12 Best Places to Eat in Madrid, Spain
Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.
Eating your way around Madrid-as-a-base means two menus: the city’s own classics, and a set of regional dishes you’ll only find properly done out in the day-trip towns. Sobrino de Botín near Plaza Mayor is the anchor, founded in 1725 and holding the Guinness World Record for the oldest continuously operating restaurant on earth. From there, this list spreads out to Segovia’s cochinillo, Toledo’s marzipan, and Chinchón’s anis, the dishes that make a multi-day central-Spain trip taste different from a straight city break. Check rates on Booking.com for a base near Plaza Mayor, most of the Madrid picks below are walkable from there.
12 places to eat, at a glance
| Pick | Dish | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sobrino de Botín | Cochinillo asado (est. 1725) | Near Plaza Mayor, Madrid |
| Casa Lucio | Huevos rotos, cochinillo | La Latina, Madrid |
| Malacatín | Cocido madrileño | La Latina, Madrid (est. 19th century) |
| La Ideal / La Campana | Bocadillo de calamares | Calle Botoneras, near Plaza Mayor |
| Chocolatería San Ginés | Churros con chocolate | Pasadizo de San Ginés, since 1894 |
| A Cava Baja crawl | Tapas | La Latina, Madrid |
| DiverXO | Tasting menu, 3 Michelin stars | Chamartín (relocated, not Centro) |
| Mesón de Cándido | Cochinillo asado | Segovia |
| Marzipan from Santo Tomé | Mazapán de Toledo | Toledo |
| A Chinchón anis bar | Anis liqueur | Chinchón’s Plaza Mayor |
| Casa José | Regional Spanish tasting menu | Aranjuez |
| A menú del día lunch | 3-course set lunch, €10-16 | Any neighbourhood, Mon-Fri only |
Sobrino de Botín, the classic first meal
If you eat at only one historic restaurant in Madrid, make it this one. Sobrino de Botín, near Plaza Mayor, was founded in 1725 and holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest continuously operating restaurant, it celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2025. The signature dish is cochinillo asado, whole roast suckling pig, cooked in the same wood-fired oven the restaurant has used for centuries. Reserve ahead, this isn’t a walk-up-and-wait kind of place, and go hungry.
Cocido madrileño and huevos rotos in La Latina
Malacatín, a fourth-generation, 19th-century restaurant in La Latina, is the name to know for cocido madrileño, the slow-simmered chickpea, meat and vegetable stew that’s arguably Madrid’s true signature dish, served the traditional way in three courses from one pot. It’s cooked slowly, so reserve rather than walk in expecting a table. Casa Lucio, also in La Latina, is the other essential stop, famous for huevos rotos (fried eggs broken over crispy potatoes) alongside its own excellent cochinillo.
Churros at 3am, the honest way
Chocolatería San Ginés, tucked down Pasadizo de San Ginés since 1894, is the real “3am churros after a night out” spot, open 24 hours Thursday through Saturday and roughly 08:00-23:45 the rest of the week. Thick, dark drinking chocolate with a plate of fried churros is the whole point, no need to overthink the order.
A Cava Baja tapas crawl
Cava Baja in La Latina is Madrid’s classic tapas street, roughly 300 metres and 50-plus bars. Go early, around 20:00, for counter space at Casa Lucas or Casa Julio (order the croquetas), then work your way down the street rather than committing to one stop. If you want a genuinely local counterpoint to the tourist-heavy version of this crawl, Calle Ponzano in Chamberí is where more Madrileños actually go, worth a second night if you’re staying long enough.
DiverXO, if you’re going all in
Chef Dabiz Muñoz’s three-Michelin-star DiverXO relocated a few years back and now sits inside the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding in Chamartín, not near Plaza Mayor or Centro as some older guides still say. It’s tasting-menu only, roughly €365 per person, and bookings open at midnight on the 1st of the month for the following month, selling out within minutes on diverxo.com. Know this one going in: it’s a splurge, not a casual dinner.
Mesón de Cándido, Segovia’s cochinillo institution
If your trip includes a Segovia day trip, save your appetite. Mesón de Cándido and Restaurante José María are the two names locals and guidebooks agree on for cochinillo asado done properly, and the tradition here (the pig carved tableside with the edge of a plate, to demonstrate how tender it is) is as much theatre as meal.
Toledo’s marzipan tradition
Toledo’s contribution isn’t a restaurant, it’s a sweet: mazapán de Toledo, almond-and-sugar confectionery with roots traced to the city’s convents. The area around Santo Tomé (also home to El Greco’s The Burial of the Count of Orgaz) has several long-running marzipan shops worth a stop between sightseeing stops, this is the souvenir to bring home instead of another fridge magnet.
Chinchón’s anis, an afternoon ritual
Chinchón, the wooden-balconied town about an hour from Madrid by bus, is built around its anís liqueur tradition. A slow lunch on the circular Plaza Mayor followed by a glass of anís at one of the town’s bars is the whole point of the trip, don’t rush it.
What’s the smartest way to eat cheaply in Madrid?
The menú del día, a 3-course set lunch running roughly €10-16 at most neighbourhood restaurants (more like €20-30 right around Plaza Mayor and Sol). It’s only available Monday-Friday, roughly 13:00-15:30, and it’s the single best budget lever on the food side of a trip here.
Do you need to book restaurants in advance?
For Sobrino de Botín, Malacatín and DiverXO, yes, all three routinely turn people away without a reservation, especially on weekends. Cava Baja tapas bars and the day-trip restaurants in Segovia and Chinchón are more walk-up friendly, though a phone reservation for Mesón de Cándido on a Saturday is still worth making. If you’d rather have a local walk you through it, browse Madrid food and tapas tours that combine several of these stops in one evening.
One concrete tip: eat dinner at 21:00 at the earliest. Kitchens in traditional Madrid restaurants often aren’t fully open before then, and a place serving a full menu at 18:00 near Plaza Mayor or Sol is set up for tourists, not locals.
Planning the wider trip? See the Madrid base guide and the best day trips from Madrid .