best places to eat in madrid

Out of the thousands of restaurants in Madrid, as a foodie you want to know which ones are the best. There’s actually a really good website called CheckMadrid (you can read my review here) that lists many of the best restaurants in Madrid. I’m going describe a few of my favorites and these are places you shouldn’t miss if you’re visiting. When you visited Madrid in the past, you were most likely looking for a hotel. But if you are planning a visit here soon or want to explore your options, collecting information regarding restaurants is another great way to get started and make the transition into your visit with ease.

Here are the best places to eat in Madrid:

El Rincón de Alberto: This classic Spanish restaurant is located in the heart of the city and serves up traditional dishes with a modern twist. The decor is simple, but the food is delicious.

La Casa del Abuelo: This restaurant specializes in traditional Spanish dishes that have been passed down through generations. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the service is impeccable.

Amorino Gelato: Known for its gelato, Amorino also serves up hot beverages, sandwiches, salads, and pastries. There are locations all over Madrid at which you can enjoy this delicious treat!

Madrid is one of the most important cities in Spain and boasts a rich history, beautiful architecture, and vibrant culture. While you’re there, you’ll want to make sure that you enjoy the food as much as everything else. Here are some of our favorite places to eat in Madrid:

1. La Taberna de los Mercaderes

Located right in the city center, this restaurant has been serving traditional Spanish cuisine since 1827. You’ll find everything from seafood paella to roast lamb with potatoes on the menu here—all served with an impressive selection of wines.

2. Barrio Alto

This place is known as much for its ambiance as it is for its food; it’s located right on Calle Atocha and features live music every night of the week. They have great Spanish wine but also have an impressive selection of cocktails if that’s what floats your boat!

3. Centro Comercial El Corte Inglés

If you’re looking for somewhere less formal than many of Madrid’s other restaurants but still want amazing food and drink in a fun setting with plenty of options, this place is your best bet! You’ll find everything from tapas to steak frites on

best foods to try in madrid

1. Cocido Madrileño

As the weather gets cold, the smell of this simmering pork stew begins to waft through the streets of Madrid. Cocido madrileño is the definition of Spanish wintertime comfort food, but not for the faint of heart (or stomach).

The most common take on this traditional Spanish stew usually consists of a flavorful broth full of vegetables, chickpeas, chorizo sausage, and pork. The stew simmers for upwards of four hours, creating a blend of heavenly, robust flavors that make for the ideal cure to Madrid’s wintry weather.

The typical way to eat cocido madrileño is in two or three courses. Once the chickpeas, meats, and vegetables are finished cooking, cooks separate the broth and use it to make soup with small vermicelli noodles. This steaming soup becomes the first course.

The rest of the flavorful ingredients make up the main dish, often in two rounds. The chickpeas and veggies come first, followed by the stewed-to-perfection meat. Some places serve both portions at once, which helps abbreviate the meal a bit.

Insider’s tip: Taberna La Bola is our favorite place for cocido in Madrid. This family-run spot has been making cocido in the center of Madrid since 1870!

If you can’t make it to Madrid just yet, get our favorite cocido madrileño recipe in Spanish Feasts from the Devour Tours Kitchen!

2. Huevos Rotos

Traditional Spanish cuisine is very meat-and-potatoes. Nowhere is this fact more deliciously evident than in a steaming plate of huevos rotos, which literally translates to “broken eggs.”

This typical Madrid dish is a plate of potatoes which are freshly fried in Spanish olive oil and tossed with sea salt. The potatoes are topped with perfect over-easy eggs. Depending on where you go, you’ll either break the yolks with the edge of a crusty piece of bread or your server will break them, often at the table.

You can find some of the best huevos rotos in the city at Taberna Los Huevos de Lucio, one of many great places to eat in the La Latina area. Check out our full guide to where to eat huevos rotos in Madrid, or make them at home with the recipe in our first digital cookbook!

Insider’s tip: Many restaurants add bits of chorizo or cured ham to the mix for a burst of color and flavor. However, you can simply specify that you’d like with no meat if you’re looking for a vegetarian option.

