Madrid is a beautiful destination, but the ups and downs of its streets can be a challenge. Even the most well-prepared travellers need to recharge their batteries after a day of sightseeing and museums.
Knowing that there are a multitude of good restaurants in Madrid, there is a wealth of choice and varied cuisine, how do you decide where to eat in the capital? What are the best and newest restaurants in Madrid?
Check out our sixteen best tapas bars and restaurants in Madrid near the most famous attractions. From ready-made snacks to elegant Michelin-starred dinners, it will be a memorable culinary journey.
The best restaurants in Madrid
Restaurants that have recently opened their doors and are currently on everyone's lips. These are the best restaurants in Madrid, the ones that everyone will be talking about in the coming months.
It is not easy to draw up a guide to the best restaurants in Madrid. If there's one thing the capital stands out for, it's its wide and varied gastronomic offer, with options for all tastes and budgets.
However, it is always useful to review the openings of the last few months and make a varied selection of restaurants that are really worthwhile. Thus, this selection includes new spaces of starred chefs, surprising proposals, restaurants that bet on exotic flavours and others that make the quality of the product, their hobbyhorse.
If you don't know them yet, take note. Here are the best restaurants in Madrid (recently opened) that deserve a visit in the coming months.
1. Mar Mía
The restaurant we will always recommend (and one of the best gastronomic proposals of the year).
What's so special about it? If we had to choose the best restaurant in Madrid in 2022, Mar Mía would certainly be one of the main candidates for the top spot.
Located inside the brand new Ocean Drive Hotel, this project is the result of the union of Manero, Estimar and Casa Elías and its proposal brings the best of the sea to the table, although it also has an interesting meat-based proposal -. It offers several specialities that explore the delights of the sea in all its versions: from the salted egg board to open the mouth, to fried fish, to the best quality seafood and caviar presented in different versions -we highlight, as a must, the tasting of clams or the grilled red shrimp from Huelva.
For the main course, the most popular dishes are rice, vegetable or snail and rabbit dishes, and large grilled fish.
All this, plus an excellent selection of wines, makes Mar Mía a must for those staying in Madrid who want to get closer to the sea, if only for the palate.
- Where is it located? Plaza de Isabel II, 7.
2. Oroya
A trip to Peru from the city's most pleasant terrace.
What's so special about it? A rooftop terrace in the heart of the capital, crowning the Madrid Edition building, the most acclaimed hotel opening of 2022, and where vegetation invades every corner, makes this the most pleasant terrace in the capital, yes, even in this particularly hot July.
In this oasis, a sensory journey takes place thanks to the menu designed by the captain of the Oroya, the famous Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz.
His menu includes classic Peruvian cuisine fused with Asian, African and Mediterranean influences. Amongst all his dishes, sea bass ceviche and pan bao of lacquered bacon with pickles are two must-try dishes.
All this is accompanied by a wide variety of signature cocktails made with pisco. A sensory experience worth having in this tropical haven in the centre of Madrid.
- Where is it located? Plaza de Celenque, 2.
3. Casa Isabella: the home of 'la nonna' in Madrid
What's so special about it? The first thing that strikes you on entering Casa Isabella is its decoration. A meticulous interior design, where every corner is worth photographing and which changes on each of the floors that make up the restaurant.
The menu offers a combination of local classics and typical Italian dishes. But the star of the house is the spaggetti carbonara finished with a wheel of pecorino cheese. To finish, a lemon sorbet or one of their homemade ice creams crowns a meal that feels like being at the nonna's house.
- Where can you find us? Calle de Puigcerdá, 4.
4. Amós: a bite of Cantabria in the heart of the Castellana
What's so special about it? Dishes such as Cantabrian anchovies, perfect caramelised duck on a sponge cake with black olives or hake loin with green sauce have made chef Jesús Sánchez's new restaurant a reference point for Cantabrian cuisine in Madrid.
Its treatment of seasonal products, the reputation of the chef at the helm and the setting of the Rosewood Villamagna Hotel make Amós one of the best restaurants in the capital. Go there and try it, you won't regret it.
