One think I’ve always missed in Madrid is a decent place to buy sandwiches. Most bars sell bocatas which sort of substitute but I’m really talking about custom hand made sandwiches where you chose the breed, filling, toppings, spread etc. Magasand which recently opened in Alonso Martinez/Chueca offers just that. You chose from a variety of breads, buns or bagels and add from a good selection of cut meats, cheeses, spreads, sauces and other garnishing. They also promise soups in winter.

You can eat in or take away. If you eat in you head upstairs to the very pleasant magazine area. There’s good selection to chose from and you can either sit at the long wooden table or on one of the couches. This area begs for (free) wifi, but as far as I can tell its not currently available - don’t be mislead by the picture, that fellow is using 3G networks.

I had a bagel with pastrami, sweet mustard, sun dried tomatoes and cheese for 4 euros.

Magasand
Travesia de San Mateo

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain


GEO: 40.42476, -3.697447
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Another bakery, this time with an American accent. Lots of difference breads, brownies, quiche, etc. 

Cosmen & Keiless
info@cosmenykeiless.com
Plaza de Los Salesas, 8

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 91 319 67 42


GEO: 40.423796, -3.694689
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This shop has an eclectic mix of gourmet foods from all over the world, wine, liquors and food related books, with a French tilt. Its nicely laid out, and fun just to wander around just looking at the large variety of things. Nothing in this shop is partucularly cheap, but prices are reasonable for what they’re selling. If you’re looking to take something nicely packaged and original to a party this would be a good place to look. The people that work there (I imagine the owners, but I’m not sure) are generally helpful and seem to know the stuff they’re selling.

Plaisir Gourmet
info@plaisirgourmet.com
calle Gravina 1, Bajo

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
(+34) 91 702 55 01


GEO: 40.423447, -3.698579
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This small italian shop sells nice fresh pasta, raviolis, gnocchi etc, along with sauces, cheeses, wines, deserts and other italian specialties

Capperi Gourmet
capperi@capperi.es
Calle Fernando VI, 2

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 91 308 17 74


GEO: 40.425695, -3.697055
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I went to this very small tapas bar the other evening, and really liked it. The locale is actually an old shop and the quaint atmosphere has been maintained.  As you can see from the photos, both the bar and the menu are very small, really just tapas, salads etc and reasonably priced. I had the Salmorejo (cold tomato based soup) and the ‘Tosta’ with Ventresca, pimiento and pesto verde (that’s canned Tuna belly with piquillo peppers and pesto). Both were really good. I had beer with my tapas but there was a small but decent and reasonably priced wine list.

Not a good choice if you’re looking for a sit-down meal, but a really nice place for a cocktail, glass of wine, beer + tapa.

La Mantequeria
Calle San Bernardino 7

Madrid , Madrid , 28015 Spain


GEO: 40.425148, -3.710573
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La Vaca Argentina is a well known restaurant chain serving Argentinian beef. The beef is acceptable and the rest of the food is pretty standard-to-boring, but one of the Ribera del Manzanares branch has a very pleasant garden terrace which more or less makes up for other inadiquacies - (in summer, with a reservation).

Prices are reasonable around 20-25 euros per person with mediocre wine.

La Vaca Argentina (Ribera del Manzanares)
opinion@lavacaargentina.net
Ribera del Manzanares, 123

Madrid , Madrid , 28008 Spain
+34 91 559 37 80


GEO: 40.428758, -3.732686
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The La Carte des Vins is a nice little wine shop on the Vasquez de Mella Square, with a good selection of Spanish wines, and a few imported ones. I nice alternative to shopping at El Corte Ingles.

La Carte des Vins
madrid-infantas@lacartedesvins.com
Calle Infantas 16

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 91 522 85 17


GEO: 40.420643, -3.699785
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I strolled by Tepic today, saw the menu which looked good, and the atmosphere looked very chueca-modern. I didn’t get a chance to try it, but if you have, I’d be interested to hear what you thought about it.