3. Bocadillo de Calamares

No trip to Madrid is complete without tasting the city’s most famous sandwich: the bocadillo de calamares, or fried squid sandwich.

The most basic (and most traditional) bocadillo de calamares consists of fresh, crusty bread loaded with flour-coated, deep-fried rings of squid, and nothing else. Some Spaniards top the two-ingredient creation with tomato and paprika puree or homemade garlic mayonnaise. For the full experience, make sure to wash your bocadillo down with a cold caña of beer.

The many side streets around Madrid’s grand Plaza Mayor are home to some of the city’s best calamari sandwich bars. (Yes, you can find great food near tourist attractions!) Our favorite is La Campana.

4. Callos a la Madrileña

Callos is another one of the most typical foods in Madrid during the winter. Normally served in a clay dish, it consists of strips of beef tripe (stomach), chunks of chorizo, and slices of morcilla (blood sausage). Many versions add paprika for flavor, resulting in a reddish-brown color.

This smoky, savory stew has been a popular cold-weather dish in Spain’s bars and taverns for hundreds of years. In fact, the first known recipes for callos date back to the 16th century! Today, you can find it in most bars and restaurants throughout the capital city during the winter months.

5. Churros con Chocolate

Churros are a staple of Madrid’s after-hours nightlife, and a definite must-have for partiers on their way home during the wee hours of the morning. For non-nocturnal madrileños, churros with a cup of steaming hot, thick chocolate are a common afternoon snack for the 6 p.m. merienda, and are even occasionally eaten for breakfast!

The most famous place to get your hands on a plate-full of churros—or their thicker, richer cousin, porras—is San Ginés, where madrileños and visitors alike have been devouring the sweet fried treat for more than 100 years. We also love the homemade porras and churros at Bar Chocolat, one of our food tour partners in the Huertas neighborhood.

best restaurants in madrid

Sacha

This is the type of restaurant that makes everyone wish they were a regular, coming in for dinner every week and leaving in the wee hours. It offers the epitome of elevated comfort food: so-called “faux” ravioli stuffed with txangurro (king crab), marinated oysters, bone marrow with a side of sirloin, and wine — lots of wine. And if you spot owner Sacha Hormaechea greeting guests, make sure to shake his hand. He’s quite the character.

DiverXO

Think of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, dreams and nightmares — this is the imaginative spirit chef David Muñoz brings to his three-Michelin-star restaurant located inside the Eurobuilding hotel. At DiverXO, Muñoz breaks the boundaries of avant-garde cooking, using intense flavors in two tasting menus that aim to surprise diners with dishes that imitate works of art both in their aesthetics and their taste.

San Mamés

Expect homemade food and traditional recipes at this quaint restaurant, run by the same family since the 1950s. While it may be a bit far from the city center’s main restaurant circuit, it’s too close to ignore (and a 15-minute train ride from Puerta del Sol). Here, guests can try some of Madrid’s staple dishes, such as callos a la madrileña — some dare to say they are the best in town — anchovies brought straight from the Cantabrian Sea and drenched in pil pil, as well as a can’t-miss mix of potatoes, fried bacon, and eggs called patatas revolconas.

Kappo

When it comes to Japanese food and refined service, Kappo is, to many, the place. Owned by chef Mario Payán, known for his time at the Michelin-starred Kabuki, the restaurant is located just a stone’s throw from the Sorolla Museum. Book a seat at the counter and watch as every dish in the omakase-style meal is prepared, then served straight from Payán’s hands.

Sala de Despiece

Proprietor Javier Bonet took an old butcher shop and transformed it into this meat-focused restaurant. There are no tables, just several long counters where orders are taken on tablets and dishes are served on paper-lined metal trays. Open since 2013, Bonet’s innovative, product-focused culinary concept is still a buzzing dinner destination that now has two replicas: one on Calle Ponzano and another on Virgen de los Peligros, near Puerta del Sol.