The 16 Best Restaurants in Madrid Right Now
With more than 4,000 bars and restaurants in Madrid, we take dining out very seriously in this city! Here in Spain’s capital, tapas bars are our living rooms and restaurants are our celebration halls. Going out to eat with friends and family is the cornerstone of Madrid life!
If you’re like us, you count your time in Madrid in meals instead of days. To fully experience this extraordinary city, you have to spend time eating and drinking as the Madrileños (people from Madrid) do. And that means not just knowing where to go, but also when to go there and what to order. Most restaurants in Madrid specialize in a certain type of meal, time of day, or handful of dishes.
We’ve got everything you need to know about how and where to eat in Madrid! Here are our carefully curated, constantly updated picks for the best restaurants in Madrid right now and how to best enjoy them.
Classic Tapas Bars
These often decades-old tapas bars are the watering holes of the neighborhood. They are often no frills and tend to specialize in just a handful of dishes.
Walk and Eat Tip: Always check the chalkboard for off-menu, seasonal dishes. Many classic tapas bars in Madrid source locally and cook what they find fresh in the market that day!
Everything on the menu at Bodegas El Maño is dangerously delicious! This is hands down one of the best restaurants in Madrid.
1. Bodegas el Maño
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Malasaña/Conde Duque
What to Order: Patatas Bravas or the garlic shrimp burrata salad
When to Go: Between 8-11 pm for dinner
Bodegas el Maño is a staple of Calle Palma, one of the liveliest streets in the neighborhood for tapas and drinks! This old-school tapas bar first opened in the 1920s as a wine shop and still preserves the old clay wine jugs, called tinajas behind the bar.
Their menu reads like the greatest hits of tapas in Madrid. While everything here is delicious, our favorite dishes at Bodegas el Maño are the patatas bravas, aka “brave” potatoes, which are fried potatoes topped with homemade paprika-spiced brava sauce. For a modern twist on classic garlic shrimp, try the colas de gambón al ajillo con burrata, aka fresh mozzarella-style cheese topped with shrimp tails sautéed in garlic olive oil.
Calle Palma, 64
2. La Paloma
Price: €
Neighborhood: La Latina
What to Order: Grilled shrimp (gambas) and vinegar-cured anchovies (boquerones)
When to Go: For a pre-lunch aperitivo (12-2pm). Ideally on a Sunday afternoon.
La Paloma is an institution in the La Latina neighborhood. On Sundays, this barrio is the place to be during the weekly Rastro flea market that fills its streets. After browsing antiques and hand-painted ceramics all morning, head over to La Paloma for your pre-lunch aperitivo.
It will be positively heaving with people peeling their steaming grilled shrimp, sipping their sweet Spanish vermouth that’s served on tap and scooping up their homemade vinegar-cured anchovies with toothpicks and potato chips.
Calle Toledo, 85
3. El Economato
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Original location is in Chueca, larger location is in the Literary Quarter
What to Order: Empanadillas filled with stewed oxtail and anything on their Recommendations chalkboard
When to Go: Great for lunch (1:30-3 pm) or dinner (8-11 pm)
This family-run tapas bar is the passion project of Elena and Alejandro. She is from northern Spain. He is from southern Spain. They’ve brought their favorite dishes from each of their regions together to create a menu that celebrates the best of Spanish food, from top to bottom!
They source incredible ingredients from across the country and prepare them with very few sauces or spices to let the ingredient shine. Be sure to try the fire-grilled meats, incredible seasonal veggies and the empanadillas filled with slow-stewed oxtail! El Economato also specializes in vermouth, so be sure to try one of the dozens of craft vermouths they serve.
Chueca location: Calle Belén, 5
Literary Quarter location: Calle Echegaray, 16
Mesón del Champiñon, a classic tapas bar in Madrid just off of Plaza Mayor, serves some of the best grilled mushrooms in Madrid!
4. Mesón del Champiñón
Price: €
Neighborhood: Plaza Mayor
What to Order: Mushrooms!
When to Go: Between 8-12 pm, ideally as part of a multiple-stop tapas adventure.
Tucked into a cave beneath Plaza Mayor, Mesón de Champiñon might not look like much when you first walk in but this place serves the best mushrooms in Madrid.
The recipe is simple: button mushrooms with a small chunk of paprika-spiced chorizo, parsley and garlic are seared on a hot griddle with a healthy dousing of sunflower oil. Then they are poked with two toothpicks, sprinkled with lemon juice and served to the masses that squeeze into the bar every night of the week to try one of Madrid’s best tapas.
Cava de San Miguel, 17
Epic Spanish Lunch
Lunch in Spain is a marathon, not a sprint. Great lunches, particularly those on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, can stretch until sunset. During the week, most restaurants offer a traditional “menu of the day” which includes a drink, first course, second course and either dessert or coffee for between €12-15.
