18 Best Places to Eat in Madrid

Hi!

As a lot of you may know, I’m a foodie, so I always look for good places to eat when I move to a new city. I now feel qualified to share my Madrid food favourites with you! With a lot of help from my friends who have stayed here for a long time and have infinite foodie wisdom, I present to you my 18 places to eat in Madrid! All of them tried personally by me, so I can honestly vouch for them. All photography by me. By the way, I’m not getting sponsored by any of these places to review them, so these are all my personal favourites!

 Coffee

Zero Point

This little spot is perfect for grabbing a cup of (hot or iced) coffee when exploring the city. Located near the Prado, it’s in the perfect place to stop by for a break. They have so many types of coffee, you’ll have trouble choosing!

Brunch

La Gringa

La Gringa is one of the best brunch restaurants in Madrid! Their brunch menu is very extensive, but you have to try the Bunny Plate, which has a selection of Eggs Benedict with bacon, salmon, and avocado. Heavenly!

P.S. Make sure you make a reservation online in advance, as it fills up fast!

Bendita Locura

Another great brunch place. Their coffee is on point too! For brunch, they have 2 options: the big brunch and the little brunch. The big one lets you choose 5 options including drinks, the little one lets you choose 3. I go for the little one and it’s always plenty! In my opinion, the salmon Eggs Benedict is the best main.

Lunch

Gourmet Experience Gran Vía

This place is more of a food court than a restaurant. It’s located on the 9th floor of El Corte Inglés (department store), so you get a great view of Gran Vía (main high street)! Great photo opportunities. There are many food options to choose from, and also check out the delis on the sides with typical Spanish food products to bring home as a souvenir.

29 Fanegas

A great place for a casual lunch, or even dinner. They serve higher-end tapas, so don’t expect it to be cheap! The food is delicious, especially the seafood dishes like the Tuna Tataki are fresh and flavourful.

Mercado de San Miguel

This food market is located in the heart of the city, next to Plaza Mayor (the main square of Madrid). It’s packed at all times and all hours because tourists love it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have loads of great food! I would say just go there to cross it off your list, and if you don’t like the touristy vibe, don’t purchase anything.

Mercado de San Ildefonso

I love this market for its trendy crowd and feel. The food stalls are superb as well, and the terrace is great for warm summer evenings. Come here to people-watch through the floor-to-ceiling glass, or just to chill with a drink and some finger food.

Mercado San Anton

This is a new one I discovered just recently! It’s a very quirky and hipster market with an awesome rooftop terrace and covered casual restaurant. Come here to grab some food or some drinks and enjoy the sunny days.

La Fragua de Vulcano

This restaurant is a gem in the middle of the city centre. It’s a very casual Spanish tapas place, and you get great value for money. The decor is very quirky and cheesy, but it has a great feel to it. They normally blast a lot of Spanish guitar music, so be prepared for an immersive experience! I love the garlic shrimp here.

La Buha (La Latina)

Ok, hold on to your hats. La Buha in La Latina (not to be confused with La Buha in Chueca), has hands down the LARGEST tortillas I have ever seen. These monstrosities are larger than my head (and I don’t have a very small head)! Make sure you can take the rest home with you, or you share with at least 3 others. Their tortilla menu is quite extensive, so pick your favourite filling!

Casa Jaguar

This is a South American restaurant where you can get classics such as Arepas, Tacos, Nachos, etc. The food is really good, but being next to Opéra and the Royal Palace, it’s not great value for money (meaning it’s quite expensive). But if you want to treat yourself to some good Latin American food, here’s the place!

Maru Restaurant

Maru is a Korean place where they do Korean barbecue. Yes, you heard me! There’s a big grill plate set into the middle of the table and you can grill your food on it. Yum! The day menu is also reasonably priced, and you get a whole lot of food with it. Haven’t tried the barbecue yet, but definitely planning to one of these days.

If you’re craving a good bibimbap, check this out!

Dinner

Alcaravea

Absolutely one of my favourite dinner venues in Madrid. The food is superb, albeit pricey (due to the high quality and the ambiance). It’s a classy place with delicious food that you have to try. The (vegetarians look away!) octopus tastes great, and the grilled artichoke is crunchy and fragrant. I definitely recommend!

Okashi Sanda

This lovely little Japanese place is a revelation! Its decor is all Japanese, with origami hanging from the roof and a Japanese TV channel playing. The food is very home-style, with curry and rice dishes. The mains are gluten-free (says the menu), so if you’re celiac, you know where to go!

Swagat

Yum, Indian food. I’m a huge fan! This restaurant makes the classic curries very well, and the atmosphere is distinctly Indian-restaurant-like (having never been to India, I wouldn’t know that vibe). The day menu is cheap-ish and gets you a curry, rice/naan, drink, and dessert.

Restaurante Viva Burger

For all of you vegetarians out there, this is the one to visit!! All the dishes are vegetarian. The burgers, the wraps… And boy, are they tasty. They have loads of options to choose from, and the portions are enormous. Dig in, and enjoy!

Cava Baja 17

Cava Baja 17 is in Cava Baja street (duh!), which is a very lively street in La Latina. The perfect spot to grab some dinner before heading out for a few drinks. It serves medium-scale tapas (meaning it’s not dirt cheap but also not pricey). So check it out! It gets especially lively if the football’s on TV, so if you want to catch a game while having dinner, you should come here.

Casa Mono

This one’s an expensive one. It’s a classy venue, quite trendy, with a great bar. The cocktails are lovely, if you can spare the dime, and the food very elegantly presented. Treat yourself to a higher-end dinner here!

Did you enjoy this list? Please let me know whether you tried any of my suggestions, and how it turned out! And don’t forget to share it, so that others who visit Madrid can treat themselves to some good food too! Thank you <3

Do let us know if you visit any of these places and try them out x