Madrid Travel Guide
Eating in Madrid
How to eat like a madrileño — the daily timetable, the dishes to seek out, where to crawl for tapas, how to use the markets, and the honest truth about the tourist traps around the Plaza Mayor.
Madrid is not a city of a single cuisine but the place where all of Spain's cooking meets. Seafood arrives fresh from the coasts every night, cured ham and cheese come from the plains and mountains of the interior, and every region has its taverns in the capital. Add a set of hearty local dishes, a deep love of the bar as a social space and a timetable that runs late into the night, and you have one of the great food cities of Europe. Here is how to make the most of it.
The timetable. Breakfast is small: a coffee with toast rubbed with tomato and olive oil, or, as a treat, churros or the thicker porras dipped in hot chocolate. A mid-morning snack is common. Lunch is the main meal, served from about two until four; on weekdays most neighbourhood restaurants offer the menú del día, a fixed-price lunch of a starter, main, dessert or coffee, bread and a drink, which is the best value in the city. From about eight, people gather for the aperitivo — a vermouth, a small beer called a caña, or a glass of wine, with a few tapas. Dinner starts at nine or later, and on weekends many tables are not full until after ten.
How tapas work in Madrid. In many traditional bars, a drink comes with a small free tapa — a few olives, crisps, a slice of tortilla or a little stew. Beyond that, you order raciones, larger plates to share, or half-raciones. The classic way to eat is to move from bar to bar, having a drink and one or two specialities at each, rather than settling at one table all night. Stand at the bar if you can; it is more sociable and often cheaper than sitting at a table or terrace.
Dishes to seek out. Cocido madrileño is the great Madrid stew of chickpeas, vegetables and various meats, served in stages, first the broth with noodles, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then the meats; it is a lunch dish, best on a cold day, and some taverns serve it only on certain days. Callos a la madrileña is a rich stew of tripe with chorizo and paprika. Huevos rotos, fried eggs broken over fried potatoes with ham or chorizo, is simple and addictive. The bocadillo de calamares, a roll stuffed with fried squid rings, is the city's signature street food, sold around the Plaza Mayor. Croquetas — creamy béchamel with ham, chicken or mushroom — are everywhere, and judging them is a local sport. Patatas bravas, fried potatoes with a spicy sauce, are said to have Madrid roots. Tortilla de patatas, the thick potato omelette, comes runny in the middle in the best bars. For sweets, look for torrijas at Easter, the violet-flavoured sweets of old Madrid, and, of course, churros con chocolate.
Where to crawl. La Latina is the classic tapas neighbourhood: the Calle de la Cava Baja and the Cava Alta are lined with taverns, and the squares around the Plaza de la Paja fill on Sunday after the Rastro. The Barrio de las Letras and Huertas, around the Plaza de Santa Ana, have old wine bars, beer halls and modern tapas spots. Lavapiés is multicultural, with Indian, Senegalese and Spanish bars side by side. Malasaña and Chueca are younger and more creative. For a more local, residential feel, try Chamberí, especially around the Calle de Ponzano, which has become one of the city's liveliest streets for tapas.
Vermouth hour. Vermouth, served on tap from the barrel with an olive and a slice of orange, is Madrid's aperitif, especially on Sunday around midday and in the early evening. Old vermouth bars around La Latina, Lavapiés and the Rastro area serve it with conservas — tinned seafood — and pickles. Ordering a vermut de grifo is the easiest way to feel like a local.
The markets. The Mercado de San Miguel, beside the Plaza Mayor, is a beautiful glass-and-iron hall turned into a gourmet tapas venue; it is more expensive and touristy than the bars, but excellent for a tasting tour of Spanish specialities, best at off-peak times. The Mercado de San Antón in Chueca has a produce market, tapas counters and a rooftop terrace. The Mercado de San Ildefonso in Malasaña is a lively street-food hall. And for a real neighbourhood market, visit the Mercado de la Cebada in La Latina or the Mercado de Antón Martín near Lavapiés, where stalls serve food alongside the fishmongers and greengrocers.
Historic institutions. Sobrino de Botín, on the Calle de Cuchilleros near the Plaza Mayor, has roasted suckling pig and lamb in its old wood-fired oven since the eighteenth century and is recognised as one of the oldest restaurants in the world. The Chocolatería San Ginés, in a passage near the Puerta del Sol, has served churros and chocolate since the nineteenth century and is open until very late, which makes it the traditional last stop after a night out. Many old taverns around the centre have tiled façades, zinc bars and decades of history; seek them out.
Avoiding the traps. The terraces on the Plaza Mayor and the restaurants with photo menus and touts around Sol are aimed squarely at visitors, with high prices and mediocre food. Walk five minutes in any direction and quality rises while prices fall. Eat at local hours, look for places full of Spanish speakers, and be open to ordering whatever the bar is known for. Book ahead for popular restaurants at weekends, and remember that many places close on Sunday evenings, Mondays or for part of August.
A perfect food day. Churros and chocolate for breakfast, a menú del día in the Barrio de las Letras for lunch, a vermouth and a squid sandwich near the Plaza Mayor at dusk, a tapas crawl down the Cava Baja for dinner, and, if you are still standing at two in the morning, one last cup of chocolate at San Ginés. That is Madrid on a plate.