- Where is it located? Paseo de la Castellana, 22.
5. Mudrá: the restaurant that will change the concept of "vegetable base" forever.
What's so special about it? Mudrá is chef Matthew Kenney's first project in our country. Located in Recoletos Street, this vegan restaurant is nothing like the vegan establishments we are used to.
Its menu mixes trends, is avant-garde and fuses cuisines from all over the world with the aim of showing that a more sustainable diet is possible without giving up a great gastronomic experience. A new concept that breaks down all the clichés. And all of this in an absolutely idyllic setting: the decor is by no means inferior.
- Where can you find us? Calle de Recoletos, 13.
6. Jerónimo: a Mexican restaurant in the most beautiful hotel in Madrid
What's so special about it? The Madrid edition has become the most talked about opening of the year. A luxury hotel with a contemporary design that is unlike any other hotel in the capital.
Inside is Jerónimo, one of the hotel's five gastronomic concepts, run by Enrique Olvera, who brilliantly executes traditional Mexican cuisine using the best local produce.
The must-tries are the lobster tostada salpicón, the guacamole, one of the best in the city, the shrimp gringas al pastor and the cochinita pibil. All this, combined with a wide variety of mezcals and cocktails, makes for a complete experience.
- Where? Plaza de las Descalzas.
7. Elkar: a Basque restaurant in the Madrid sky
What's so special about it? A restaurant run by two Basque chefs (one of whom has a Michelin star) and located on top of one of the four towers of the Castellana. With this letter of introduction, there are plenty of reasons to confirm that this is a place not to be missed.
Sergio Ortiz de Zárate and Beñat Ormaetxea prepare a continuous menu with four hands, where the protagonist is the product. Their objective is simple and ambitious at the same time: to ensure that the customer eats well and has a quality gastronomic experience (the views play their part).
8. Terracotta: a new restaurant where every detail borders on excellence.
What's so special about it? From the decoration, which evokes nature and contributes to a warm and welcoming atmosphere, to the cocktails, studied in great detail to make exceptional cocktails, and, of course, the food. This new restaurant located in the emblematic Calle Velázquez offers an experience for all five senses.
A complete menu where all the dishes reach excellence: from prawn tartar on roasted leek to rice socarrat with lime aioli, fried squid brioche, scrambled eggs with tuna tartar or lemon pie. Honestly, you shouldn't miss it.
- Where is it located? Calle de Velázquez, 80.
9. ISA: a five-star gastrobar
What's so special about it? Inside Madrid's luxurious Four Seasons is this gastrobar whose Asian-inspired cocktails, created by Madrid's Miguel Pérez, have become the stars of the capital's afterwork scene.
It opened on 9 December, but these few weeks have been enough to position the ISA as one of Madrid's trendiest places. The offer is complemented by a gastronomic offer of fusion tapas with Asian and Mediterranean influences.
- Where: Calle de Sevilla, 3
10. La Única: the triumph of Mediterranean cuisine
What's so special about it? Mexican tradition merges with Mediterranean flavours in one of the most promising openings of the season. This is the first restaurant of the La Única group, which after triumphing in Colombia and Mexico has come to Spain with this concept that mixes the best of here and there.
Chef Andrés Madrigal is at the helm of a menu that includes such striking (and delicious) dishes as Sepúlveda suckling pig taco, red shrimp quesadilla, txangurro lasagna with fried crab or tuna tartar with marrow. All in a spectacular setting with a décor that invites you to stay inside forever.
- Where to find it Calle de Claudio Coello, 10.
11. Indiano: Mexican haute cuisine -much more than just tacos-.
What's so special about it? "We wanted to get away from the taco and the cochinita pibil. We don't eat everything with the soft corn tortilla either, it can be grilled, which gives it a smokier taste.
It is a variety that still has a place in the recipes of traditional cooks," says Rita Sánchez, chef and soul of the Indiano restaurant. Ceviches, aguachiles, stews and margaritas make up an affordable and relaxed proposal that surprises both by its flavour and its presentation.