Update: I finally managed to go to this place and here’s my verdict: the food was pretty good, closer to real mexican food that most of it competitors, including decent real corn tortillas, friendly service and a pretty extensice tequila menu. My main gripe is the price. Sure its a step up from the usual mexican joint, and a more elegant etc, but its also more than twice as expensive.

Tepic: urban mex restaurant
calle Pelayo 4

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 91 522 08 50


GEO: 40.421803, -3.699034
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The sign on the door says ‘Drink, Eat and Take Home the Furniture’. The idea is that you do just that, by buying the table you’ve eaten at or the copy designer chair you sat on during your meal. This place is conceived to make you feel your in a trendy restaurant in NY. Bare brick, bare wooden/metal beams, the menu written in chalk on blackboards and the staff ann dressed in black. It works pretty well, the space is very open, large windows, which are open in summer, and tables on the plaza Carlos Cambronero mean you can sit comfortably inside or out. The bar is a nice place for a drink if that’s all your after. As far as the furniture, I thought some of it was quite nice, but I’ve no idea if the prices are reasonable or not. Still it’s a nice idea you actually get to try a chair or table before buying it.

Where this place falls a little short is the food itself, which was a little disappointing. The menu’s a little too eclectic including things like thai soup, nachos, burghers or filet steak with french fries covered in truffle oil. More importantly the food wasn’t as good as I felt it could be. There’s a decent and not too expensive wine menu and a few wines which can be had be the glass. Our meal, in which we shared 2 starters and a main course, had a couple of glasses if wine each, 1 desert and coffee came to 25 euros per person.

Overall I’d reccommend this place. I suspect the food could improve, as it’s only been open for about a month, and in madrid getting even decent food in a terraza is worth recommending. If your a tourist looking for the authentic spanish-tapas experience, this is not the place but if you’re looking for a decent place in a pleasant modern atmosphere including the possibility to sit outdoors then this is a good choice.

Restaurante Lamucca
info@lamucca.es
Plaza Carlos Cambronero 4

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 91 521 00 00


GEO: 40.423853, -3.703637
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I find myself returning quite a bit to this restaurant, which is at the same time bar, then later on a ‘gin-club’. What I like about it is that its serves quite well prepared basic food that you dont get bored of too quickly. Its also got a pleasant atmosphere, depending on your taste - might be a little too trendy for some, or too informal for others.  The restaurant, as its name suggests serves Spanish ‘market food’.

Dished we like include:

- Raff tomatoes by themselves with olive oil or with tuna: Raff are a deliciously flavored spanish variety of tomato which is a great change from the all too common and tasteless ones normally found these days.

- Pimientos de Padron:  These are small green pepper and are normally fried and served with salt

- Baked hake in the ‘bilboa’ style - on a bed of potatoes with some slighly hot dried chilies on top

- There are all sorts of egg dishes - with chips, blood pudding, spicy sausage, jamón etc

- Meat dishes and stews. 

The Mercado de La Reina has a pleasant bar in the front, where you can order many of the dishes as tapas with a glass of wine of beer but I’d recommend trying the Spanish vermouth (on-tap), which I think is far superior to the usual varieties. 

The location, on the Gran Vía, is very convenient for visitors, and they have english menus.

Mercado de la Reina
manuelmercadodelareina@gmail.com
Calle Gran Vía, 12

Madrid , Madrid , 28013 Spain
+34 91 521 31 98


GEO: 40.419533, -3.698868
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The Aloque holds a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first wine bars in Madrid, dating back to long before wine bars became trendy and numerous in the city, and it still has among the best selection and most carefully chosen cellars - by Paco Parejo the owner and enologist. Its located in Lavapies, an area more known for its multicultural and ethic diversity than for its wine bars. The menu is excellent but simple, with a list of 10 or so ‘Raciones’ (plates of food for sharing) and another 10 or so ‘tostas’, pieces of toast with delicacy on it. It doesn’t change that often, some of the items have been there for since I first tried the Aloque 12 years ago, but thats partly because in this bar the food is chosen to accompany the wine and not vice versa. We’d recommend almost anything, but are particularly find of the iberico pork fillet, the jamon (thats an easy one) and the croquetas. Most items on the menu are under 20 euros, and the tostas are usually under 5 euros.

