One of many branches, El Pimiento Verde on Calle de Castelló is a nicer restaurant for which you'll…read morewant to make a reservation ahead of time. With a decently sized menu, there will be no shortage of dishes to try. We elected to go for some Spanish classics and their featured dishes, which included their Creamy Rice with Lobster, Traditional Tripe Stew, and Aged Beer Rib-eye. The creamy rice with lobster is essentially a risotto, with the rice being cooked al dente. While the texture is nice, because of the smaller portion of lobster and the lack of flavor, by the end it feels like you're just left with a bowl of undercooked rice. The traditional tripe stew was quite good, with the beef being extremely tender and chewy. The rib-eye itself was a large cut, however, a good portion of the meat is fat. Additionally, it's only seasoned with a light touch of salt, so at the end of the day also lacking a bit. If you want to come to El Pimiento Verde, it's primarily for the ambience. The food itself is fine, though nothing to call home about. If you're short on time and looking for places to experience Spanish cuisine, this is probably one restaurant that can be skipped.

Great place for dinner! We had a reservation, which I would recommend. This place wasn't too loud…read moreand our server had great recommendations on the wine and around the food on the menu. Highly recommend the calamari and my cod was so light and flaky.

Popped in for a quick standing tapas lunch at around noon. It happened to be Spanish mother's day…read moreand they hooked me up with a red carnation, swoon. A nice sized bar and plenty of tables in the front and back area. Tapas all are 2.5 euro. We sampled a bunch and they were all great. Pretty simple, but fresh and delicious. A high five to the thinly pounded, breaded and fried mushroom that was delectable. Their spanish tortilla was mainly egg based vs potato and was a little runny, I was into it. Small beers happened to be 2.5 euros as well, so it was a cheap, filling, delicious and quick lunch! I'd 100% come again and def recommend!

Spectacular food and service! Will return! This was a nice surprise after having walked for hors…read moretrying to find a place that was on my list to try.

This is a good place for northern Spanish food near the Plaza de Espana. You can make reservations…read moreonline, which is a good idea, as the place gets crowded. I liked that most of the guests were Spanish speakers. The menu is fairly self-explanatory, but it's better if you are able to read Spanish (not a problem for me!). Service was fast. The food was generally good, although the seafood rice was fishy, and the sangria was not memorable at all. But the fried calamari was delicious, and my family enjoyed the jamon iberico. The gambas were pretty good, as were the patatas bravas. They are very family friendly as the menu is simple enough that the kids will eat it, and nothing is so fancy that you'd feel uncomfortable with hangry kids.

Quick service. Pricey in my opinion for the portion size and food quality. Gambas with garlic were…read moredelicious. The olives with sardine (?) and the Iberia on bread were just okay. Wine and beer were okay too.

Great start, our hotel made reservations for us…read more We were greeted by Ananda, our server on arrival and she went through the entire menu with recommendations. Great classical music in the background. Excellent choice for winding down after a long hot day. Dinners start real late in Spain. I do enjoy starting the dinner "early" at 8 or 8:30 and it feels like you have the restaurant to yourself. This is Basque food and it is authentic and good. They focus on grilling and not putting on a lot of spices, keeping it simple and highlighting the food. There is also plenty of art from a Basque artist and it helps tell a story about the place and food. Our server did a wonderful job explaining the art and story about the artist and pieces Started with sourdough and olive oil and asparagus. The sourdough was excellent and soft, some of the better bread we have had in Spain. The asparagus was excellent, it is from its own garden and grilled nicely. They have an oil mix with red, green peppers and onions. Yummy. Minor critique is maybe a little more al dente on the cook. As I say this I am sure this is their preference. The main course arrived and Ananda did the work to prepare the fish, the piquillo pepper arrived with the main as well. It was a must. The sea bream was cooked nicely in olive oil and fried garlic. It was tasty but the piquillo peppers were the star of the night. So much flavor. Cheat code, add the peppers to the fish, wow what a dish. Once we found out about the desserts we had to complete the deal. The chocolate is a take on a decadent brownie and I got the the pantxineta. The pantxineta is a custard in the middle with a hint of lemon sauce. The desserts were super delicious. The pantxineta was a perfect pastry with custard and lemon sauce at the bottom with the perfect mix of sweet and sour. The chocolate was like a deconstructed lava cake with caramel encrusted bread toasties for dipping or eating on your own. Very chocolate forward that was also delicious. This is a solid 4.5, I believe the overall rating is low so going with a 5 for the experience, service, locally owned food and near story.

The atmosphere is wonderful, a little bright but okay. Service is on point and they are very…read morecourteous. The waiter was good about answering questions and brought out exactly what I wanted, there was no regrets on my part. The sausages were amazing with a little hint of heat. The full portion of leeks was spot on and just the right amount of salt. The salad with the spring onions and vinegar and olive oil was just the right touch with the steak. The steak was beautiful and rare and melted in my mouth, with the pepper tapenade was marvelous. Overall a fabulous meal. I'm a fan and will come back, Basque food is my favorite.

