- Madrid
- /
- eating
- (47)
-
Spain
If anyone feels like having a pleasant evening with candlelight and intimate ambiance, try 1917 Blinis & Vodkas. They have a good assortment of smoked fish (salmon, tuna, herring, etc) on top of freshly baked blinis and a choice of 30 different kinds of vodka from Estonia, Russia, Poland, France, Argentina, etc. And the location is perfect: next to the Teatro Real (Madrid's Opera House).
Calle de la Independencia 1, 911 429 800, Opera metro station, bar1917.com
Restaurant serving dishes from the País Vasco
(Basque) region of northern Spain.
Brilliant food, and that's why I am taken here by my hosts in Madrid who seek a change from the usual.
The most popular delicacies are patatas con bacalao, cocochas de merluza y centollo, zortziko de almejas, solomillo dantxari -al vapor, bacalao al pil-pil, con aceite de oliva virgen y pimiento, and tarta fina de manzana.
You could avoid these and try the more innovative dishes. I appreciated the excellent use of seasonal products and dishes such as 'pil pil' and their cod croquetas.
Ventura Rodríguez 8, 28008 Madrid
Tel: 915 423 524
www.dantxari.com
Notes from Madrid is a blog about Madrid written by a bunch of city-savvy expats. It includes everything from where to shop, eat, drink, and go out (neighborhood by neighborhood) to information on museums, parks, excursions outside the city, even what to avoid in the city.
Marisqueria in Madrid, best restaurant to eat fish. Not very stylish but really good food.
Tribunal
A great restaurant chain for tapas and larger raciones. They don't do just ham, as the name might suggest, but all sorts of food. Calamares, Tortilla and gambas al ajillo are excellent. Prices are very reasonable. You can eat at the counter or in the salon (waiter service is a little dearer). They have restaurants in Puerta del Sol and on the Gran Via. They also do excellent three-course menu for under 10 Euro.
La Puerta Del Sol
or La Gran Via
This tiny and historic tiled bar in a sidestreet near Sol serves up sensational cod croquettes and battered fish pieces fresh from the fryer, as light and fluffy as deep-fried cloud.
Wash them down with glasses of house wine if you can get to the bar. A Madrid institution.
Calle Tetuán, 12
www.casalabra.es
Part of me is loathe to share this tip - it's my restaurant. No trip to Madrid is complete without lunch here for this former Madrid resident.
A local neighbourhood restaurant, sandwiched between the traditional madrileno working class district of Lavapies and Plaza Santa Ana.
Don't be put off by the long menu translated into English and German as I initially was. If you arrive on a Monday or Thursday lunchtime the queues of Madrilenos, business men in suits to builders in boilersuits, waiting for their cocido and paella specials will convince you it's not a tourist trap.
The service is at times brusque. I ate here at least once a week for a year and only during my last week in Madrid did the waiters show me any familiarity - and I lived next door.
The food is simple but good. There are a selection of menus at various prices to suit any budget.
The atmosphere is pure Madrid. TV blaring in the corner, twice as many tables crammed in as should really fit and shouted conversations echoing off the tiled walls and wooden floor. You do not come here for a relaxing lunch. But all the same don't come here if you are pushed for time. You can be out the door in 40mins having eaten a 3 course meal or waiting for your dessert 2 hours later.
Try the pollo al ajillo. Or the grilled asparagus. or the fried aubergines. or just about anything!
Enjoy.
C/Amor de Dios
M. Anton Martin.
There are plenty of sidrerias (cider bars) in Madrid, but this one in the gay-friendly Chueca district is a huge stand-out for the quality and, especially, the quantity of the complimentary tapas. 1.50 a 'caña' isn't cheap, but you'll get a steaming pile of piggy, bready delights along with it, and that's every time you take a drink.
Also a great place for vast filled 'bocadillos' (baguette sandwiches), and various other tasty 'raciones'. Just watch out for complimentary paella - myself and others have been laid low by food poisoning for some time after a visit. The fact that I'm still recommending the place tells you just how good it is.
One final thing - get there early if you have any kind of designs on a table.
c/ Infantas, metro Chueca
It's a poor guide book which doesn't mention this place (go for the tiny taberna on c/Victoria, rather than the larger, more restaurant style versions on c/ Nunez de Arce and c/Goya).
However, I'm not sure any of them mention that if you order a 'racion' of langostinos a la plancha rather than the road-more-trodden gambas a la plancha, you get twice as many for just 20 cents more. Tastes just as good to me. Upon leaving, I've always been given a voucher for a free 'chato' of the delicious sticky house wine at one of their other restaurants. Ask if they don't volunteer it.
12, c/ Victoria, metro Sol
Fantastic sandwich bar just outside the Reina Sofia art gallery - it does some great fishy treats like their famous calamari baguettes. It also does succulent meats and my favourite, an anchovy fantasy...
