Decently well-priced place in a central part of Madrid. For the most part, the service was good --…read moreone of my companions meals was delayed by approximately 15 minutes, but it was also peak lunch hour. Everyone was friendly and helpful. :) I ate an Iberian ham sandwich -- first time trying Iberian ham and it was really good; the sandwich wasn't too oily or anything and was filling. For dessert I tried some of the tres leches WHICH WAS AMAZING. 10/10 would recommend this dessert item. Multiple of my companions ordered their daily special which was 3-course meal anywhere from 10 - 13 euros: appetizer, main course, and dessert. I'd recommend checking that option out if you go to Vivares; the even have a vegetarian friendly menu with the daily special. Overall, would recommend Vivares.

I have been here 4 times in under 3 weeks. Great food at a great price. Plus, they have a…read morevegetarian menu. Generous portions and delicious desserts. Nice service. It gets really busy on Sunday afternoons. Also, if you want to have dinner at 7:30, you can do so at Vivares!

Great place in Malasaña. I was there 5 minutes before they open and was the first one there, and…read morewithin a half hour the place was packed, and people were ready to snatch your table. Service was friendly and welcoming. It's a relaxed place. I was there for the croquettes because I'd read online that they have a lot of vegetarian options. You can get 6 or a dozen croquettes. You have to get a mix, I got 2 each of blue cheese, spinach, Gorgonzola, and mushroom and leek. They cost 9 euros. They gave me some olives, which were made grandmother's way. Very nice recipe!

We decided to try Casa Julio after getting a recommendation from a local. It's a small, traditional…read moretapas place. We dropped in on a packed Thursday evening (9:00pm). The inside is small with half a dozen seats at the bar and five tables. Two bartenders running the place. Menu is up on the wall, no English menu available. Seven types of vermouth along with beer and wine options. - Bread and olives - complimentary. Olives were decent, bread dry. - Lacuesta reserva (3,70€) - dry style vermut from Riośa. Smooth, didn't find it particularly dry. - Vermuza con lupolo (4,00€) - sweet style vermut with hops from Huesca. Slightly sweet, well balanced. - 1/2 Croquetas (8,00€ for 6) - bonito, huevo cocido (tuna and boiled egg), morcilla con membrillo (black pudding), setas con puerro (mushrooms with leeks), jamon (ham), espinacas, pasas y gorgonzola (spinach, raisin and gorgonzola) and queso azul (blue cheese). Favourite was the bonito. Croquetas were perfectly fried. - 1/2 Papas con mojo picón (3,50€) - boiled potatoes with salsa verde and salsa roja. Half portion was a perfect size. Sauces were tasty, potatoes cooked just right. An enjoyable, cheap tapas meal at CJ.

i just stopped by this place for some wine. the atmosphere is chill. the service was great and the…read morewine i got was good. got complementary olives and nuts to snack on while drinking. nice ambience. a nice place to go if you are not looking for a rowdy noisy atmosphere and just want a few drinks in a calm and chill environment.

My wife and I stumbled upon El Pepinillo de Barquillo on our last night in Madrid. We were looking…read morefor a local place and El Pepinillo went beyond our expectations. We almost walked right past it as it is so unassuming but we were welcomed right in. The service was attentive and excellent. We shared the Dégustation Menu: two appetizers followed by an entree prepared family style and a bottle of wine all for a reasonable price. Started with a simple salad, opted for the Burrata as the second course and finished with the Entrecôte, all paired with a fine Rioja. Each item was delicious, seasoned on point and prepared in an unpretentious manner. Altogether it was a fantastic experience. I cannot recommend El Pepinillo enough. It is the kind of the place which makes visiting cities like Madrid well worth it.

I HIGHLY recommend this place if you are looking to eat some paella. They have different types of…read morepaella, and loved the spicy sausage as well as the valenciana .

Of all the paellas I tried on my trip to Spain, this was hands down the best of the bunch. Had the…read morechicken/rabbit paella. Very rich in color and flavorful.

Service was amazing. I'm not sure if they wanted us to feel like we were literally hanging out at…read morehome, but we did. The wine selection had great variety and we were excited to see a Malbec from a winery we've actually been to! Every detail of this restaurant was a consistent theme of "welcome home" the napkins seemed to be signed with the name of the restaurant, the lighting, was enough but dim, not crazy bright. The seats were comfortable and the tables were intimate. I'm definitely writing this review so we can try to remember this place when we come back next year! My dinner was eggplant, there was so much flavor in my dish and I remember there being several vegetarian options.

