Restaurants in Madrid where you can eat alone
The Dutch restaurant pioneered this idea of making solo dining easy and comfortable. Because let's be honest going to eat alone at a place attracts the attention of many curious people, it is something socially uncomfortable, a whole stigma that makes you feel like a weirdo . And yet, it is becoming more and more common. In cities like Ottawa in Canada or San Diego in the United States, there are restaurants where cooks are instructed to interact with customers (as in Top of the Market), where the small table layout and bars are magnets for lonely diners and where menus are made with smaller plates (as it happens in the Beckta restaurant). There are even websites like Solo Dining where they recommend the best places to go out to eat without company in different parts of Canada and the United States.
Here it is only reserved for one.
At Traveler we believe that eating alone in a restaurant has many advantages: you disconnect from your social circle and dedicate a little more time to yourself (and your stomach). It is also an opportunity to meet new people, chat with strangers and open your mind. And in Madrid, we have found good restaurants, bars and cafes where you can put it into practice. Of course, you choose where to sit: at shared tables, at small and more intimate tables or at the bar.
COMMUNITY TABLES: THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET PEOPLE
** SOUP ** _(Nieremberg, 23) _
This café, which is also a small macrobiotic store with jewelry (a curious mix), is perfect for eating alone and meeting people. They have a large wooden table with stools, magazines and a simple and delicious vegan menu. Natural light and a good atmosphere for a healthy meal and a chat with your "neighbor" next door. They serve delicious winter and summer soups, basmati rice, couscous, vegetable cakes, Japanese food (every Tuesday) and heart-stopping desserts. Don't leave without trying their carrot cake.
LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN (Fuencarral, 95; Velázquez, 92, etc.)
"Long enough for everyone to sit and narrow enough for everyone to talk" , such are the communal tables of the Le Pain Quotidien chain, converted into a hallmark of identity in the premises of this delicious bakery. Only quality bread comes out of their ovens, with organic ground flour and a mother dough that they pamper from the first moment, giving it their time. Here is precisely the secret of its crispy and tasty breads yes With the same philosophy, they prepare homemade recipes that they serve in a home environment where you will never feel alone. Try their red quinoa detox with kale, their guacamole tartine or their semolina risotto with mushrooms and truffle sauce. you will freak out
The communal table at Le Pain Quotidien
Yakitoro (Queen, 41)
To speak of Yakitoro is to speak of the media chef Alberto Chicote, architect of the project. He is inspired by a traditional Japanese tavern where everything is cooked over charcoal in front of diners . His specialty is grilled skewers with all kinds of ingredients, known in Japan as Yakitori. The arrangement of their wooden tables is another thing that they have imported from Asian culture, where it is very common to share a table with people you do not know. The tables are well packed, touching each other, as if they were a continuous table. An original detail that we really like is the central bottle rack on each table where you can leave your drinks immersed in ice.
OLIVIA TAKE CARE OF YOU (Saint Theresa, 8)
This small restaurant is another must for those who are going to eat alone and do not mind sharing a table with other diners. Here they can do it as if they were in their living room. And it is that its simple decoration provides that touch of warmth that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. . Decorated with straight lines and antique furniture, its large communal metal table occupies the center of the place where they serve delicious and very healthy recipes: salads, couscous, vegetables, pasta, organic bread... And as a final touch, healthy desserts.
as if you were at home
**SMALL TABLES: LOOKING FOR PRIVACY (OR NOT) **
** VERBENA BAR ** _(Velarde, 24) _
A traditional but modern bar where you can eat alone and feel very comfortable is Verbena Bar, next to Plaza Dos de Mayo. They have small tables and a bar with stools under a very kitsch decoration. Your waiters have conversation in abundance and their cuisine is delicious. Their specialty is tapas, although at noon they prepare dishes such as a delicious tuna tataki with Chinese noodles and vegetables, sea bass en papillote with Thai vegetables or chicken breast stuffed with vegetables, basil and cheese. Another of its strengths is your late breakfast, which they call 'Feten Breakfasts at a Feten Price'. Perfect to enjoy alone or in company.
