they are cheap and you don’t need to spend a lot of time looking for them.
If you leave the main streets and take a look at the alleys less travelled by tourists, you might discover some hidden gems.
Chueca, Madrid’s gay district, is famous as one of the best nightlife areas for its impressive amount of bars, pubs and clubs. It is also the area of trendy restaurants, offering sophisticated dishes and cocktails, and dinner shows with drag queens.
La Latina is a picturesque popular neighbourhood in the centre of Madrid, where the traditional soul of the city is preserved. It is the best area for traditional restaurants, but especially for a snack of tapas and cerveza, to be enjoyed in one of the neighbourhood bars: they are often packed and you may have to scramble to get to the counter, but you will avoid tourist traps.
A true Madrilenian tradition is to come to the neighbourhood on a Sunday to shop at the Rastro Market and then stop in the area to ‘tapear’.
Lavapiés is Madrid’s multi-ethnic neighbourhood and the best area for ethnic cuisine. Flavours and aromas from all over the world await you in the neighbourhood’s restaurants: Indian, Moroccan, Senegalese, Iranian… you’re spoilt for choice, but we recommend the classic kebab. Here you will find the best kebabs in Madrid!
This is the Spanish gastronomic tradition par excellence, now copied all over the world because it is a cheap and fun way to enjoy good food in the company of friends while spending little. Let’s talk about tapas, of course: Madrid is the right city for ‘tapear’, going from bar to bar among snacks, cervezas and chats.
Tapas are the equivalent of an appetiser, so don’t expect a large portion or you will be disappointed. To do as the Spanish do, order more than one and share them with your friends.
After a thorough reconnaissance of the best tapas bars in Madrid also try a typical restaurant or tavern. Here are the best places to eat traditional cuisine in Madrid:
One of Madrid’s most popular restaurants in the tourist area of Huertas, loved by tourists and locals alike. Spacious and bright, it is a breath of fresh air compared to the more traditional, sometimes claustrophobic taverns. It offers a mixture of traditional dishes and creative meat and fish cuisine, and also has many vegetarian options. A very reasonably priced daily menu is also available.
Six locations in the city’s tourist areas: Plaza Mayor, Calle Mayor, Paseo del Prado, Carrera San Jerónimo, Avenida de Córdoba, Capitan Háya.
The work of art on display in this ‘museum’ (actually bar-macelleria) are the magnificent Iberian hams hanging from the ceiling, selected from among the best in Spain. You can stop here for a sandwich or a beer or buy a packed lunch to enjoy in one of Madrid’s parks.
La Campana is a small, unpretentious place a few steps from the central Plaza Mayor where you can eat the best bocadillos de calamares in the city. It is definitely not a chic place, but its red and white tiles bring joy.
Not far from the Opera House is La Bola, a restaurant with a recognisable red façade; inside, the décor is equally rich and lively. Open since 1870, this family-run restaurant is one of the few (perhaps the only one?) that still prepares cocido madrileño according to the traditional recipe, cooked over holm oak embers and served in earthenware amphorae.
Another family-run restaurant, open since 1962, La Mi Venta serves tapas and traditional Spanish dishes. It has several rooms and some outdoor tables.
If you are on holiday for a special occasion, such as an anniversary, birthday or New Year’s Eve in Madrid, or if you simply want to treat yourself to luxury, choose one of the many top-class restaurants in the city, where you can enjoy the creative cuisine of the best local and international chefs and be served with the attention reserved for a VIP.
Here are some of the best luxury restaurants in Madrid:
Restaurant of chef Javier Aranda, one of the leading figures on the Spanish gastronomic scene, famous for having obtained his first Michelin star at only 27 years of age. In addition to the restaurant area, the restaurant includes a tapas area, an after-hours library and a visitable wine cellar that is also used as a privé.
Treat yourself to the tasting menu with 7 savoury courses, plus desserts, petit fours and artisanal breads: it costs 100 euros, but then again, it is a luxury restaurant!
For something unique, book a table at the Terraza del Casino, Madrid’s most luxurious casino restaurant. Housed in a historic building, it has a modern, avant-garde décor that reflects the culinary philosophy of chef Paco Roncero.
Some people just can’t do without pasta and pizza, even on a holiday of just a few days. If you recognise yourself in this description, take note of the addresses of the best Italian restaurants in Madrid.
A restaurant that avowedly wants to differentiate itself from the ‘fake’ Italian restaurants with mediocre tourist menus and the unjustifiably expensive chic Italian restaurants. Crossing the colourful threshold you will enter a place with a warm atmosphere, where you can enjoy real Italian dishes accompanied by good wines.
True Neapolitan pizza in Madrid prepared with the finest Italian imported ingredients. It also offers an affordable daily menu with first course, second course, dessert and drink.
A small restaurant run by a young couple from the Marche region, it is located inside a lively covered market and is characterised by exceptional value for money.
If you regularly follow a vegetarian diet or need a break from jamon iberico and chicken nuggets, Madrid’s vegetarian restaurants and bars come to your rescue!
The name itself says it all: it is not just a restaurant, but a real centre dedicated to healthy eating with a restaurant area where you can enjoy vegetarian and vegan dishes, a specialised bookshop and a shop selling organic products.
One of the first raw vegan restaurants in Europe, it offers gourmet dishes prepared with strictly seasonal organic ingredients and cooked at a maximum temperature of 41° to preserve the nutritional properties of the food. Don’t miss the mouth-watering desserts.
Although Spanish cuisine is famous abroad mainly for its savoury dishes, it should not be forgotten that Spaniards have a sweet tooth. It is therefore a must to make at least one stop at one of Madrid’s best pastry shops during your holiday!
Founded in 1894, this historic pastry shop was one of the shops ‘sacrificed’ for the construction of the Gran Via that had to relocate. Even today its most famous cake is the ensaimada, typical of the island of Mallorca (where the founders of the pastry shop came from), but all its pastries, Neapolitan pastries and truffles are delicious.
During your holiday in Madrid, treat yourself to at least one meal in one of the city’s many markets: it is a fun and inexpensive way to get into the spirit of the real Madrid and feel a little bit Madrid.
The Mercado de San Miguel16 is a gourmet paradise where you can taste and buy delicacies that are hard to find elsewhere. Recently renovated, this indoor market is a temple of quality gastronomy, with over 70 shops offering everything. It is the perfect place for a gourmet lunch without spending a fortune or for an original aperitif.
Other interesting indoor markets where you can grab a bite to eat or buy fresh produce are:
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
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