I was out in Huertas the other night, it was as busy as ever, in fact busier since PhotoEspaña had set up a huge slide show in the middle of Plaza Santa Ana. The first priority was getting some food and drink. Finding a place to eat in Huertas is easy, but finding a place you want to eat is another question altogether. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of decent places to eat here, there are just plenty more places at aren’t decent. Anyway, one place I’d recommend, if you’re looking for something reasonably basic, and pretty authentic is Prada a Tope. This is a chain of restaurants that started in the Bierzo, León in northern Spain, that serves (not surprisingly) food and wine from that region. This food very much reflects the Bierzo area and tends to be made of quality local ingredients which are hearty and strong flavored. Typical dishes include roasted red peppers, cecina (cured beef), chorizo (spicy cured sausage), good potatoes, deserts made with chestnuts and red wine made from the local, and I think pretty unique, Mencia grape.

Food at Prada a Tope is served in the tapas tradition, i.e. you share from plates at the center of the table. You should be able to fill up for about €20 per person. It gets very crowded on busy nights.

MADRID Príncipe
TIENDA CASA DE COMIDAS
Príncipe, 11
Tfno. 914 295 921
www.pradaatope.es
Location on Google Maps