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Textbook-perfect paella in...Latina? Madrid is a notoriously disappointing city when it comes to the rice dishes popular on the Mediterranean coast, but Aynaelda slam-dunks with its sizzling paellas flavored with heady aromatics and concentrated stock. Be sure to scrape up the socarrat, that swoon-worthy layer of crisp rice that sticks to the bottom of the pan. Avoid Sunday lunch as there's usually a waitlist.
Calle de los Yébenes 38, Madrid, 28047, Spain
Known For
- Rice dishes up to Valencian standards
- Bright airy dining room
- Excellent croquettes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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A 19th-century bodega (wine vendor), with barrel tables and dusty gewgaws hanging from the walls, Bodega de la Ardosa is a welcome anachronism in modern Malasaña and a tourist magnet for good reason. The bar's claim to fame—and the dish Madrileños make special trips for—is its award-winning tortilla española, or Spanish omelet, always warm with a runny center. The fried ortiguillas (sea anemones) dunked in lemony aioli are the menu's sleeper hit.
Calle de Colón 13, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- 100-plus years of history
- Tortilla española
- Draft vermú and unfiltered sherry "en rama"
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Approximate a vacation to northern Spain by dining at this true-blue Asturian restaurant (or at the more casual sidrería in the bar area), where that region's unsung comfort-food dishes—such as fabada (pork-and-bean stew), Cabrales cheese, and cachopo (cheese-stuffed beef cutlets)—take center stage. The obligatory tipple is sidra, bone-dry Asturian cider that's aerated using a battery-powered gadget designed for this task.
Calle de la Farmacia 2, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Authentic fabada
- Cider bottles with fun DIY aerators
- Local crowd
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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Whether you pull up a stool at at the marble bar or sit down for a soup-to-nuts feast in the azulejo-lined dining room, you're in for some of Madrid's finest traditional tapas with a twist here. Madrileños come from far and wide to share heaped plates of ensaladilla rusa, a house specialty, as well as textbook-perfect croquetas and hefty steaks served with sherry gravy and house-cut fries. Vermouth (on tap) is the nonnegotiable aperitif, and there are always several Spanish wines to try by the glass.
Calle de San Vicente Ferrer 44, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Hidden gem in Malasaña
- Dependably exceptional old-school tapas
- Over-and-above service
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Whether you approve of bullfighting or not, the culinary excellence of Casa Salvador—a checkered-tablecloth, taurine-themed restaurant that opened in 1941—isn't up for debate. Sit down to generous servings of featherlight fried hake, hearty oxtail stew, and other stodgy (in the best way) Spanish classics, all served by hale old-school waiters clad in white jackets.
Calle de Barbieri 12, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Time-warpy decor
- Walls packed with bullfighting paraphernalia
- Cloud-light fried hake and stewed oxtail
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner Mon.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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In the heart of the tourist fray but blissfully under the radar, this teensy lunch-only restaurant with an old tin bar serves all the Asturian favorites, from fabada (bean stew) to cachopo (ham-and-cheese-stuffed cutlets) to creamy rice pudding. Asturian cider is the requisite beverage.
Calle de Tabernillas 13, Madrid, 28005, Spain
Known For
- Northern Spanish comfort food
- Easy-on-the-wallet prices
- Kitsch decor
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sat. No dinner
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This laid-back Andalusian barroom, one of three locations (the others are in Retiro and Chamberí), embodies the joyful spirit of that sunny region. Let the cheerful waitstaff guide you through the extensive menu, which includes fried seafood, unconventional croquetas (flecked with garlicky shrimp, for instance), and heftier shareables like creamy oxtail rice and seared Barbate tuna loin. The ensaladilla rusa (tuna-and-potato salad) is one of Madrid's best. In summer, outdoor seating is in high demand.
Calle de las Conchas 9, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- Carefree Andalusian vibe
- A shoal's worth of seafood dishes
- Free marinated carrots with every drink
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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Plan on a siesta after dining at this phenomenal down-home restaurant that hasn't changed a lick since opening a half-century ago. Whether you're in the boisterous downstairs bar or cozy upstairs dining room with cloth napkins and popcorn walls, you'll be blown away by Sylkar's lovingly prepared specialties including creamy ham croquettes, braised squid in ink sauce, battered hake, and the best tortilla española in Madrid for those in the runnier-the-better camp. If the torrijas (custardy Spanish "French" toast) aren't sold out by the time you order dessert, don't miss them. The 9:30 am opening time makes Sylkar a fine spot for breakfast as well.
Calle de Espronceda 17, Madrid, 28003, Spain
Known For
- Legendary tortilla española
- Irreverent banter with the waitstaff
- Free tapa with every drink
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner Sat.
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The old-fashioned azulejo (glazed tile) walls, painted red facade, and squat wooden barstools might fool you into thinking this newcomer is any old tavern, but behind the swinging door, cooks are busy plating novel takes on tapas that you didn't know needed improving. Take the crispy pig ear, doused in the usual spicy brava sauce—it gets an unorthodox hit of freshness from tarragon-packed mojo verde. Then there are the stuffed mussels called tigres, amped up with defiantly non-Spanish amounts of chiles, and a bounty of seasonal tapas that always impress.