5. Urogallo
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Casa de Campo, next to the lake
What to Order: Croquetas, scallops and Grill-at-your-table steak
When to Go: For lunch around 2pm, particularly on a weekend
Urogallo’s Casa de Campo location sprawls along the manmade lake on the edge of Madrid’s largest park. Runners and bikers who’ve finished their morning exercise crowd around tables alongside families celebrating birthdays or communions.
No one is in a rush except the fleet of white-shirted waiters who dart about with large glasses of draft beer, heaping plates of delicious Spanish classics and smoking mini-charcoal grills where guests sear their thinly sliced T-bone steaks right on the table. The free tapas are plentiful and the views are unbeatable. This is the place to come for an epic lunch that lasts straight into dinner.
Plaza Puerta del Angel, 12 inside the Casa de Campo park
6. Barrutia y el 9
Price: €€€
Neighborhood: Chueca
What to Order: Whatever Luis recommends!
When to Go: For lunch around 2pm
This century-old tavern is like stepping into a family’s dining room. Everyone seems to know each other, the dishes are elevated versions of Spanish classics and the red and white checkered tablecloths keep the vibe extra informal.
The menu at Barrutia y el 9 is really just a formality. Owner Luis shuffles through the restaurant, sitting down at each table and describing the delicious dishes of the day. He’ll craft the perfect meal for you, customizing it to each guest's likes and dietary requirements. Let go of control and let the incredible food and wine flow!
Calle Santa Teresa, 9
7. Casa Dani
Price: €
Neighborhood: Salamanca, inside the Mercado de la Paz
What to Order: Tortilla de patatas aka the Spanish omelet
When to Go: Stop in for a lunch menu or pop by for pre-lunch or mid-afternoon snack
Spanish omelet, aka tortilla, is an absolute must-try dish on any trip to Madrid. While many restaurants jostle for the title of best tortilla, Casa Dani is the undeniable king of Spanish omelets. They fry up more than 300 of these juicy egg and potato creations every day!
Stop in for a pincho aka slice, or stick around for a full 3-course lunch menu. But whatever you do, don’t leave Madrid without trying the tortilla at Casa Dani.
Inside the Mercado de la Paz on Calle Ayala, 28
Modern Tapas Bars
From elevated versions of classic dishes to fusion cuisine, Madrid boasts some incredible modern restaurants. Most serve dishes to share (aka raciones) so be ready to try as many different menu items as possible!
Marcelo, aka Señor Cheese, makes incredible cheese boards featuring artisanal cheeses from across Spain. He pairs these works of edible art with small production wines at his modern tapas restauarant, La Carbonera.
8. La Carbonera
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Malasaña
What to Order: Artisanal cheese boards and seasonal tapas
When to Go: Best for dinner. Reserve a table starting from 8 pm.
Owner Marcelo scours the villages of Spain for the best artisanal cheeses and small production, often natural wines. Chef Marité, originally from Chile, uses top-notch traditional Spanish ingredients like seasonal tomatoes or octopus and gives them a unique Chilean flare. Both create artful dishes and wine pairings that make La Carbonera easily one of the best restaurants in Madrid. It can be tough to get a reservation here so be sure to call ahead. Or join us on our De Tapas: Evening Wine and Tapas Tour to meet Marcelo and Marité and try their incredible food, wine and cheeses!
Calle Bernardo López García, 11
9. Anda Jaleo
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Opera (near the Royal Palace)
What to Order: Ensaladilla aka potato salad and homemade gyozas filled with southern-style pork
When to Go: For dinner between 8-12 pm.
Anda Jaleo is one of the newest additions to the Opera neighborhood and in our opinion, one of the best kept secrets in Madrid. Their menu isn’t long, but every dish on it is incredibly delicious.
They mix southern Spanish classics like slow-stewed pork with international flares like homemade gyozas. Their wine list is carefully curated from tiny, undiscovered wineries. And the prices are unbeatable. Go and enjoy it but shhhh! Let’s keep this gem a secret!
Calle Amnistía, 6
Restaurants with Outdoor Seating
Madrid is one of the sunniest capital cities in Europe which makes dining outdoors a real treat most months of the year. While most terrazas aka outdoor seating areas are meant mostly for afternoon or evening drinks, there are a handful of restaurants serving seriously good food on outdoor tables.
Walk and Eat tip: Most restaurants won’t reserve outdoor tables. Instead they will either be first-come-first-serve or there will be a waiting list. Divide and conquer if you see an open table: one person can hover next to the table to quietly claim it. Send the other person inside to check with the waiter if there is a waiting list and get the okay to sit down!
One of the most beautiful terrace dining areas in Madrid is at Rollo Ocho in the La Latina neighborhood! Image credit: @RolloOcho
10. Rollo Ocho
Price: €€
Neighborhood: La Latina
What to Order: Anything from the Platos de Temporada chalkboard
When to Go: For mid-afternoon drinks, gin and tonics or for dinner, from 8-11 pm.
