A food lover’s guide to Madrid and the best places to dine out

By Rebecca Caughey

NZ Herald·

29 May, 2024 07:00 PM6 mins to read

Madrid is quite easily the best place to eat in Europe. Photo / Unsplash

From traditional tapas bars to avant-garde gastronomy, Madrid’s culinary scene is a dynamic mosaic of flavours, aromas and textures, writes Rebecca Caughey

With its pop art exterior and canary yellow-tiled bar, Golda is a bundle of energy. A cafe, bar and restaurant known for strong coffee and its pistachio cookies, the place is jumping all day long, and the perfect place for a pick-me-up for a weary traveller.

Located in the heart of Madrid’s city centre, Golda is a golden metaphor for the Spanish capital — a city perpetually abuzz with activity and an energy that envelops you, picks you up and takes you with it. Just as well, then, that Madrid’s food scene is jam-packed with limitless opportunities to refuel. The city boasts an incredible culinary landscape made up of down-and-dirty casual spots, Michelin-starred fine dining, and everything in between.

Breakfast: Start the day with caffeine, sweet treats and nuns

Kick-starting your day in Madrid with a local caffeine fix is essential. Along with the aforementioned Golda, Acid Bakehouse is leading the charge of must-visit cafes in Spain’s largest city. Known for the best sourdough in Madrid, it has a great coffee selection and a range of pastries, including a moreish cinnamon scroll.

Madrilenos love their sweet treats. A must-do is San Gines, which has been serving mugs of thick chocolate with churros 24 hours a day since 1894. Although these aren’t the best churros in the city, the place is an institution that must be visited. The queues are long but move quickly, and this is a nice late-morning stop because in Madrid, churros isn’t a dessert, it’s a great treat any time of the day.

Recognised for serving the best sourdough in Madrid, Acid Bakehouse also boasts a formidable selection of pastries, including a highly praised cinnamon scroll, alongside their coffee. Photo / Rebecca Caughey

If you’re after a sweet to take away, Monasterio del Corpus Christi is a fabulous experience. Here you can buy cookies directly from cloistered nuns in a monastery that dates back to 1607. The nuns are strictly forbidden from contact with the outside world, so have designed an ingenious system to get their cookies to the public. Visitors ring the buzzer and when the nuns are ready, they let you into the halls of the convent. Once you choose your cookies — I went for a classic almond biscuit — you put your money on a turntable and the nun on the other side rotates it so that your money disappears and is replaced by freshly baked biscuits. You leave with fresh baking in hand and no nuns were seen in the process.

A historical institution since 1894, San Gines delights patrons with its thick chocolate and churros available 24/7. Despite long queues, the experience of enjoying a churro any time of the day makes it a must-visit spot. Photo / Rebecca Caughey

Lunchtime: Paella, food markets and fine dining

El almuerzo, or lunch, in Madrid takes centre stage, beginning about 2pm. The favoured dining option for residents is menu del dia, a set menu offered at many restaurants. Typically, it starts with bread, olives or nuts and a beverage, with the next course focused on vegetables and legumes. The meal progresses to a local protein or a traditional chickpea stew, concluding with a sweet dessert. The set menu costs €12-€15 (NZ$21-$26), so is great value. At Taberna La Fragua de Vulcano, I ordered a classic Spanish paella filled with mussels, prawns, chicken and vegetables, a dish that originated from Valencia, just because you can’t visit Spain without eating paella.

No visit to Madrid is complete without a trip to Mercado de San Miguel, the brimming iconic food market that welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year. Here you can indulge in incredible food on the fly, making it a great choice for a quick, casual lunch. Freshly shucked oysters, antipasto, and an assortment of local artisanal cheeses are recommended, eaten at bar leaners with an aperitivo. The vibrant atmosphere makes it the perfect spot to immerse yourself in Madrid’s food culture.

Offering a quintessential Spanish dining experience with its menu del dia, Taberna La Fragua de Vulcano is celebrated for its authentic Valencian paella, rich with seafood and local flavours. Photo / Rebecca Caughey

For the ultimate fine-dining experience, Madrid boasts 26 Michelin-starred restaurants and many of them are open for lunch. DiverXO is the jewel in Madrid’s fine-dining crown and holds three Michelin stars, no mean feat. You pay for the privilege: €395 for the tasting menu. But if you want to try some of the best dishes in the world, I’d argue that it’s worth the investment because it’s an experience like no other. The interior of DiverXO is decorated with flying pigs and huge chrome ants and it delivers a visionary tasting menu of edible theatre. The brainchild of innovative genius chef Dabiz Munoz, whose imaginative and daring creations are constantly pushing gastronomic boundaries, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime meal from one of the best chefs in the world.

Dinner: Tapas, Iberian ham and Guinness World Records

As the sun sets over Madrid, residents head to bustling outdoor terraces known as terrazas, where lively conversation flows freely amidst glasses of Vermouth and plates of tapas. At Taberna Real, I enjoyed a glass of Vermouth paired with an unassuming-looking plate of Iberian ham. Originating from free-roaming pigs nourished on acorns, it’s served alone and is perfect as is because there is a beauty and complexity in its simplicity.

Taberna Real is a delightful place to enjoy the simple yet profound flavours of Iberian ham, served as it is to highlight its exquisite quality derived from acorn-fed, free-roaming pigs. Photo / Rebecca Caughey

At La Casa Del Abuelo, I sampled another quintessential Madrid delight: succulent shrimp infused with garlic and chilli, a dish that has graced its menu since 1906. Served piping hot, the shrimp arrived bubbling with heat, accompanied by bread to soak up the flavourful garlic butter.

For a meal steeped in history, Restaurant Botin in the heart of Madrid is one to put on your to-do list. It was established in 1725, and proudly holds the Guinness World Records title of world’s oldest restaurant. Immortalised in the pages of Ernest Hemingway’s novels and whispered to have been a haunt of the esteemed artist Francisco de Goya, Botin oozes historical charm. Order the signature roast suckling pig and soak up the atmos while you wait for your dinner.

Established in 1725 and holding the Guinness World Record for the world's oldest restaurant, Botin is steeped in history and offers a mesmerising experience with its signature roast suckling pig, deeply intertwined with the cultural heritage of Madrid. Photo / Rebecca Caughey

Don’t forget the drinks

“If you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars,” Hemingway said, and this wisdom holds true in Madrid. Around the Grand Via there are a plethora of rooftop bars that are the best way to view the incredible architecture of the city. Because my daughter is named Ella, I couldn’t go past Ella rooftop bar, but the most famous, and one of the most visited buildings in Madrid, is the Círculo de Bellas Artes. Opened in 1880 by a small group of artists, it is one of the most important private cultural centres in Europe, and its rooftop terrace bar offers spectacular views of Madrid.

I discovered incredible cocktails at Salmon Guru in Madrid’s Literary Quarter, including The Salmon Sherbert — a gin, Pimms and pomegranate cocktail served with a lemon sorbet. Drawing inspiration from the salmon’s upstream journey, this bar defies convention, serving up a decor that blends retro vibes with contemporary flair and a dash of neon quirkiness, and cocktails that are a surreal mix of flavour and imagination. The cocktail menu showcases founder Diego Cabrera’s mastery as a drinks alchemist, and I returned twice in five days to sample his incredible creations.