Calle de Santa María 42, Madrid, 28014, Spain
Known For
- Flavor-bomb tapas
- Andalusian-style decor
- Trendy crowd
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A mano means "by hand" in Spanish, and lest this experimental white-walled tapas and wine bar come across as pretentious, there's an entire section of the menu devoted to finger food. Whet your appetite with one-bite wonders like fried eggplant drizzled with honey and garlicky salmorejo (a cold tomato soup), then settle in for heftier plates like stewed oxtail, which basically melts on fork impact.
Pl. de Matute 4, Madrid, 28012, Spain
Known For
- Innovative vegetable-driven tapas
- Varied wine list with French selections
- Stylish minimalist interiors
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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When this centenary café—one of the oldest in Madrid—shuttered in 2015, ostensibly for good, the public outcry was so great that it inspired a local restaurant group to buy the property and give it a much-needed revamp. In a dining room that combines original elements (huge mirrors, carved wooden columns) with new high-design fixtures, feast on a menu that's a dance between Café Comercial classics, including ham croquetas and tuna-topped ensaladilla rusa (potato salad), and novel creations by chef Pepe Roch.
Glorieta de Bilbao 7, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- One of Madrid's first literary cafés
- Modern menus by Pepe Roch
- Outstanding seafood rice
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Open for over a century, this Madrid institution is as famous for its callos a la madrileña (Madrid-style tripe) as it is for gallina en pepitoria, an old-school Spanish stew of wine-braised chicken thickened with hard-boiled yolks that's become increasingly hard to find.
Calle Mayor 84, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- Local comfort food
- A neighborhood institution
- Fame in Spanish literature
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun. and Mon.
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If you haven't tried Chinese food in Madrid, you're missing out—the city has some of the best Chinese restaurants in Europe thanks to a vibrant immigrant community. Casa Lafu, with its serene white-tablecloth dining room, stands out for its expertly prepared repertoire of regional dishes, from Sichuan-style málà (spicy) plates to Shanghainese wine-cooked meats and Cantonese dim sum. Well-priced tasting menus and hot pot options round out the offerings.
Calle de la Flor Baja 1, Madrid, 28013, Spain
Known For
- Hot pot
- Upscale Chinese cuisine at affordable prices
- Rare regional specialties
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This hip neighborhood favorite has around a dozen tables and an extensive eclectic menu geared toward sharing that features game meats, seafood, and cheeses from the mountainous northern region of Cantabria. Organic wines sourced from around the country make for spot-on pairings.
Calle de la Libertad 1, Madrid, 28004, Spain
Known For
- Market-driven cuisine
- Cantabrian specialties
- Varied menu
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Welcome to mussel mecca—this Ponzano restaurant spotlights the oft-overlooked mollusk in dishes like curried moules frites; fried bechamel-stuffed tigres; and zippy ceviches and escabeches.
Calle de Ponzano 8, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Seafood lover's paradise
- Good value
- Essential stop on a Ponzano tapas crawl
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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$$ | Chueca | Spanish
You may wonder why bland-looking Cisne Azul is crowded with locals in this style-obsessed neighborhood. The reason is simple: wild mushrooms. In Spain there are more than 2,000 different species, and here you can sample the best from the province of León, grilled with a bit of olive oil, and served perhaps with a fried egg yolk, scallops, or foie gras. Elbow up to the bar and order the popular mezcla de setas (mushroom sampler).
Calle Gravina 19, Madrid, Madrid, 28004, Spain
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This Andalusian taberna evokes the raucous energy and down-home cuisine of that sunny region. Start with pescaíto frito, a mix of seafood that's lightly fried and served with lemon halves, before moving on to more substantial dishes like the peeled tomato salad topped with oil-cured tuna belly (easily one of the best salads in town) and whole roasted fish and braised meats. There are two other locations, both in Salamanca, at Avenida de Camilo José Cela 11 and Calle del Doctor Gómez Ulla 6.
Calle de Don Ramón de la Cruz 88, Madrid, 28006, Spain
Known For
- Andalusian joie de vivre
- Tomato and tuna salad
- Complimentary tapas with drinks
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Indulge in some self-pampering or impress a special someone at this sunlight-flooded gastro-tavern with minimalist decor that serves creatively plated dishes that taste as good as they look (think porcini and foie fideuà or Cantonese-style Iberian pork ribs). Burlona's clandestine coctelería, El Trilero, is downstairs in the arcaded brick basement if you fancy a cocktail after your meal.
Calle de Santa Isabel 40, Madrid, 28012, Spain
Known For
- Eye-popping modern tapas
- More than 30 small-production wines by the bottle
- Secret bar below
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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Cheese geeks unite at this pocket queso bar with enough Manchego, Idiazabal, Mahón, and other delectable national varieties to make you an armchair expert on Spanish cheeses. There's another, newer, location in Barrio Salamanca at Calle de Castelló 38.
Calle de Bernardo López García 11, Madrid, Spain
Known For
- Intimate, romantic dining room
- Excellent cheeses
- Tasty Spanish fusion dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
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This rustic tapas hall is the oldest of three branches of a beloved local chain, and it has barely changed since it was founded in 1906. The tapa to try here is gambas al ajillo, shrimp sautéed with garlic. Enjoy them with the house red from Toro or branch out with a vino del abuelo, a throwback off-dry red from Alicante.
Calle de la Victoria 12, Madrid, 28012, Spain
Known For
- Killer gambas al ajillo
- Bold proprietary Toro wines
- Traditional atmosphere
