Do you like wine and good food? Madrid is definitely a destination of choice! But you still need to know where to go. Here are some ideas for restaurants during your stay in Madrid. I have personally tried them all and can’t recommend them enough. Few or no tourists here! Enjoy your meal!
Ultramarinos Quintín
Open since 2014, this two-story restaurant is also a boutique where you can get your groceries by buying vegetables, cheeses and bread of the day. The decor is gorgeous and the dim lighting in the evening creates a cozy, intimate atmosphere. As for the food, it is up to the task. The cuisine is very elaborate and inventive and the dishes are tasty and meticulously executed. A favorite during my stay in Madrid. The wine list will delight the greatest lovers of Spanish wines and the selection of wines by the glass allows you to order great wines such as the wines of Vega Sicilia in Ribera del Duero or Alvaro Palacios in Priorat! ultramarinosquintin.es
Laredo
Established in 2012, this restaurant located three blocks from Retiro Park offers tasty cuisine featuring remarkably fresh produce. The interior design of the restaurant is very successful with a beautiful bar and a very spacious dining room. The place was packed when I visited. Very large choice of tapas to share and some succulent seafood, fish and meat dishes. The menu changes regularly according to the seasons. The quality of the food is irreproachable and the wine list very well supplied, with of course many beautiful Spanish bowls, but not only! tabernalaredo.com
Pelotari
Located just a few minutes from the Plaza de Colón, this Basque and Navarrese cuisine restaurant has been an institution for over 25 years. If you are a carnivore, you are in the right place and you must try the chuletón de vacuna. This rib of beef is aged for 45 days and grilled over charcoal. The best meat I’ve ever had in my life! As for the wine list, no more paper. They bring you an iPad that describes the 300 or so Spanish and other wines offered in the restaurant. Very well done. If you’re not the techie type or if you get lost in all these references, Enrique will be happy to guide you. pelotari-asador.com
Lakasa
Cesar Martin’s restaurant recently moved to the Chamartín neighborhood. The decoration, of modern inspiration, is superb. A large bar at the entrance with a few high tables (no reservations required) and a very cozy dining area (reservations required). Good choice of wine, but the real star at Lakasa is the food! Each dish can be ordered in portions or half portions, which allows you to order many different things. The mini squids for example with their ink were to die for! lakasa.es
Angelita Madrid
Angelita is not a restaurant per se, but a wine bar (as well as a cocktail bar upstairs), but I would have been remiss if I didn’t mention it because I ate and drank so well there. Just a stone’s throw from the very central Gran Vía metro, Angelita is a newly opened wine bar that has all the makings of a quick success. The food is good, with a short menu reflecting a market cuisine. The dish of the day (tripe Madrilenian style) was delicious! As for the choice of wine, it is amazing, both by the glass and by the bottle. Of course, there is a large selection of Spanish wines, many from the Madrid region, but also from all over Spain. Let the friendly sommeliers guide you. The service is great and if you are the picky type, they will not hesitate to open a bottle, even if the wine was not offered by the glass, in order to satisfy you. I’ll go back as soon as I’m back in Madrid! madrid-angelita.es
Autres adresses
I didn’t have time to go to these three restaurants, but they were highly recommended. It will be for another time!
Taberna Arzabal
Restaurant created in 2009 by Álvaro Castellanos and Iván Morales. Beautiful terrace with views of Retiro Park. Traditional and market cuisine. Nice wine list. Arzabal has opened a second address in the Reina Sofia Museum of Contemporary Art. arzabal.com
Viavelez
Paco Ron’s restaurant, located not far from Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid’s stadium, showcases the cuisine of the province of Asturias in northwest Spain. A tavern area on the upper floor to have a drink or order some tapas and a dining room on the first floor. Splendid wine list with nearly 240 references and about twenty wines by the glass. restauranteviavelez.com
Aldaba
This restaurant in the Chamartín neighborhood opened in 1994 and is now an institution in the Madrid gastronomic scene. Wine lovers will be delighted with the extensive wine list! All desserts are made on the spot. restaurantealdaba.es
Many thanks to José Benavides Jiménez-Landi, the owner of the estate of the same name in Méntrida, for suggesting most of these restaurants! If you are a Grenache lover, José produces wines from old vines of exceptional quality and freshness!
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