The best restaurants in Madrid
These are the latest restaurant openings in Madrid to attract the foodie crowds. Unlike the backstreet tapas spots that can be sniffed out on a late evening walk, a visit to many of these Madrid restaurants requires some tactical planning.
What's the best neighbourhood for food in Madrid?
Madrileños are flocking to the Almagro neighbourhood, home to restaurants such as Narciso Brasserie, Israeli-Argentinian Fayer, two-Michelin-starred Coque and Casa Sr Ito, a cross between an izakaya and a typical Spanish bar. Trafalgar is where millennials and Peter Pan over-40s want to live and work: it’s home to the Alma Nomad Bakery, the best in the city, and buzzy spots such as the Ostras Pedrín oyster bar and a new outpost of Hermanos Vinagre (pictured above), a charismatic modern tavern with kitsch interiors and plentiful vermouth. Elsewhere in Chamberí, Calle Ponzano’s bar-crawl potential spawned its own verb, #ponzaning, thanks to its density of bars that offer everything from well-drawn draught beers at unpretentious bar El Doble to superlative shellfish at Fide. Salesas, a sliver between Paseo de la Castellana and Chueca, is an upscale den of young millionaires, with Mexican and Venezuelan influences. Boutiques and concept stores sit shoulder to shoulder with hotspots such as Los 33, the darkly cool restaurant at the epicentre of young, monied Madrid.
Ana Linares1. Tripea
Madrid’s fast-evolving food markets have increasingly impressive dining options. Since launching Tripea in Chamberí’s lively Mercado de Vallehermoso in 2017, chef Roberto Martínez Foronda has won many plaudits. Spanish, Peruvian and Southeast Asian influences inform his vibrant tasting menus, with tiraditos, ceviche, stews and fragrant curries served to guests on communal tables from open kitchens.
Address: Tripea, Mercado de Vallehermoso, C. de Vallehermoso, 36, 28015 Madrid
Website: tripea.es2. Dstage
Basque chef Diego Guerrero seems to have torn up the rule book with this playful, industrial space of battered exposed brick and Crittall windows. The constantly changing tasting menus are diverse, with dishes ranging from fermented yucca and octopus to roasted avocado. Guerrero’s other adventures include DSpeak, an informal offshoot, and DPickle Room, his womb-like, red-neon-lit cocktail bar collaboration with Madrid’s top mixologist, Diego Cabrera.
Address: Dstage, C. de Regueros, 8, 28004 Madrid
Website: dstageconcept.comPictured above: Plaza Mayor
Sala De Despiece3. Sala de Despiece
Inspired by butcher’s shops and salas de despiece (cutting rooms), this vibrant, innovative restaurant, which opened a decade ago on Chamberí’s Calle Ponzano, was a pioneer in communal countertop dining. Even now, the place tends to be packed to capacity, with a dedicated local audience for chef Javier Bonet’s creative nose-to-tail exploration of Spanish gastronomy.
Address: Sala de Despiece, C. de Ponzano, 11, 28010 Madrid, Spain
Website: saladedespiece.com4. Smoked Room
It took chef Dani García six months to snaffle two Michelin stars in one go for this shrine to fire and smoke (which is essentially a special section of his steakhouse, Leña). Only 14 diners can gather around the Japanese-style bar to see the show every night: an up-close-and-personal chef’s table where flame-lashed meat, fish, eels and barnacles are finished on your plate, and a “todo es humo” (“everything is smoked”) tasting menu with a “Japanese spirit” is the order of the day.
Address: Smoked Room, Hotel Hyatt Regency Hesperia, P.º de la Castellana, 57, 28046 Madrid, Spain
Website: grupodanigarcia.com
5. BiBo
An opening from Michelin-winning chef Dani García, following BiBo Marbella and Lobito de Mar, has interiors by Lázaro Rosa-Violán, who set out to capture the essence of Andalucía – 7,000 light bulbs are used to reflect the Feria de Málaga, a statue of a blue-fin tuna surveys the dining room, while a hot-air balloon rises above the central bar, evoking the menu’s wandering sense of discovery.
Address: BiBo, Paseo de la Castellana 52, 28046, Salamanca, Madrid
Website: grupodanigarcia.com6. Diverxo
A second consecutive top prize at the Best Chef Awards last year helped seal Dabiz Muñoz’s outsized reputation for eccentric, attention-grabbing dishes. Set a short hop up the Paseo de la Castellana in the NH Eurobuilding hotel, DiverXo showcases Muñoz’s food-as-theatre across tasting menus that aim to surprise. Two further ventures in the city, StreetXo and the newly launched dumpling bar RavioXo, are more casual but equally clever.
Address: Diverxo, NH Eurobuilding, C. del Padre Damián, 23, 28036 Madrid, Spain
Website: diverxo.com7. Desde 1911
To create Desde 1911, the city’s restaurant du jour, an old bomb factory was transformed into a minimalist, timber-panelled modern haven on a small, unprepossessing street in out-of-the-way Cuatro Caminos. The venue is a jewel from the production line of Pescaderías Coruñesas, the most prestigious fishing company in Madrid, which has already created Lhardy, El Pescador, O’Pazo and Filandón. The group’s restaurants pay homage to the fishing and seafood traditions of La Coruña, with unrivalled access to the best supplies.
Address: Desde 1911, C. del Vivero, 3, 28040 Madrid
Website: desde1911.es
