Places to eat in Madrid

I'll be in Madrid for 3 weeks in October, and I'm looking for names of good places to eat off the beaten path. I'm already aware of the higher end places. Now I need a list of lesser known gems. Thanks.

My wife and I went to Seville, Granada, Barcelona (and points in between) for our honeymoon about 1.5 years ago. While we didn't go to Madrid, one of the better resources we had for food and other things to do were Maribel's Guides.

Maribel used to provide the guides to interested parties on the Fodors.com Spain forum and now has this website to many Spanish cities/regions. The city guides we checked out had high- and lower-end spots, many of which weren't featured in other guides we'd consulted.

Have fun,
Zee

I'm not quite sure this fits into your dining concept but I've always very much enjoyed a place called Cerveceria Santa Barbara. This is a seafood bar which serves a wonderful selection of seafood. Some of the items they carry are;

Gambas a la plancha (sautéed shrimps with sea salt)
Mojama – air-dried tuna (like jam)
Patatas Fritas (quality potato chips)
Berberechos - cockles in a brine with vinegar
Cigalas (cooked Dublin Bay Prawns - some call them French Langoustines)

This place is a great pre- dinner or lunch stopover for a quick local beer (Cruz Blanca), excellent seafood and wonderful potato chips. Santa Barbara has always been a must stop for me while in Madrid.


Plaza de Santa Barbara, 8, Madrid 28004 • 91-3190-4049

Thanks for the tip. It looks perfect. It's away from the center of town, a bit. We'll check it out and report back.

In Segovia, a short and worthwhile sidetrip from Madrid, is the popular Restaurante José María, just off the Plaza Mayor. Up front is a crowded tapas bar and in the dining room they feature great versions of standards from Castilla y León such as cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) and sopa castellana( garlic soup with egg).

JOSE MARIA
CRONISTA LECEA, 11( junto a Plaza Mayor) ( SEGOVIA / Segovia )
Tlf. 921466017