Best traditional restaurants in Madrid

The capital of Spain makes its mark in many facets and the restaurant industry is one of them. Madrid concentrates a very wide gastronomic offer, within which traditional restaurants occupy a fundamental place. All the Spanish tradition from its different regions, mainly Castilian, but also from other corners, in different neighborhoods, so that you will never get tired of visiting and tasting.

The traditional and the cool come together at Café Comercial

It is one of the oldest gastronomic establishments in Madrid, an essential name for local tapas and of increasing tourist interest. A restored place, but that maintains all its original charm, located very close to Tribunal and the emblematic Plaza del Dos de Mayo. It combines the traditional essence in its salmorejo, croquettes and sausages of its menu, with modern activities through a cultural agenda of concerts and book presentations. The average price per person is 22 €.

Vermouth and T-bone steak at Celso and Manolo’s place

Celso y Manolo is a typical restaurant in Madrid that is ideal both for lunch and dinner succulent dishes of all life and to make the vermouth with friends and friends or with family or as a couple. Located in the neighborhood of Chueca, it stands out for its chuletón de tomate, the star dish and the reason why many people come exclusively to the restaurant. At vermouth time, the most popular dishes among diners are the squid sandwich and Iberian cured meats. For 35 € each you can eat at this place.

Decoration and style with more than a hundred years in Viva Madrid

One of the most traditional bars in the city is Viva Madrid, which has been in operation since 1856 and, after some time of being closed, reopened its doors with a strong commitment to interior decoration and maintaining the essence of its origins. Today it unifies the proposal of a tavern with a first class cocktail bar and exquisite dishes, very typical of the cuisine of the region, but with some modern and international touches. The average price of a dinner is 40 € per person.

The best omelets in Madrid are eaten at Bodega de la Ardosa

The omelette is one of the star dishes of traditional Spanish cuisine and in Madrid there are many places where they prepare it very well, but none like the Bodega de la Ardosa, the most famous in the city, in the heart of Malasaña. It is a centenary bar and one of the most legendary in Madrid, with its characteristic facade full of posters and a long bar to live it standing up, drink the best wines and feel the most authentic atmosphere of Madrid. A pincho de tortilla with a beer costs 5 €.

La Ancha: tradition in Barrio de las Letras

This is an obligatory stop before, during or after a walk through Madrid’s famous Barrio de las Letras, where Cervantes, Góngora, Lope de Vega, Quevedo and all the members of that wonderful generation of writers of the Golden Age lived. In addition to replicating in its recipes all the secrets of grandmothers, La Ancha has the extra advantage that its portions are very abundant. Its lentils and scallops are the most famous dishes of the restaurant. The average price of a lunch menu is around 15 € per person.

Tapeo and exquisite portions in Arzábal in El Retiro

In a privileged environment, in front of the wide and leafy green of El Retiro Park, is located the Arzábal, a restaurant where they prepare all the most typical and most popular dishes, both nationals and foreigners, locals and tourists. This way, you will be able to taste homemade croquettes, prawns with garlic, salad, squid with onions, hake cocochas, Iberian sirloin steak and many other delicacies, with glasses of wine from all over the country. A portion costs between 8 € and 12 €.

A piece of Santander in Madrid with Cañadío

Originally born in Santander, a little more than ten years ago the owners of this restaurant, famous in northern Spain, decided to venture to Madrid and try their luck with their traditional recipes. And they are doing better and better because everyone surrenders to the simplicity and quality of their dishes: tuna and squid meatballs, hake in many preparations, quebracho pudding and rabas. It also has a bar to make vermouth or afternoon snacks and try a variety of skewers. A vermouth with a tapa costs around 6 € per person. It is located at Conde de Peñalver 86.

Spoon dishes are the protagonist of Casa Ricardo’s proposal.

Since it opened its doors in 1935, on Fernando el Católico Street in the Chamberí neighborhood, Casa Ricardo has hardly undergone any changes in its infrastructure, decoration and menu. It responds perfectly to being a place of all life and with the dishes of all life, where the spoon dishes stand out: tripe with chickpeas, snails to the Madrilenian, hen in pepitoria, kidneys of lamb and stew of vigil. The desserts are also very famous, especially the rice pudding and cream filloas. The price per person for a dinner here is around 35 €.

La Nieta’s three marriages

The first particularity of the restaurant La Nieta is that it is managed by three married couples and that they are divided as follows: the men attend to the public and the women are in charge of the kitchen. And it has been like this for more than thirty years near the Retiro Park, with which they have managed to take a very dynamic pace and establish themselves as one of the most important places of Segovian cuisine, region from which they all come from. Suckling pig and roast lamb are its star dishes, but there are many more: lentil stew, beans, marmitako, stew and homemade desserts. You can eat here for between 15 € and 20 €.