This is one of the most beautiful outdoor seating areas in the city. Tucked into the winding cobblestoned streets of the La Latina neighborhood, Rollo Ocho has gorgeous views of both the aqueduct and the sunset. Owner Florian is the nicest, most fun waiter you’ll ever meet and he speaks perfect English.
They serve classic Spanish seasonal dishes like fresh tomato salad, steamed mussels and clams with garlic and olive oil alongside Mexican-influenced dishes such as tamales and steak topped with melted cheese and a side of guacamole.
Calle del Rollo, 8
11. El Buti
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Opera, near the Royal Palace
What to Order: Patatas revolconas aka paprika-spiced mashed potatoes with fried pork belly, mussels steamed with wine and chorizo
When to Go: For lunch or dinner
Sit in the shadow of the Church of Santiago in a hidden plaza tucked just a block from the Royal Palace. El Buti is a classic tavern with a traditional menu of hearty Spanish sharing plates (aka raciones). Order 1 ración per person and share them all!
Plaza Santiago, 1
12. Taberna La Mina
Price: €€
Neighborhood: Chamberí
What to Order: Seafood! The grilled shrimp and the tuna steaks are out of this world.
When to Go: For pre-dinner drinks between 6-8 pm on the terrace that may or may not lead into a full dinner of seafood bliss.
Shrimp, mussels, scallops, tuna steaks, calamari, octopus, razor clams… Taberna La Mina is a mecca for seafood lovers. This no frills bar is what Spanish eating is all about: excellent ingredients, simply prepared and served on heaping plates meant to be shared.
Grab a table outside along the sidewalk for great people watching or head into the bar for a true Madrid tapas bar experience.
Calle General Álvarez de Castro, 8
Celebratory Night Out
If you are up for a splurge, skip the Michelin stars and instead book a table at one of these off-the-radar restaurants. Each sources their ingredients from the top ranches, gardens and artisans in Spain. A meal here is always unforgettable and every bite is a celebration!
13. Sala de Despiece
Price: €€€
Neighborhood: Chamberí
What to Order: Their seasonal menu is always changing!
When to Go: Book a table for dinner between 8-11 pm.
Literally translating to the “quartering room”, Sala de Despiece looks like the inside of a butcher’s workroom complete with meat hooks dangling from the ceiling. They specialize in nose-to-tail dining.
Some of their most famous dishes are the aged beef carpaccio with truffle and the marinated amberjack served inside a lemon. Each dish is a work of art that is ingeniously crafted in front of you. This is modern tapas at its finest!
Three locations on Calle Ponzano at numbers 10, 11 and 13
14. Taberna la Carmencita
Price: €€€
Neighborhood: Chueca
What to Order: Fresh fish, fried calamari, cheesecake
When to Go: Book a table for dinner between 8-11 pm.
Painted tiles line the walls, gorgeous ceramic plates dot the tables and the zinc bar at the door is one of the oldest in Madrid. After all, this tavern is the second oldest in Madrid, having first opened in 1854! Rumor has it that the painter Goya used to wash dishes here.
Taberna la Carmencita is a tribute to beautiful Spanish design both in the decor and on the menu. Almost the entire menu is organic and features some of the most celebrated ingredients from the region of Santander in northern Spain (where the owners are from and where they bring fresh seafood in from daily).
Calle Libertad, 16
A 90-day aged steak at Rocacho, easily one of the best restaurants in Madrid for steak!
15. Rocacho
Price: €€€€
Neighborhood: Plaza Castilla (near the Bernabeu stadium)
What to Order: Aged steaks and paella
When to Go: Book a table for lunch (if you’re having paella) between 1:30-3 pm or for dinner (if you’re having steak) between 8-11 pm.
This may just be the best steak not only in Madrid, but in the world. Rocacho sources their meat from El Capricho, a ranch-turned-restaurant in rural León (northwestern Spain) which Time magazine deemed to have the best meat in the world.
You can choose between steaks aged for either 40 or 90 days, all of which are grilled on a huge fireplace in the center of the restaurant. They are also famous for their paellas, which are served in thin paella pans that are so large it often takes 2 people to carry them! There is only one word to describe a meal at Rocacho: Epic.
Calle Padre Damián, 38
16. Sacha
Price: €€€€
Neighborhood: Plaza Castilla (near the Bernabeu stadium)
What to Order: Seasonal menu changes often!
When to Go: Book a table for dinner between 8-11 pm
Sacha is old school Spanish luxury. The waiters wear full suits, the white tablecloths are meticulously ironed and the wine is served with impeccable care. The food is classic and features exquisite preparations of slow stewed meats, seafood and locally grown vegetables. The dining room is tiny, so be sure to book!
Calle de Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, 11
Experience the best of Madrid’s tapas culture on our evening wine and tapas experience! Visit four bars and restaurants in the trendy Malasaña neighborhood, meet the owners and chefs and enjoy their truly delicious food and wines.