It is almost impossible to have a bad meal when you are visiting Madrid. There are restaurants, cafes and bars which will suit everybody’s taste and price range. But when it comes to finding good restaurants you will want to know where the locals eat out in Madrid. If the food is good enough for the locals then it will be good enough for you!
One place that is well-known to the locals has no name but the locals know it as Tienda de Comunista in Chueca by the square. It opens at 9pm and it is always full. From all the reviews on this restaurant, you should definitely try to find it.
La Playa is a place where Madrilerios often go for their lunch. Many of them eat what has been eaten for generations and this is the place to satisfy that need.
La Taberna de San Bernardo is the restaurant where the locals head to on a Saturday evening. Normally the restaurant is quiet but it becomes transformed when the locals arrive.
Le Café is where the locals come from the offices for their lunch. You need to get here early because it can be impossible to get a table otherwise.
Bar Melo’s is an easy place to miss but it is a famous bar for great food. This is another restaurant that is packed on a Friday and Saturday evening.
Café del Real serves the great chocolate cake and carrot cake, and you can get various types of coffee. Many locals come here on a Sunday afternoon.
Café Labra is one of the favorite tapas bars for the locals. It is an old café established in 1860 and one of the dishes the locals eat is dried codfish. You should try it in this bar. This bar has a history as the place where the Spanish socialist party was formed.
Casa Perico is a restaurant that is used by only a few people who know about it. When you enter the restaurant, it is hard to believe you are in a restaurant but the food is exceptional.
Wok is a reasonable priced Asian food restaurant. This is one of the better Chinese restaurants in Madrid. As the name suggests all the food is cooked in a wok.
Restaurante Sobrino De Botin is in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest restaurant in the world. It features in many novels about Spain. The food is excellent but, because of the number of people wanting to eat here, it is not the place for a leisurely meal.