After spending several hours at the Reina Sofia, Jamie W and I were feeling quite peckish and…read morerather indecisive about where to have lunch. We guessed many options around the Prado area might be tourist traps. Fortunately, this didn't appear to be one of them as it's a taberna that attracts local regulars as well as tourists like us. The manager/owner looked to know quite a few customers. It was pretty busy, so we were seated at a hi-top table in the bar area next to other non-Spanish, English-speaking customers. There were many small-to-medium tapa plates to consider in their menu. We weren't looking to stuff ourselves, so we ordered the 6,9€ half-order of Chiporones à la Plancha, which was grilled baby squids nestled on a mixed salad drizzled with balsamic (Photo 10). Our second dish was the 6,1€ half-order of Parrillada Verdu. It was a simple but satisfying grilled vegetable platter of sliced tomato,, onion, and root veggies (Photo 9). The last dish we ordered was an unexpected taste of home, the 9,9€ Ensalada Cesar. The reason for the higher price point was the addition of chicken and bacon to the lettuce, tomato, cheese, croutons, and Caesar dressing (Photo 8). The combination was pretty hearty and familiar-tasting. Even though we probably ate enough for a mid-afternoon meal, I couldn't help but inquire about the availability of grilled octopus (pulpo) because we saw it look quite tempting on a neighboring table. It was just as well that they were out because we didn't have room in our bellies for that. Our tapas selection was just fine all on its own. FOOD - 4 stars...skilled execution of familiar tapas, pretty tasty AMBIANCE - 4 stars...compact but cozy taberna, crowds quickly at lunch SERVICE - 3.5 stars..,efficient though a tad brusque because it was busy TOTAL - 4 stars...a serious dining option close to the museums RELATED - Exploring Madrid? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/WCRoD4CVJE

Just mas please!!! Best sangria we have ever had! Outstanding seafood. So fresh and ample fruit,…read moregreat amount and flavor. Ample inside dining and some outdoor patio dining. About 15 minutes to Atocha station. Helpful service. Pluses A. Best sangria we have had 1. Scallops on the shell were amazing so light and fresh 2. Grilled cuttlefish were nicely charred 3. Octopus was large amount and with potato / he loved it, I thought it was too spicy for me. 4. Grilled shrimp with the heads so juicy in the head 5. Caramel dessert was good 6. We got free shots, twice and yes very good 7. Great value food Areas to improve 1. Bathrooms Highly recommended for sangria and seafood!! Happy faces on the diners.

Food 10/10 Service…read more10/10 Ambiance intimate, crowded, small, typical great Spain joint lol

I'm back about 6-7 years after my first visit and am happy to report that nothing has changed…read more Nothing. Same faded, nondescript canopy out front, same understated external appearance, same people working the floor and the grill, same awesome items on the menu. It really beckons to locals and tourists that give a rip about famine foods like offals. They do a lot of these on the menu and they do them well. I was happy to eat my whole fried anchovies and house made chorizo while the guy next to me took down a plate of sweetbreads and lamb intestines. It's that kind of place. I have only been to Madrid twice. I have taken local food tours and done a fair amount of local food exploration. This remains my favorite spot that I have found so far. It was that way in 2019 when I first visited and it remains that way now.

Located just outside of Puerta de Sol. This is a great place to enjoy Espana tapas and a drink!…read more The tapa portions are very large: the small size anchovies, contains two pieces of bread with 5 white anchovy fillets, diced onions, green olives, drizzled with olive oil. For a savory entree, I recommend the oxtail stew: 10 pieces of delectable oxtails in a brown gravy sauce. This tasted more like a beef pot roast, rather than a tomato style gravy. The oxtails are paired with thick cut fries.

Had early dinner after arriving to Madrid by train. Didn't need a reservation, they had plenty of…read moreseating and it was comfortably spaced for groups. Very family kitchen feel with the tiles, wood, and decorations. Food was good with large portions, the service was quick and very friendly. We like the homey feel of the place and it really feels like this restaurant had been around for ages. Would say the paella to avoid, it wasn't as good as the ones we had gotten from Seville. Most of the tapas were more carb heavy than balanced we've experienced so far in our trip. Recommend here if you're looking to be fed at an affordable price and quickly seated, but it isn't a place to go out of your way for.