Outside Reina Sofia art gallery.
Atocha 122.
Ignore the photo of Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock they've got hanging from the wall and wedge yourself into this small bar/restaurant for some fine, fine food.
Pedro Almodovar is said to love the place. After a few raciones it's hard to disagree. They deserve recognition for their liberal use of olive oil if nothing else.
Calle de la Libertad 4-6;
Tel: 91 532 12 19;
Metro: Chueca
A traditional tapas bar in a funny old corner shop.They serve good ham and gulas (funny little eels). It's a cool place to visit because it is on the edge of the red light district and run by a very camp couple. They serve drinks, bitch with customers and chase out drunks and undesirables whilst neatly arranging your ham and goats cheese tapas. We felt welcomed and entertained. Check out the wig shop down the road.
Calle Hortaleza, Chueca
Near to the Paseo del Prado there are narrow streets with lots of bars and tapas bars. This one was fab. It is full of groups of young people. The decor is scruffy-glass beads dangling in the window, green splodges on the walls and menus on pretend paint palettes. It says "pulperia" on the window and octopus is definitely the best thing to choose. We also had razor clams and green chillies. The service was really friendly and the wine was cheap and good. It didn't seem super happening at 1 on a Sunday morning, but a great place to chill out.
Calle Jesus, Centro
This is an awesome place in Madrid to drink a coffee or beer, or to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They have great salads an desserts (my girlfriend ate more than 4 cakes). I love this restaurant and I love Madrid.
Isaac peral 4 (Moncloa); tel: 34 91 543 2009; www.vangoghcafe.com
Possibly the best place in Madrid for breakfast or a midday snack: help yourself to consomme (including a selection of sherries to complement), delicious pastries and some of the best croquetas I've ever tasted. Find a place to perch around the edge of the shop (no tables). They will also pack food for a picnic. Not cheap, but managed on a student budget.
Metro Sol, c/ carrera san jeronimo 8
(note: there is also a restaurant attached)
Wonderful wine and tapas bar that is small enough to get to know the owners well and who may even treat you to a glass of cava gratis! The tapas are amazing and the design of the bar is intimate yet light and airy unlike many tapas bars. Very reasonably priced (for a student!).
Chueca, Calle Pelayo 24
Metro: Chueca. Turn left off Plaza Chueca and Pelayo runs parallel.
Tel:+34 915228441
Tuck into the simple, yet scrummy selection of dishes on offer on Pollo de Alcalá's menu which is printed on an enormous piece of tarpaulin, and hangs from the red-brick wall of this huge, old, converted mechanics’ workshop located on the edge of the historic centre of Alcalá de Henares.
Roast chicken cooked with herbs and apples, 'Sascha's' prize-winning, mouth-watering mini omelettes (watch them being prepared), crisp green salads with a tasty vinegarette (a nice change from the usual do-it-yourself oil and vinegar option), chicken kidney kebabs, potato croquettes and bowls of chips. Wash it all down with a jug of beer or wine and be pleasantly surprised when the bill comes.
Vía Complutense, 32, Alcalá de Henares
Tel: 91 881 30 70
Fax: 91 880 73 00
Open: Tues-Thurs 1pm-12am / Fri-Sun 1pm-1am
Wheelchair friendly / Cards accepted
Alcalá de Henares train station on Cercanías line C1/C3/C7A from Chamartín/Nuevos Ministerios/Recoletas/Atocha
www.renfe.es/cercanias/madrid/
callejero.lanetro.com/apps/lanetro/mapas.asp?pais=es&idvia=811&num=32&muni=Alcal%E1+de+Henares&mapa=dc1alcalahenares&prov=Madrid
Apparently the world's oldest restaurant - you've got to try it for the ambience and the suckling pig.
Calle de la Cuchilleros 17
The perfect place for a mid-morning vermut (martini rosso) with obligatory free bowl of green olives. Sit at any of the historic bars and admire the views of this beautiful square and the Teatro Espanol. Don't miss the heladeria next door serving delicious dulce de leche ice cream.
Plaza Santa Ana
Malasaña is a street and an area well known by all true 16-30 Madrileños. In the day time you can shop for some retro treasures in the two 'Popland' boutiques (one for bags, badges and tee-shirts, the other for sixties home decorations and posters). Then, well after dark, you can return and be part of the Madrid sub-culture night life. Go into some bars off Plaza Dos de Mayo and you'll think you've stepped onto the set of Austin Powers (without the irony!) There are all types of bars and clubs round here, but they all have one thing in common: the cool factor. The music is cool, the people dress cool, but most importantly, the attitude is cool, that is to say, laid back.
Malasaña district. Nearest tube: Tribunal.
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
Search Been there
Your tips about Madrid