Came without a reservation and the staff was welcoming! Tried the prawns, breaded cod, and quail…read moredrumettes with a glass of cava. All excellent. Service was excellent and the ambience was moderately noisy with what you would expect in a typical restaurant environment. Highly recommend.

I'm now a fan of lean cut steak, medium rare. Being an American I always think you have order…read moreribeye or some fat marbled derivation. Not so, if you order the sirloin offering at Zerain. Everything was delicious from the white asparagus to the Cardenal brandy, served after dessert. White tablecloths and impeccable service made the visit a high point of our stay in Madrid.

I wish I could have tried more things on the menu! A fun fusion take on Spanish food and each tapa…read morewas delicious. We got: - alcachofas (artichokes) - pintxo de champiñón (mushroom and shrimp pincho) - Calamares - Pintxo de foie - gyozas de rabo (oxtail gyoza) - mini beef hamburgers Everything had amazing flavor and the sauces that complimented each dish had me drooling. The foie was so buttery and had no funk. The portions were also very generous! Our waiter was very friendly and attentive as well, giving us a large downstairs table where he put music on and turned on heaters for our comfort. Great spot.

Me encantaría regresar y lo haré pronto . El plato está casi vacío porque estaba tan delicioso que…read moreni cuenta me di de tomarla...

When you think of a classic tourist trap, Casa Lucio is the perfect definition. Don't be fooled by…read morethe pictures of presidents and celebrities on the walls. We came expecting the very best of Spanish cuisine, and instead got a major disappointment. The potato salad was drenched in mayonnaise, completely overpowering the other ingredients. The entrecôte with fries was even worse--the meat was full of greasy strings, nothing like the clean, tender cut it's supposed to be. The fries were poorly cut, oily, and limp instead of crisp. Even the padrón peppers, which are usually impossible to get wrong, were flavorless. The bread was stiff and hard to bite. Service was just okay, but the atmosphere felt rushed and uncomfortable, as the place is overcrowded with tourists chasing the restaurant's reputation. In short: overrated, overpriced, and absolutely not worth the hype.

I was on a search for restaurants loved by the locals. Casa Lucio was bursting with people waiting…read morefor a table so of course, I knew I wanted to try it. They said reservations only but we were able to snag 2 seats at the bar. The food was good. Not the best during my trip but good nonetheless. I think I did not order what they're known for however I still enjoyed my meal.

The gift of the pork and duck was marvelous the perfect blend of the 2 with the right amount of…read moresalt. The cheese croquette is so smooth in its texture and taste. The smoked eel and tomatoes is sublime. The beef ham croquette was wild, the oxtail beef and cheese is truly incredible. The sweetbreads with the mustard green beans was out of this world, perfect on the pallet. The bread crusty and went well with the whole meal. All of these were starters, it's my favorite way to get the true flavor of a restaurant. Topped it all off with salted chocolate truffles in olive oil

For USA travelers this is the restaurant to try. We had their lobster paella which was incredible…read more I wasn't too fond of their steak because it was not prepared medium well-done, but soon realized that it could be a different interpretation of what medium well-done means, the staff did see me not eating the rare parts and offered to cook it more which was nice. The ambience is particularly pleasant and the staff helped order a taxi to take us back to our hotel too.

Another Madrid gem to be discovered. Bask country style in Madrid financial and business area…read more Great Menu. Nice and generous portions Excellent for business lunch

Stayed in Madrid for 8 days. Must have tried 15 different restaurants. NOTHING I MEAN NOTHING…read morecompares to A Donoatria. The service, the food THE FOOD!!!! Daniel took care of like we were family. Can't wait to go back.

Sagardi has fantastic croquetas and other typical Spanish staples. The dish that ultimately won me…read moreover was the cheesecake which was very different from Japanese or American cheesecake. You could tell that the cheese being used in this was not cream cheese based, the burnt top and edges were mouthwatering and the consistency was amazing. I still dream about this cheesecake sometimes and I have yet to find a basque cheesecake anywhere else outside of Spain that can compare. The restaurant also offered an impressive selection meats that were to be char-grilled. It looked absolutely delicious but the serving was just too big for me and my family to try considering how many tapas we ordered.

Okay food, but in Madrid there's so many better options. Our hotel concierge sent us here, as soon…read moreas we arrived the place was fairly empty (bad sign) and they gave us wine "as guests of the hotel" (another sign of commission/incentives to send people here vs. recommend actually great local spots). The food was fine, ordered half the menu. Nothing stood out, bread was okay. Do yourself a favor and find some better local spots, it's not worth the price nor the meal. This city has some amazing food nearby.