** ABONAVIDA ** (Navas de Tolosa, 3)
In the heart of Madrid, this eco cafeteria-bar has its reason for being in sustainability and fair trade. Its small tables by the window are ideal to enjoy a little bit of privacy, leave your gaze lost and think about our things . Another plus: here they serve the healthiest sandwiches, pizzas and quiches that exist. All with organic bread and lots of vegetables. In addition to being a most welcoming bar, it is a shop for organic products and a space where they organize social and cultural activities on the ground floor.
a sustainable restaurant
LAMBUZO BAR _(Las Conchas, 9; Ponzano, 8) _
With its whitewashed walls and its visible cellar that reaches the ceiling, this Cadiz tavern is another of our favorite places to go alone to fill your stomach. We love its Andalusian atmosphere, its high tables with stools and its menu of homemade Andalusian cuisine with the option to order half portions. Our favourites: the garlic prawn croquettes (six come in the half portion), the mojama with pepper, lime and oil, and the aubergines with cane honey. If you are one of those who eat for two, you have it easy. Ask for the full portion. They also have a small grocery store where you can buy authentic Andalusian products.
** LA MARUCA ** _(Velázquez, 54) _
La Maruca is another perfect restaurant to go alone. Actually, it could go into any of the three categories we've divided these solo restaurants into. On one side it has a fantastic communal table, which seems to be the border between two worlds. They also have a splendid bar where you can have a snack and some high tables, which look like small oases for those who want to isolate themselves from the rest . The restaurant, signed by Paco Quirós, is elegant, welcoming and offers an enviable menu at reasonable prices. We love their cecina de Liébana with foie shavings, their heifer tartare with freshly fried potatoes, their cod brandade fritters and their tuna tacos with piperrada.
La Maruca, also without company
AND IN THE BAR
CUTTING ROOM (Ponzano, 11)
The Cutting Room is an experience in itself. It seems that we are in a butcher shop and not in a restaurant. With a high-quality market kitchen and a decor where pristine white rules, here you will find hooks, knives, polystyrene boxes, work boots... Everything reminiscent of the profession of a butcher and a fishmonger! The letter looks like a delivery note and a huge 10 meter bar of white polyethylene emulates the work table of a slaughterhouse. And it is right there where these masters cook and where the diner (alone or accompanied) tastes his wonderful food.
LADY MADONNA (Orellana, 6)
A restaurant that conquers for its decoration and its menu is Lady Madonna. A small space but very well used, with various environments and lights that make you feel super comfortable. They have small tables so you can eat alone, although our favorite place is their bar with high stools. Not where the waiters serve, but the bars that are just when you enter the place. Their menu is very varied, tasty and healthy. You can order a half portion of Iberian cheek croquettes and their juice (there are three and they are spectacular), their quinoa salad if you are looking for something light, their truffled free-range egg (ask for bread and snatch it well), their boletus risotto, shitakes and trigeros or their baby back ribs with barbecue glaze. You have a lot to choose from. And all rich rich.
better at the bar
ATLANTIC BAR _(Gravine, 17) _
To speak of Barra Atlántica is to speak of Galicia and its best seafood. Because what we find in this modern seafood restaurant is precisely that: quality and good delicacies brought from the sea, as if we were in the same Galician fish market. If you go alone you have two options: go to their bar, the appetizer area, where you can eat a little bit of everything; or its traditional dining room, where there is a long table for 20 seats. Of course, here you already have to ask for a menu. If you come back another time with friends, remember that on the ground floor they have another private dining room, perfect for sharing a good seafood platter.
BUSY (Ponzano, 1)
If you are looking for a place where they serve quality tapas, Trajín is your place. In this small and elegant place in Chamberí they serve some signature pinchos to take off their hats. If you go alone, you can sit at the bar and chat with the waiters, dressed in caps and impeccable aprons; O well you can isolate yourself from the rest of the world on one of the high tables facing the windows next to the pots. In its menu you will find pintxos and raciones: you cannot leave without trying its rice with octopus in false charcoal, its Peruvian ceviche or its mini beef and foie burger. For dessert: their oreo cake will make you cry with emotion.
Good author tapas
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