24 hours eating in Madrid
We know: rushing is not good, and less when it comes to eating . But it has happened to all of us at some point, to be with the right time in a city and want to gobble it up until there are no bones left. TRUE? So let's start with Madrid : here is our proposal for eat the city in 24 hours . Who dares?
08 a.m. Breakfast
8 a.m. It is a very good time to start the day with A good breakfast , and a mythical place for a first coffee is the Commercial Coffee _(Glorieta de Bilbao, 7. Coffee with churros price €2.20) _, a centenarian whose face has been washed with the help of the capital's fashion interior design studio ( Madrid in Love ) .
Their morning cheers are one of those that set a precedent for the whole day and They set the bar very high for what comes next. Yes, if you are a true coffee world freak and you prefer something more fourth generation, better drop by rebel cafe _(Ponzano, 90. Average price for coffee €2) _, an open space on the street with the most gastronomic life in Madrid. You will go for their specialty coffees, but you will repeat for their carrot cakes. Sure.
Few things make us as happy as the cheers at the Café Comercial
12 noon Brunch or appetizer
Ok, we know that the ** brunch ** is one of the big hits of the moment -especially if 08:00 in the morning seemed too early to get going-, so if you are one of those who opts for this option, go a Federal Coffee _(Conde de Barajas, 3 or Plaza de Comendadoras, 9. Average price: €15) _.
They don't have a closed brunch menu, but on their menu you can find sweet and savory proposals to combine with detox drinks and juices . What does this mean? what can you brunch every day! Eggs benedictine and avocado toast are the most requested in this café with a healthy philosophy and Australian inspiration.
Interior of the Federal Café in Conde de Barajas
Also served daily is the **Brunch of Nubel** _(Argumosa, 43. Price €15) _, the gastronomic mega-space that seems to be drawing from a future inspired by the 1920s, opened on the ground floor of the Reina Sofia Museum . Here yes there is a brunch menu , to choose between five specifically, with dishes as forceful as migas, fried eggs with potatoes and Iberian ham, or potato omelette , besides benedictine, of course.
But, if the roll is more for you castizo of the aperitif , we are going to propose an infallible place to go to take the vermouth . This is one that is a bit out of the ordinary. Since you come with just enough time to enjoy the city, the ideal thing is that you leave with something more than the taste of traditional squid sandwich , No?.
And you find that in The girls, the boys and the mannequins _(Atocha, 49. Vermouth and aperitif average price €10) _, one of the openings of the season inspired by the 80's scene , present even in the letter, with which they are not cut and they even pay tribute to Massiel herself (with some bravas that are addicted).
In addition to the restaurant, they have a aperitif and vermouth bar open all day, with a menu that ranges from hermenegildas to pork rinds with corn powder or some Papa Luci Bom , with vinegar and sweet paprika from La Vera. Wow, tapas that look like the usual ones, but elaborated and presented like never before.
Steal tartar with crispy potato and parmesan
2 p.m. Food.
Go ahead, it is very difficult to choose among so many great proposals, just a few to recommend in one express visit to Madrid . But you have to try. And they are these.
If you like the thug and scoundrel , the first stop should be Arallo Tavern _(Reina, 31. Average price €30) _, a newcomer to the capital, but with a long history in A Coruña, where this concept of restaurant-bar in sight in which you can taste, in a totally informal way and without protocols -because they don't have, they hardly have cutlery- wonderful dishes that combine the best of Galician products with ingredients brought from Asia.
Among its proposals, nigiri croquettes of hake salpresa, or the highly requested cauliflower with coconut milk, kimchi and mussels. Of course, forget about booking, you must go and get a number, like you do in line at the fish market.
Cauliflower curry, the dish you have to order YES OR YES
If we continue with asian Trend, do not overlook I'm Kitchen _(Zurbano, 59. Average price €25) _, a fusion cuisine restaurant - Chinese and Spanish -, of author and consecrated to the good product. Eating a la carte at Julio's place -name by which everyone knows its owner and chef- is a pleasure, but it is even more so if you choose the bar to eat informally -and cheaper- some dim sum or a bao, totally handmade.
who likes more healthy or healthy , the choice must be Honest Greens _ (Paseo de la Castellana, 89. Average price: €11) _, as cared for on the outside as on the inside. Its menu consists of dishes made with ingredients that have been produced less than 100 kilometers from Madrid . That is the culinary honesty which this restaurant located in the financial area of the capital boasts.