Aloque
Torrecilla del Leal 20

Madrid , Madrid , Spain
+34 91 528 36 62


GEO: 40.410514, -3.699592
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I went for lunch today to the SushiOle in Chueca, and for 10 euros, incluing beer and desert, what a pleasant surprise! There’s a choice of 4 starters and 4 main courses all of which fall into the category of Japanese-fusion. I don’t think I’m going to try and describe the food, since the website (http://sushiole.com/) has a full menu with great pictures and all the prices (the 10 euro lunch menu only seems to be provided on the Spanish version of the website). This restaurant is a chain and there are currently 4 locations for it, all provided on their website.

SushiOle
info@sushiole.com
C/ Valgame Dios 4

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 902 022 592


GEO: 40.422252, -3.696535
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El Teatro Fernán Gómez. Centro de Arte de Madrid, ofrecerá a lo largo del mes de abril la continuación de la muestra de “Músicas del Mundo en Madrid”con el siguiente programa:

19 de abril - 21:00 h. Chico César “Dúo”
Chico César es la estrella con más proyección de la música pop brasileña desde 1996.
>> Comprar entrada <<
20 abril - 19:00 h. Transglobal Underground
Transglobal Underground son un grupo de productores y músicos británicos de origen indopakistaní, precursores de la fusión de la música world con los ritmos más urbanos y bailables.
>> Comprar entrada <<

26 abril - 21:00 h. Trilok Gurtu & Arké String Quartet
Arkeology es fruto de la unión entre dos mundos aparentemente diferentes, el ritmo y la vitalidad del músico hindú Trilok Gurtu, uno de los percusionistas más destacados del mundo y el sonido clásico de un cuarteto de cuerda reinterpretado por los italianos Arké String Quartet.
>> Comprar entrada <<

27 abril - 19:00 h. Toumani Diabate (Solo)
Presenta su nuevo disco “The Mande Variations” (2008). Toumani Diabaté es indudablemente uno de los maestros de la kora y al mismo tiempo uno de los más conocidos en Occidente.
>> Comprar entrada

Take aways aren’t that common in madrid, so I was pleasantly surprised by La Vita e Bella. There are 5-6 different pre-cooked pasta dishes which change from week to week, pizza by the slice or whole and salads, all for take away.

I’ve only tried the pasta, but like virtually all the dishes I’ve tried. Al-dente paste served with simple tasty sauces.

La Vita e Bella
Calle Pelayo, 22

Madrid , Madrid , 28004 Spain
+34 91 532 17 41


GEO: 40.422685, -3.698498
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El Mercado de la Reina serves well made, market based spanish food, stylishly presented in a modern atmosphere. Dishes include ‘Raff’ tomatoes with olive oil (for those of you that don’t know this variety of tomato, they are particularly flavorful and sweet), fried ‘Padron’ peppers (small green pepper which are occasionally hot), eggs with french fries and spanish cured ham (jamón), a number of types of scrambled eggs, numerous meat and fish dishes.

There is a bar at the front where you can have a drink and a few tapas, where recommend you try the spanish vermouth,  and a restaurant at the back for full meals.

Mercado de la Reina
manuelmercadodelareina@gmail.com
Calle Gran Vía, 12

Madrid , Madrid , 28013 Spain
+34 91 521 31 98


GEO: 40.419533, -3.698868
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Small italian restaurant in the heart of huertas. We enjoyed our meal, no major complaints about any of the dishes we ate, but we all felt it was a little expensive for what we got. It’s very crowded, with small tightly packed tables.

We shared fried buffalo mozzarella with a tomato and parmesan sauce as a starter. Main courses included linguini alla pesto, Parpadelle with white truffle and egg, and eggplant and zucchini rolled in fresh pasta with a creamy tomato sauce. We shared a pana cota for desert. The bill was around € 30 each, including a bottle of wine shared among 4.

Menu includes a good selection of starters, pasta dishes (fresh and dried pasta), risotto, meat and fish. No pizza.

