Undoubtedly, Madrid is not only a city with a wide range of leisure activities, but also one of the cities with the greatest gastronomic variety.
No matter if you are living in Madrid or visiting, it is vital that you know some of its best restaurants and try their delicious dishes. In fact, many of the exchange students, or those foreigners who visit Madrid to study Spanish in one of its renowned language schools (if you want to know more about them, you can click here), are really fascinated and surprised with the Spanish food.
Spanish gastronomy is recognized worldwide and really delicious; that is why we made this article so that you can discover the essential restaurants in the city that you cannot miss. Let’s get started!
Fisher’s
This lovely restaurant offers dishes that have fish and seafood as protagonists but at the same time are mixed with spicy notes and typical seasonings of Mexican gastronomy. This is because it is a Mexican restaurant that came to Madrid to combine Spanish and Mexican dishes in the same combo.
In this establishment you can enjoy an incredible evening, the space is very modern and invites to the party. The dishes we recommend you to try are: shrimp tacos, ceviche, and oil prawns.
Avocado Love
This is a restaurant that offers vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free cuisine. Of course, as the name suggests, avocado is their star product. Therefore, all dishes include this ingredient.
Each recipe proposes a unique concept and is far away from conventional dishes. The chef of this restaurant likes to play with textures, flavors, and fusions, incorporating the influence of other countries.
Suppose you are visiting the city or you are taking a spanish course madrid. In that case, we recommend you to visit Avocado Love and try their eggplant and avocado hummus in agave tempura. This dish is the ideal appetizer to start tasting the philosophy of the place.
Other must-try dishes are: the avocado and heura curry with wild black rice, the Thai noodles in two textures, and the Jack Daniel’s smoked avocado grill. As for desserts, we recommend you try the white chocolate, avocado, and lime Twister.
House 28
This restaurant is located where an old butcher’s shop existed at the beginning of the 20th century, in the Malasaña neighborhood. With its renovated facade, it reopened in 2019, offering a concept closely linked to the origins of the place: a butcher shop. That is why its menu is full of chorizo, cecina, cured tongue, salami, cheeses, and other hot dishes with more elaboration.
As you can imagine, the sausages are the main protagonists and delicacies here. But the cured tongue board is one of the offerings that surprises even the most squeamish. Other dishes that are not to be missed are the pork ribs, the veal hamburger, the bacon confit, and the steak tartar.
The embers of Castellana
This very sophisticated place offers gastronomy that harmonizes, without too much creativity, the country’s products with small and unforgettable creations. Its main feature is the mastery of fish, meats, and vegetables, which are prepared in a kitchen that is open to the public. The whole process of elaboration is very hypnotic.
Besides, here you will find a very delicate and attentive service. It has a beautiful and cheerful terrace, which is an oasis in the city during the summer.
If you visit this place, you cannot miss the grilled meats, any of the fish, or the salad with shrimp carpaccio. Any of their desserts are incredible, both those served in the adjoining pastry shop and those on the menu.
La Cabra
This establishment has undergone an incredible remodeling after changing owners. Thus, La Cabra reopened its doors with more enthusiasm than ever!
La Cabra’s main pillars are seasonal products and the highest quality, both in its restaurant menu and in its bar menu, which focuses on a menu that combines avant-garde elaborations with traditional dishes.
The main courses offer a selection of meats, fish, and rice dishes. To start your dinner, you can order some premium anchovies in olive oil and croquettes of choco. Then you can continue with the Russian salad with smoked eel and the honey eggplant with smoked Idiazábal cheese sauce.
For the main course, we recommend the Iberian prey with sweet potato puree. Finally, a delicious tiramisu dessert with a cocktail prepared by the barman.
Totó
Its concept is 100% Italian, but its menu departs from the most famous lines and focuses on the traditional Italian cuisine of the 50s and 60s. The same goes for the decoration of the place, which is inspired by what was the golden age of Italian cinema.
Within this framework, they prepare food that is very much marked by the incredible creativity of that time, which allowed the discovery of new products, techniques, and flavors based on more traditional raw materials.
As a starter, we recommend you try the suplí “al teléfono” (a rice croquette stuffed with mozzarella cheese), the zucchini flower stuffed with mozzarella cheese, or the tartufina (a foccacia stuffed with truffle, prosciutto, and mozzarella cheese).
As for main courses, one of their most amazing pizzas is the salmone e rucola (with rabiola cheese, arugula, and marinated salmon); a pasta dish: The Beverly Hills gnocchis (made with homemade tomato and vodka); for dessert, the cannolo with ricotta, pistachio, and a touch of orange.
There are many options and delicious dishes to taste. Delight yourself with the best Spanish and international cuisine fused in many restaurants that always want to surprise their guests with new flavors.
This was our selection of the best restaurants in Madrid; what did you think? If you are in the city and have the opportunity, be sure to visit these restaurants; you will not regret it!