That, and that most of the raw materials they work with are organic and of course seasonal. Needless to say, vegetarians, vegans and celiacs are more than welcome..
Marinated chicken breast with housemade chipotle sauce at Honest Greens
And in this same line, aball (Sandoval, 12. Menu price €10.90), smaller but with the same healthy and mediterranean food philosophy . Here you eat in a bowl, it is its great hallmark, healthy and very colorful dishes in which they mix -as if it were a very cool combined plate-, vegetables, cereals, legumes, nuts and of course some piece of protein.
We raise the level of forcefulness a little and we go for the pizzas . those of mom boy _(Recoletos, 10. Pizza €10 approx.) _ are causing a real furor, both in the stomach and on social networks: impossible to go unnoticed with that black dough (made with organic flour and charcoal) and very fine that characterizes them.
In terms of ingredients, they have managed to combine the best of Italy and Argentina (where their owners come from) with Galicia, where this concept of gourmet home cooking restaurant first emerged.
Note: for a first time, the Iberian with broken eggs is a surprise.
And already, from lost to the river, how about we mix the pizzas with the beers? There can be no better plan, especially if you are one of those who enjoy great craft beers. In Brew Wild Pizza Bar _(Echegray, 23. Average price €15) _ have seen it clearly and have decided to specialize only in that.
They bet on Sicilian-style pizzas , with doughs made on the premises -with its fermentation and everything- and to which ingredients from Italy are added. And for the signature beers, with 15 craft beer taps that do not stop rotating or pairing with each of the pizzas on the menu.
The last proposal is perhaps the most groundbreaking, although increasingly common: eat in the market If we had to choose just one of the many market restaurants that are proliferating, we would choose Kitchen 154 _(Vallehermoso, 36. Average price €15-20) _ in the Vallehermoso market.
Perfect if you like informal and, above all, spicy, as this restaurant boasts of being a hot and spicy food laboratory. You'll love it even more if you're into Southeast Asian cuisine, as it's their specialty. Don't let appearances fool you: the format is that of a tavern, yes, but its menu is tremendously gourmet. By the way, they have a new place on Calle Ruiz (between San Bernardo and Bilbao), at street level.
Hake Black Pepper
6:00 p.m. Afternoon snack
It's time to put something sweet in your mouth, which is what you want most in a snack. And we have two recommendations: the first, for the most classic, **consists of a coffee and croissants from La Duquesita ** (Fernando VI, 2. Croissant price €1.80), the mythical pastry shop that now runs the great and avant-garde Oriol Balaguer. His croissants have the privilege of having won the prize for the best in Spain and for that alone they are worth trying.
And for more daring and Japanese-inspired tastes, **some mochis filled with ice cream with matcha tea from Panda Patisserie ** (Mesonero Romanos, 17. Average price €6), the Japanese pastry from Hattori Hanzo restaurant . It is one of the only ones in Spain where you can have a snack as if you were in Tokyo itself, with dorayakis, cherry blossom macarons, craft drinks with black sesame and Japanese teas. And with that, all is said.
EXCELLENT snack
9:00 p.m. Dinner
And if at lunchtime it is difficult to choose, the same happens with dinner. But since the idea is that you leave Madrid with the feeling of having seen and eaten everything -and all the best-, the choice should be to try one of these restaurants.
fismuler _ (Sagasta, 29. Average price €35) _ is quite a discovery. Don't be fooled by its austere aesthetic - a lot of Nordic and industrial influence , because in the last restaurant open for Nino Redruello the food, of great quality, and the atmosphere, tremendously fun , are the most important: anchored in the market and seasonal cuisine, the menu is constantly changing, but if you happen to go and there is a fresh anchovy omelette with piparras, or a sea and mountain based on chickpeas, beef and lobsters, or think about it and treat yourself. By the way, if you see that you get involved and extend the table talk, order a cocktail and let yourself go.
