There is such a dizzying array of choice of restaurants and bars in Madrid that it is often difficult for the visitor to know where to start. Madrileños love to eat out, and that’s reflected in the vast numbers of establishments in every corner of the city. We are often asked for recommendations by friends visiting and over the 10 years here have discovered a huge number of great places we are happy to direct people towards.
The first thing to say is that you can’t go far wrong. On the whole, eating out in the city is good value and the quality fairly reliable. You can find pretty much anything you want, from great tapas to excellent curries, tacos, South American meats and, of course, seafood. There is even a burgeoning vegan and vegetarian scene, something that seemed unlikely when we arrived in Madrid a decade ago when vegetarian usually meant ‘less jamon’.
Such is the wealth of choice, I’m going to split the recommendations into three very loose categories: los mercados, tapas and restaurants. This could never be an exhaustive list – it would take three lifetimes to compile that. So these are our favourite places, spots that we return to and that we think you might enjoy.
Los Mercados – Madrid’s local treasures
Each barrio in Madrid – as in many cities – has its own municipal market. Principally these are places where locals come to buy fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and other groceries. But they are also places where people gather to have a coffee or a beer, or to eat. So the fruit and fish stalls coexist with cafes and restaurants and in some communal seating is provided to allow people to take a break and enjoy breakfast or lunch.
Each of the Mercados has its own characteristic, but what they share is a bustling energy and a sense of community.
There are too many to list, so I’ll focus on the four we spend the most time at.
Mercado San Miguel
The Mercado San Miguel is at the very heart of Madrid’s rapidly growing tourist scene. Located just outside the Plaza Mayor it is easy walking distance from Sol and the Palacio Real and as a consequence can be viewed as nothing more than a tourist trap. Don’t let that deter you from visiting, as it doesn’t us.
First, it is a beautiful building, a cast iron and glass structure built originally in 1916. When we first visited in 2013 it still retained some of its local market characteristics but was already well on the way to being the gourmet food destination it is now.
There are so many options here that you might want to start by getting a copa de vino from Pinkleton and Wine, which has a great selection of Spanish wines by the glass, while you choose which food stand you’re going to visit first. Other options include various beer stands and, the height of fashion right now, vermouth and Aperol spritz bars.
It might be that one drink isn’t enough to help you make your mind up. There’s a croquetteria, run by the upscale Arzábal restaurant, which has also two really good tapas concessions that sell great patatas bravas and a large number of pintxos.
A very welcome new addition is Martín Tenazas lobster which offers just one product, lobster, in a variety of guises including excellent tacos. More or less right next door you can get oysters, caviar and champagne from Daniel Sorlut. Or if your tastes run to more traditional tapas, a few yards away is El Senor Martín (they are related), with fried fish and calamares in the Cadiz style.
Elsewhere you can find empanadas, jamon, and ice cream if you have any room left.
It can get crazy busy there, and if you want to avoid the crowds the best time to go is for an early lunch, before 1pm, when there’s a bit of space to move around. I like the buzz there though and early evening for an apero is a good time to visit.
Mercado La Paz
Set right in the middle of the swanky barrio Salamanca, La Paz has the most intimate neighbourhood feel about it of these four mercados.
Enclosed on all four sides by some of Madrid’s most exclusive shopping streets, the mercado is an oasis in the bustle. It has three entrances, each of which has an approach with little cafés, outside of which, all year round, you can find locals engaging in the important business of catching up.
La Paz is my favourite. First, it’s a little smaller and more manageable than the others, but also has a great buzz about it. It has a good balance between the supply trade and restaurants even if, like San Anton and San Miguel, the balance definitely seems to be swaying towards the latter.
What it really has going for it though are the best Reina arepas (chicken and avocado) I have had, at the P.A.N. store kitchen down the back, and the best baked cheesecake outside of New York City I’ve ever found. That’s at the bakery, Cientotreintagros. It’s expensive, for sure, but I haven’t yet found a price I’m not willing to pay for world class baked cheesecake.
On top of all this, La Paz has an Italian that sells great fresh pasta, an oyster counter and a tapas bar / cervezeria that is so popular we’ve never even been able to get near it.
Mercado San Anton
San Anton is another “destination” for food in Madrid, and where San Miguel has a traditional vibe, San Anton is much more chic. It occupies a four story slot in the heart of Chueca, the City’s gay neighbourhood.
Unlike San Miguel, San Anton has held on much more firmly to it local market roots, with much of the first floor given over to fresh food stalls and doubtless helped by a supermarket on the ground floor.
It does have great food options on the second floor, however, with a variety of fabulous stalls including Juancho’s BBQ, one of a number of establishments across the City laying claim to having the ‘best burger…’.
Katz is another popular venue offering a Madrileño twist on the New York deli with its pastrami and Philly cheese steak sandwiches as well as some pretty good shawarmas.
There is also an outpost of La Ancha, one of Madrid’s most celebrated restaurants, and one of my favourites. La Taberna de La Ancha specialises in potato tortilla served with a variety of extras including crab, Madrileño stew and mushrooms. Not to be missed.
It’s been a long time since I was on the roof terrace of San Anton, but while the restaurant – 11 Nudos Terraza Nordés – may have changed, I don’t suppose the view has much, and it’s a good spot. Nordés is Galicia’s contribution to the gin revolution, with a delicate floral flavour much loved in this household. The roof terrace would be as good a place as any to sample it.
Mercado Barceló
Barceló, which sits between Bilbao and Alonso Martínez in the south of the Chamberí district is a little more prosaic and functional and as a result you’re less likely to be run over by tourists.
But it’s a great example of the way in which Madrid provides spaces and facilities for people, as it’s part of a complex which also includes a library and a municipal sports facility.
It remains, largely, a well-used local food market, with plenty of choice of fish, meat and other staples. But Barceló also has a range of good eating options, with more than a dozen restaurants that will particularly appeal to those who like Asian and Latin American food.
TekeBon offers no frills Venezuelan food that is both good and good value, including arepas (corn bread sandwiches), empanadas and tequeños (breaded cheese stick). Or if you prefer Peruvian, La Bajada Street Food offers great ceviche as well as the famous Inca Cola and Pisco Sours. The competition is fierce in Barceló, though, and Tu Takos has great tacos and burritos.
The Asian offer is just as strong. Santoku has great value nigiris and makis, there’s Fina Filipina Veggie, more Japanese food at Ageyoka, and Korean at Mama Uma. Of course, there are tapas and burgers, as there are everywhere.