Come Prima
Calle Echegaray 27

Madrid , Madrid , 28014 Spain
+34 914 203 042


GEO: 40.41415, -3.699469
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c/ Escorial 3
Quiet, cosy and kitsch-chic café at Escorial 3 -upper Malasaña- to have a coffe in the afternoon or a drink in the evening. Huge Warhol-style paintings of the Spanish folklóricas cover the entrance in contrast with the prudish interior design of the lounge, which reminds of a 70s French provincial salon. The pleasant, non-stressing colours, the comfortable armchairs and the music which allows conversation make it a good place to go with someone you enjoy talking to. Some evenings they have poetry readings and other art events.

La Paca
c/ Escorial 3

Madrid , Madrid , Spain


GEO: 40.42369, -3.702865
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En la plaza de la Paja hay un nuevo buffet-restaurante-selfservice-take away-tienda vegetariano: Viva la Vida. Al igual que su nombre vitalista, la comida de este vegetariano no tiene nada de sosa ni de aburrida. Todo está elaborado, aliñado o especiado con gracia y buen hacer, una cocina con inspiración oriental, árabe y mediterránea, y con la base de la macrobiótica, eso sí, reinterpretada. Todas la legumbres y los cereales del buffet son orgánicos y muchos de los otros productos utilizados.
Viva la Vida se gestó hace años, cuando Magdalena, una de las socias, montó un restaurante ilegal en la terraza de su ático, luego abrió un restaurante en Malasaña con otro socio, y Viva la Vida es el resultado de esa experiencia. El de la plaza de la Paja es su segundo Viva la Vida, el primero está en la calle Huertas 57 y es más pequeño.

En Viva la Vida hay platos como las deliciosas lasañas, la paella marinera de algas, las albóndigas de mijo en salsa verde, los crepes de caviar de amaranto, deliciosas ensaladas, como la de bulgur con frutos secos y vinagreta de fresa, una sección de grill con variedades de croquetas, falafel y hamburguesas. Además hay ricas salsas y varios tipos de pan que permiten hacerte tu propio sándwich. En cuanto a la pastelería, también es deliciosa: tarta de zanahorias o de chocolate y nueces. La comida va al peso: hay un precio para todo lo salado (1,80 € por 100gr.) y otro para los dulces (2,20 € por 100 gr). Uno puede servirse, pesarlo, pagarlo y comer allí mismo (todo el sótano es un divertido salón tropical –kitsch), salir a las mesitas que tienen en la plaza o llevarse la comida en las cajitas. Hay salados y dulces aptos para veganos y para celiacos.

Viva la Vida
Costanilla de San Andrés 16 - Plaza de la Paja

Madrid , , Spain
913 663 349


GEO: 40.412696, -3.712478
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Calle Humilladero 13
91 36642 66

En La Latina, en la calle Humilladero 13, justo detrás del mercado de la Cebada, está el restaurante gallego Xentes. Un espacio grande mitad restaurante mitad barra y zona de tapeo. Es un gallego clásico, pero modernizado y la calidad de los productos es excelente. Reciben cada día el pescado directo desde Villagarcía de Arousa. Un buen lugar para tomar unas raciones de marisco, anchoas, empanadas, pimientos del padrón, pulpo…. y ribeiro o alvariño de la casa. El pulpo, tiernisimo y delicioso es definitivamente uno de los mejores que hemos probado. Las raciones son generosas con lo que al final, no sale caro. Un buen plato de pulpo a feira 15 €.

Trendy new tapas bar, full of young, good looking and trendy people. In spite of that it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We had cañas (small beers), cheap but drinkable red wine, a plate of tasty shrimp with lemon. The background music was well chosen.Basic menu with dishes like: Egg with Foie, Boletus Risotto, Hamburger, Cous-cous… All dishes were between 10-20 euros. Its very near calle Luna, home to prostitutes and junkies. 

Larita
Corredera baja de San Pablo, 19

Madrid , Madrid , Spain
+34 91 522 80 70


GEO: 40.422277, -3.704302
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