We were extremely fortunate in being able to have dinner here tonight (without a reservation). Saw…read morethe reviews on Yelp and decided to give it a try. The food was amazing and the service and ambiance were top notch.

Great food! True authentic Spanish restaurante in the heart of Madrid. Highly recommended!read more

Every item we had was very good. We were expecting a good steak, we ordered beef & a seafood dish,…read morethe steak was outstanding; one of the best I've had in a very long time. That said, our calamari was very good as well. The staff was very helpful & kind, as we don't speak Spanish unfortunately. The atmosphere obviously is legit old world Madrid. We really enjoyed our experience.

Saw the positive reviews on Yelp and noticed this place was a 5 minute walk from our hotel - I was…read moreSOLD! Was not disappointed. Walked into a clean and welcoming dining room. Staff very friendly and made great recommendations. The owner came over several times to check on us and allowed us to try a traditional soup dish on the house. We loved the croquettes, the tuna tartar and the squid/veg dish! Staff was pleasant and patient since our Spanish is limited. Highly recommend for authentic eats!

Looking for a place to eat on our last night in Madrid, Yelp came to the rescue. Even though there…read morewere not many reviews or photos, my gut told me to give this place a try. This was just a few minutes of walking distance from our Sonder suite. After shopping for 6 hours, we were famished. We walked in around 7:30pm. They were kind enough to turn on the lights up for us in the dining room and seat us (dinner usually starts at 8-10pm in Spain). Let me just say that service was a class act from start to finish. Here is what we ordered: My son: I am going to have the Cod Tripe. What are you ordering, mom? Me: the Oxtail Traditional My son: Oooh, I will have some of yours too. Me: of course you are. My son: you can have one of my tripe. Please know that most places will ask if you want bread. They will charge you for it. My son used the bread to soak up the Cod Tripe Soup. I loved the chickpeas and I am happy my son got to have tripe before leaving Spain. It was on his bucket list of things to eat here. Our waiter came by with complimentary gazpacho and omg, what a delightful treat. It was perfect on a hot summer day. It had bits of potatoes and pears. I wanted a whole bowl. I think this place is a hidden gem!! Surprised that there are not more reviews. The food was absolutely delicious. It had that homemade touch! Don't forget to order dessert. We got the Pineapple Presented in 3 Textures. It had coconut milk and sago on one side and cinnamon crumbles on the other. The pineapple had sprinkles of salt. The flavor profiles tickled my tongue. Perfect on this 88 degree day. Truly worth a visit!

Amazing! Was looking for a bit to eat around and came across this place. Didn't want to sit outside…read morewith my baby so I asked one of them if there's an available table inside and he said 10 mins. Perfect, 10 mins later and there was a table. Food was incredible! Meatballs are good, not used to this type of sauce for the meatballs but tried something new and it was delicious! I feel like everything on the menu are so good!

Due to its proximity to our hotel and the high reviews, my wife and I decided to have our inaugural…read moretapas experience, and honestly, it did not disappoint. In Spain, I still get confused about seating. "Is this place a seat-yourself place or a wait-to-be-seated place?" Sometimes it is hard to tell; therefore, to avoid an awkward encounter by making a command decision, I stand in one central place awkwardly blocking the waitress/waiter until they tell me what to do. Thank God for my wife, though, who makes the decision and just sits. Luckily, she was right. This is one of those just-sit-and-wait-for-the-waitress places. Now, before you order know that you are welcome to take a look inside at the food. Also, know that some items on the menu are not available at certain times of the day (I'm sorry but I'm still in the dark as to what those items are). Nevertheless, they have a great selection of tapas (midday snacks, translation curiosity of me). The great thing about this place is that there are zero tapas and drinks that breach the €6 mark. In fact, everything we got was under €3.75. Our most expensive item was the tortilla de patata, which was deliciously proportioned (a great ratio of runny to solid). Not only was the food and drink very cheap but it was also delicious. We tried a smorgasbord of tapas. I did not necessarily delight in all the tapas, some were just not my bag baby. However, others were definitely my bag (see pictures for details). In total, we got 6 tapas and five drinks and only paid €27. Overall, this is definitely a great spot for tapas. Whether you're out with your date or you're bringing the kids along for the ride, this little place off Calle de Serrano is perfect to break the seal on your first tapas experience. Enjoy!