Do you dare to enter Fismuler?
Another alternative is to drop by ponzano and choose from the many proposals on the street. We are left with one that never fails: Cutting room _(Ponzano, 11. Average price €30) _, perhaps the most original, daring and gastronomic place in the area -and even in Madrid, if you push me-. More than a restaurant, it is almost a slaughterhouse, a laboratory of very carnivorous and fishmonger operations -in this cutting room they like meat and fish in equal parts-, but in a good way, the thing is not going to get dirty (if you don't want to).
The letter, written as if it were a praise and in pen, is a tribute to the product, without a doubt, materialized in proposals such as the beef tenderloin with kimchi and Korean truffle , the tomato sirloin or the zenith steak, to eat it rolled up.
And as we know that there are many Japanese lovers, here is 'THE' proposal: 47 ronin (Jorge Juan, 38. Tasting menu price €72) , a gastronomic journey through Japan, from north to south, in which there is no trace of sushi. Here what rules is the Japanese culture made with the best raw material , the most traditional culinary techniques and, of course, innovation, in a kitchen in which, by the way, there is no fire (imagination and skill to power) .
In fact, if what you value is the price, you can choose something much more informal and different: how about some hotdogs? The ones he has been doing for several years in the capital paper boy _(Luchana, 11. Average price €10) _ can be described in many ways, except boring.
He makes them in the style of his native Venezuela, street and with many toppings , but yes, paying homage to different countries and their cuisines: there is the New York Times, with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and BBQ sauce, the ABC with sautéed cherry tomatoes or The National -El Diario de Venezuela-, with chopped onion, garlic sauce and cabbage. And always accompanied by fries.
And if what you prefer is to savor international street food in the same place and without getting up from the table, a good idea might be to go around My Kitxen _ (Hartzenbusch, 8. Average price €20) _, a modest restaurant that has conquered everyone with recipes that invite you to travel from Mexico, with its guacamole with pico de gallo, to China and its traditional chunjuan (pasta rolls) , going through the Caribbean and shrimp ceviches, the pad thai of Thai cuisine, the katsudon of Japan or even the British style fish & chips.
Recipes from Mexico to China
00h. and the cups
If Madrid is a vibrant city during the day, it is even more so at night. Where? For the first time it is essential to choose one of the trendy neighborhoods , and we are left with any of these three. Salesas -the hippest neighborhood of the moment- hosts a place as hospitable by day as sugar cane at night -the inspiration of the place is tremendously rock and glamorous-.
It is Barbara Ann _(Santa Teresa, 8. Price for cocktails from €7) _, a few meters from Plaza de Santa Bárbara, whose cocktail menu contains everything from the classics to the most daring signature proposals: from a Punk , with rum, mango, pineapple and a spicy touch, Revolution , made with bourbon, ginger and lime.
We head to the neighborhood of Las Letras, a must in this matter of going out to have a good time and, of course, we recommend Salmon Guru (Echegaray, 21. Price for cocktails €8), the latest proposal from the mixologist diego warrior in the capital. Yes, it is a cocktail bar, very much in the style of New York's 1960s, but it has rather little traditional: neither because of its aesthetics, quite eccentric and bright -it is full of neon lights-, nor because of the cocktail menu, in which you can find the great hits of Guerrero's cocktail bar -let's not forget that he was a bartender at Sergi Arola Gastro, with two Michelin Stars- , and other newly created. It is best to consult directly, because they even give you the possibility of making your own combination, to taste.
And finally we go to Malasaña, where everything happens. We chose a place that breaks with the molds and clichés, like The ideal (Estrella, 3. Price of cocktails €9), a place without shame and a lot of fun - a couple of Tuesdays a week they organize a bingo among the local customers, led by one of his partners, the television and hilarious Lorena Castell- , which makes it a place with a more than appropriate atmosphere to go out for drinks.
Classic cocktails are the thing here, from mojitos and bloody marys, to tequila sunrise and whiskey sour. In the background, the best music of recent decades, the best excuse to get carried away until the body can take it -or they close the joint at around 03:00-.
Good music, better cocktails