-Where: Calle de Claudio Coello, 70
12. BAAN: the most authentic Asian restaurant in the capital
What's so special about it? Its dishes manage to bring the true flavour of South-East Asian dishes into a sophisticated and carefully decorated space in Madrid's most popular neighbourhood. The dishes, created by chef Víctor Camargo, are inspired by traditional recipes from countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines and China.
Some of its must-try dishes include Iberian pork dumplings, chicken nem ran, pad thai with Iberian pork and, of course, its wide variety of curries. BAAN's cocktail bar is also the star of the show. Do you still need a reason to check it out?
- Where to go? Calle de Villanueva, 2
13. Firewood: the embers of Dani García
What's so special about him? Everything Dani García touches automatically becomes a trend, and the latest launches of his eponymous label are a clear example. Last September, the Málaga chef opened the doors of Smoked Room and Leña, two different spaces in one location with a common thread: smoke.
The first, more focused on haute cuisine with an ember tasting menu (it received two Michelin stars just six months after opening). Leña, on the other hand, is a steakhouse that offers Madrilenians an irresistible duality: the balance between Dani García's technique and honesty and respect for the product.
- Where to find it: Paseo de la Castellana, 57
14. Fayer
A blend of the flavours of Israeli cuisine and the best of Argentine grilled meats, along with a carefully designed décor by interior designer Alejandra Pombo, are the key elements of Fayer's successful formula.
Its star dishes include the award-winning pastrami sandwich, empanadas criollas, Mediterranean dishes such as falafel, hummus or babaganush, and, of course, the best grilled meat, vegetables and fish. The icing on the cake is a space that offers exclusivity and privacy.
- Where to find it: Calle de Orfila, 7
15. Villa Verbena: the ideal place to spend a day in the countryside (without leaving the capital).
What's so special about it? First of all, the location. Being able to enjoy a meal on a sunny day or summer evening in front of the Casa de Campo lake is a luxury that this restaurant offers without being too far from the centre of Madrid.
If there is one thing the TriCiclo group knows how to do, it is to create menus that adapt to the space and, always, with the product as the protagonist.
Thus, at Villa Verbena, you can enjoy dishes such as grilled artichokes, homemade croquettes, cochinita pibil tacos, Normandy oysters or oxtail cannelloni with mushroom sauce and truffled Pecorino (one of the hits of the menu).
It opened in spring 2021 but has all the ingredients to remain one of the best places to eat in Madrid.
- Where to find it Paseo de Maria Teresa, 3
16. Zuma Madrid: Japanese food (and cocktails) paradise
What's so special about it? After triumphing in cities such as London, New York, Dubai and Hong Kong, the restaurant Zuma arrived in Madrid on 15 December with the aim of offering a unique gastronomic experience.
Behind the gastronomic proposal of Zuma Madrid is the chef Javier Blanco, who is responsible for bringing the gastronomic delights of the menu to life.
The menu includes dishes such as beef sirloin spiced with sesame, red pepper and sweet soy, marinated black cod wrapped in hoba leaf or jumbo tiger prawns with yuzu and pepper.
In this new restaurant, located in the emblematic Plaza de Colón, the cocktail bar also plays a fundamental role. Quality sushi, signature cocktails and surprising flavours, what more could you want from an opening?
- Where to go? Paseo de la Castellana, 2
Favourite
As I'm curious and want to try new things, my favourite is Casa Isabella, where you can enjoy local cuisine with a combination of Italian cuisine, it's a treat!
FAQ
- What is the most prestigious restaurant in Madrid?
The most prestigious restaurant in Madrid is DiverXO. With three Michelin stars and award-winning chef David Muñoz at the helm, it is one of the most exclusive restaurants in the Spanish capital.
- What is the most famous dish in Madrid?
It's impossible to forget the classic dishes such as potato tortilla, grilled pig's ear, snails Madrid-style and huevos estrellados (fried eggs and potatoes), which are the most common and traditional tapas found on Madrid's menus.
- When should I dine in Madrid?
As dinner is quite late in Madrid, from around 9pm onwards, you might get hungry on the way! If you fancy something sweet, try one of Madrid's great bakeries for a late afternoon pastry to tide you over.
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