This place was OK. It is located right by the Plaza Mayor, which is really beautiful at night…read more The restaurant it very cozy, and there is enough room to accomodate large parties. They had tuna performers come out to serenade our group. I would say the paella was not very flavorful, but I did really enjoy the fried calamari appetizer. Food was ok all around.

The restaurant is in a busy Plaza Mayor area. We were seated immediately even during busy hours…read more Downstairs is tapas and upstairs is restaurant just like other Madrid places. Also, I assume you need to close the menu for them to come and serve because it took them very long to do so. -Crispy pork belly 4/5. Super crispy but salty. -Cocido madrileño 5/5. The presentation was cute. -The soup was tasty and rich with flavor. The dry portion was filling with various meat cuts. Meatballs with house special sauce 4/5. The house special sauce was like BBQ sauce and meatballs were good but not too extraordinary. -tuna potato salad 5/5 was too the points with flavor. I love this dish. I wish there were more chips. Overall it was a nice tourisy restaurant with paintings and decorations

Little family dinner in Madrid great customer service lovely atmosphere very welcoming. Hospitality…read morewas great Gracias food was delicious Sangria was refreshing when in Madrid can't go wrong. Make reservations and enjoy.

The dinner here was probably the highlight of my visit to Madrid! I was so happy to get paella -…read moreArroz negro con sepia y chipirones specifically...I still can taste in my dream, lol! Make sure to have a reservation as it looks to be a very popular restaurant. The ambiance was simple and bright. The service was excellent - in fact all servers that I encountered were very friendly yet polite. They'll be happy to provide recommendations as well. I would really like to go back there sometime soon...

Stopped in after walking around town and noticed this place was mentioned on social media as being…read moregood eats. I ordered the daily special and the food was good including the red wine. Good service and clean tables.

this place is more like a 3.5 out of 5 stars…read more this was our last meal in europe... sigh, i wish we were still on our vacation, but alas, we must return back to reality. during our last night in madrid we were on the hunt for paella. There were plenty of places to pick from in downtown madrid, but some restaurants were closed, and others were not offering it that early for dinner. sidenote: i find it weird that spanish people eat dinner so late!!!! anyways, we started the meal off with a meat and cheese plate and got the seafood paella. they also gave us bread along with tomato paste. honestly the tomato paste was very very simple and reminded me of salsa...lol. the food portions are huge! make sure you come here with a very hungry stomach or multiple people. paella actually comes with 4 different options: seafood, chicken, mixed or something else. and for 10 bucks, you really cant go wrong with whatever you choose. The one thing i would comment on the paella is that it wasn't as flavorful as i imagined... but really can't complain for the price i paid. the service is very quick, and the person who was taking my order spoke english and was really helpful.

Excelente servicio, deliciosa toda la comida, los postres fenomenal, muy limpio y organizado el…read morerestaurante. volveremos sin problemas. Que experiencia tan buena. Excellent service, the paella rice was delicious, the dessert was incredible, the entire restaurant was very clean, I would come back. So sad we live in the US. 5/5 I would rate higher if I could...

Nice spot with an unsuspecting entrance. We were ushered…read moreinto a room which seemed like all the tourists sat (everyone spoke English). Everything we ordered was good from the shishito peppers to a variety of paella. Oddly, they come show you the paella but serve it from the back. Wish they had just set the paellas down and let us serve ourselves.

Recommended by our guides for the day. It is also a Michelin recommended place. They have portions…read morein sizes of full , 1/2 or 1/3 to give you the option of trying many things which we did. All very nice. I got. Three wines by the glass, two white and one red and we focused on local specialties. I think we had like 8 items. Forgot to take pictures of a few of them. We arrived at the frightfully early time of 8pm and so the first 30 minutes or so we were alone. Staff was great and explained the food, in English. All dishes were truly unique and i think the menu changes often as the web site is not up to date. It's is about 10 minutes walk from our JW Marriott. Nice atmosphere with kind of 70s and 80s music at low volume. Bill Joel, Eagles and some other such. But gain, the food was special and great.

Really enjoyed this meal. Definitely seafood-forward and tapas-style menu. Prawns were fresh and…read morelarge and wonderfully done. Was not so impressed with the steak (but glad it was not super expensive). I would not recommend steak but the rest of the dishes (mostly seafood) were excellent.