I will be in Madrid with my wife and grown up daughter in early July, and we are looking for recommendations re eating . We will be staying a few hundred meters from the Prado. I am not looking for Michelin stars (we will finish that business in San Sebastian), but recommended tapas places for lunch and a good dinner place. Also rec’s re reservations if possible. Thanks!
I assume you are staying in Huertas. Two recommendations nearby: El Lacón, a classic Madrid bar not far from Plaza Santa Ana. It’s always bustling. Belly up to the bar and order a glass of beer or wine and you get your choice of four tapas from a rotating list, all for less than 2€. Larger menu available as well, to eat at the bar or in the dining room upstairs. Highly recommended.
On Calle Lope de Vega is a family friendly Gallego restaurant called Terra Mundi. Nothing fancy, just fresh, well-prepared ingredients (esp. their seafood) and a terrific value menú del día at lunch and dinner.
Obviously there are endless choices but those are a couple I particularly enjoyed on a recent trip. You should also check out the Mercado San Miguel, which is really just a very nice food court near the Plaza Mayor. It’s a fun place for tourists but popular with locals too. On the whole, for my money, Madrid is the best food city in the world.
I’ll add a Madrid institution, or sort-of. Casa Lucio at the La Latina district is worth going to for Madrid staples.
Thanks both of you!
Casa Lucio is traditional, not exceptional, but we had a nice meal. We had a great quasi traditional meal at el mollete.
OK, I located some of my compiled notes. Truth be told, Madrid is never my preferred foodie city in Spain, but our trips have us spending a night or 2 every so often. Last I was there was 2 months ago and got a good meal at La Paloma.
If you want one of the most authentic Spanish paella that you’ll find in Madrid, then you’d have to go to El Ventorillo Murciano in the Lavapiés neighborhood. The arroces (or rice) from Murcia is the pride here, plus the fresh regional ingredients, all based on the Mediterranean cuisine that Murcia is known for. Given the somewhat inappealing market-ambiance, and a purely locals-only neighborhood, it is one that I will only recommend for lunch (day time). But the paella are truly authentic, think rabbit and snalis, and locals swear by it. Advanced reservation is a BIG must. I like the thoughtful wines here with plenty of interesting cava choices. No website to attach, as far as I can tell.
If you need paella in the touristy area, then La Barraca would suffice. The paella style is pretty much what we see in Spanish restaurants here in the US. Still very good and, imho, worth the visit for local paella dishes. I’ve not been within the last 2 years that I visited the city, but I recall that 1 order is spilt between 2 persons. When I ordered wine, I remember that vintages were not on the list and our waiter actually brought out the bottles that I was considering so that I can view the vintages.
La Paloma – in the nice neighborhood of Salamanca. Good traditional fare, some game, and well executed foods. Recommended to us by a winery owner when we were in Rioja and did not disappoint. Good wine list.
http://www.lapalomarestaurante.es
Wrote this up for a friend:
Plaza Santa Ana (and surrounding area)
Lateral- tapas bar in a modern setting…really basic tapas, but all fresh and really good.Very reasonbly priced.
Vinoteca Barbechera- Great happy hour spot to get wine or beer and have a couple of ‘snacks’ which are like tapas served on toast.
Glass Bar- they have a full traditional brunch which is good, but this is just a cool bar to go get a drink to end the night. It is in the Urban Hotel. A little pricey…brunch is expensive.
Estado Puro- this is a small chain of tapas bars that are a little less traditional than lateral…the have some interesting twists on their menu. It is really cool inside…only like 2 tables and the rest is bar seating. Really good though. not expensive.
Midnight Rose- is a bar and restaurant that turns into a club like atmosphere late…dark room with couches…dj, bartender who does tricks (we saw one of the grossest displays of PDA i have ever seen here)
Paseo de Prado
East 47- we had an early dinner here before a Flamanaco show but the food was really good. the estrellados huevos were some of our favorites from our trip here. They have a hosue wine that was really good.
Lobby at the Hotel Ritz Madrid- we went for drinks one night…it is incredibley expensive but really cool…a true old style European hotel…apparantley the restaurant is good but we did not eat there.
Ramses- we went in this place which is affiliated with the Moet & Chandon bubble lounge and it is really cool. One of the coolest restaurant designs. The bubble lounge is cool as well. It is outside and has heaters everywhere.
Salamanaca
Ramon Freixa- This is so far the best meal I have had in my life. This is a Michelin 2 star restaurant and it is really nice. Traditional European service and excellent food. You will need a reservation. This is expensive.
5J- Another small chain that is really good. I guess i should clarify, when i say chain it means they have a location in other cities in Spain. We had lunch on the patio and it was really nice. traditional tapas.
We ate at another place here but i dont remember the name…it is right up past the Etro store…it is really small and a locals only kind of place.
Plaza Mayor
Botin- this is a really old place that is famous for cochinillo (suckling pig)…you need a reservation as we learned the hard way
Casa Lucio- a really cool old steak place…do not be fooled by the other restaurants right next door with almost the same name…their house wine is good and their estrallados huevos are the best…the steak was good too…i imagine this is like the good ole boys club of madrid
I like Alston’s list and will add a couple:
DiverXO, for modern discovery menu. Just awarded a third Michelin star and moving to a new location, opening in July.
Goizeko Kabi. Excellent Basque haut cuisine.
Oter, in Salamanca. Traditional and very good.
Any of the St James restaurants for Paella.
Ten Con Ten for cocktails. Modern pan-Euro cuisine is pretty good, but their cocktails are great.
I second Estado Puro, and it is fairly close to the Prado, or at least one of their locations is.
Also loved Ramon Freixa, truly an exceptional meal. But is is Michelin starred.
If you like Octopus, La Pulperia is really good and reasonable. http://pulperiadevictoria.com/index.php/en/
We combined La Pulperia with a night of tapas at Mercado San Miguel.
Yeah, it’s ok - I’d look elsewhere, as there are SO many options
Thank you all. As the workm load is easing up, I’m following up some leads. Dinner at Asturios is already booked. And I’m planning to try David Muñoz’s StreetXO lunch restaurant (walkin only).
And Ramon; I’m starting the vacation in San Sebastian, and have a confirmation at Etxebarri (amazing experience last year).