This is the type of restaurant that makes everyone wish they were a regular, coming in for dinner every week and leaving in the wee hours. It offers the epitome of elevated comfort food: so-called “faux” ravioli stuffed with txangurro (king crab), marinated oysters, bone marrow with a side of sirloin, and wine — lots of wine. And if you spot owner Sacha Hormaechea greeting guests, make sure to shake his hand. He’s quite the character.

Think of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, dreams and nightmares — this is the imaginative spirit that chef David Muñoz, considered the best chef in Madrid by many critics and fans, brings to the city’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant. At DiverXO, located inside the Eurobuilding hotel, Muñoz breaks the boundaries of avant-garde cooking in two tasting menus, aiming to surprise diners with dishes that imitate works of art both in aesthetics and taste. Plan ahead in order to score a table.

Some of Spain’s finest seafood doesn’t come cheap, but it’s very much worth it, especially in one of the most beautiful restaurants Madrid has ever seen. In a room drenched with natural light, diners can choose from more than a thousand wines to go with a prime selection of fish and shellfish, including baby eel, hake cheeks, croaker, shrimp, cockles, and octopus — just to name a few. Pescaderías Coruñesas, the family-run company that owns Desde 1911, has maintained a strong fishing empire since — you guessed it — 1911.

Proprietor Javier Bonet is the mastermind behind this restaurant that pays tribute to great ingredients from local markets. Dishes are served on paper-lined metal trays at a long counter and some high tables. The original location on Calle de Ponzano is still a buzzing dinner destination, and another location of the innovative concept also appears on Virgen de los Peligros near Puerta del Sol. Certain iconic dishes never leave the menu, like the Rolex: egg yolk, pancetta, foie mi cuit, sauternes, and truffle that the server cooks at your table with a kitchen torch,  one of several interactive dishes.

Markets are evolving in Madrid. In order to attract new, younger clientele — and coax them from supermarkets — many markets have installed gastropubs next to traditional fruit, meat, and dairy stalls. In Mercado de Vallehermoso, for example, you’ll find Tripea, the culinary project of chef Roberto Martínez Foronda. His stall consists of a small open kitchen and a communal table where the chef challenges taste buds through Spanish, Asian, and Latin flavors. In a la carte selections and a perfectly executed tasting menu, Foronda entertains with shared plates filled with excitement, novelty, and hard-hitting flavors.

Clara Diez has made artisan dairy producers the main characters at Formaje, her cheese shop located in the Chamberí neighborhood. She’s helped put many brands on the city’s culinary radar, getting them served in some of the best restaurants and bars in town, while spreading education about aspects of the cheese trade that had been long forgotten. A visit to the shop might include creamy Olavidia goat cheese, named best cheese in the world at the World Cheese Awards 2021; queixo do pais, a Galician staple; Hornkase, a raw cow’s milk from Germany that’s one of Diez’s favorites; and of course, manchego, Spain’s beloved cheese, which Formaje sources from Castilla-La Mancha.

Madrid has always been known for its classic century-old taverns, but few modern bars are able to capture that classic soul. Bar Trafalgar did, becoming an instant hit when it opened in 2022. Located in the Chamberí neighborhood, it is the perfect spot to meet friends for a cold draft beer or a classic cocktail. A cool crowd of mature creatives and entrepreneurs fills the place after work for some excellent bravas dishes (including potatoes layered in a mille-feuille) and popular toasts with smoked butter and anchovies. If possible, get a seat at the bar to get the best view of the crowds.

Cheesecake may be more associated with Basque country up north, but plenty of Madrileños like Alex Cordobés are also ecstatic about the famous dessert. After leaving his job as a physiotherapist, Cordobés began selling cheesecake to go, eventually growing his business into this namesake shop in the Salamanca neighborhood. His cakes are creamy and soft, planted on a butter cookie base and well-toasted to make the most of the Maillard reaction. Cordobés stages the treats in an exquisite store as if they were pieces of art.

Tortilla española may seem overrated to some, but for locals, it’s quite the comfort food. It is offered everywhere in the city, but only a few bars and restaurants serve the potato omelet fresh and cooked to perfection. For that, head to Casa Dani, a family-owned bar and restaurant that makes more than 200 a day. Best known as tortilla de patatas, the version here is beloved for its well-done exterior and gooey interior. At lunchtime, the place gets packed, so go around 11 a.m. to enjoy a slice with a café con leche without having to fight for a seat. While there, also give the callos a la Madrileña (Madrid-style veal tripe) a try.

The Cuenllas family first opened a grocery store near Templo de Debod at the end of the 1930s. It has since become an icon of Madrid for its commitment to serving products of outstanding quality. Fernando Cuenllas, representing the third generation of the family, expanded the business in 2021, offering some of his favorite items at this wine bar and delicatessen located in the Salesas neighborhood. The shop carries around 75 different wines hailing from all over Europe and Spain; grab one for a souvenir or to enjoy on site, accompanied by some anchovies from Santoña, cured meats, sophisticated canned goods, and a unique take on a hot dog that swaps the sausage for artichoke and ham.

Álex Marugán first opened his restaurant in a market located in the Goya neighborhood before moving to a bigger, more personal spot nearby. The restaurant remains small and casual, but has become a touch more refined. Spanish classics reign on the menu, mixed with a few nods to global techniques and ingredients. Don’t miss the callos (tripe) a la Madrileña, the osso buco taco with pibil, and the torreznos (juicy, thick bacon), but always leave room for seasonal creations such as marinated rabbit or tear peas with pil pil.

Owners Carmen Aldi, José Certruchas, and Jesús Encinas decided to leave the city’s high-end cuisine circuit to open La Llorería, where they play by their own rules. The trio has found ways to serve outstanding dishes without the gouging price tags or corseted dress codes of the fine dining scene. At their small, casual restaurant in the Malasaña neighborhood, they center the action around a bar, some small tables, and a big chalkboard of daily specials. Dishes such as tomato with miso or cauliflower with bacon and squid have managed to inspire crowds, making it impossible to eat here without a proper reservation.

Comparte Bistro has been delighting Madrileños, the media, and visiting gourmands since opening in late 2021. Chef Mario Sánchez serves flavors from his hometown, the southern city of Cádiz, but items are also drenched in French tradition. Look for chicharrón with cantal cheese and semi-dried tomato; crispy gizzard with creamed corn and pepper sauce; and steak tartare and croissant with béarnaise sauce.

Veal tripe, trotters, and snout. Fried pig’s face. An omelet with brains or brined tongue salad. Offal has always had a beloved place in Spanish cookbooks and homes. But traditional dishes, considered outdated, have slowly disappeared up until recently. Chef Javi Estévez — who achieved fame for his participation in the first season of Spain’s Top Chef in 2013 —– filled the void in the culinary scene with the opening of this one-Michelin-star restaurant. Paying tribute to yesteryear’s flavors with today’s techniques, the chef manages to cook “adventurous” meats in ways that appeal to all audiences.

Going into this quaint casa de comidas is like taking a trip back in time. First opened in 1890 as a shop selling wines and liquors, it eventually allowed customers to enjoy their beverages on-site with a proper meal in the ’80s. Throughout its long history, the restaurant has served as a meeting place for left-wing organizers (earning it the nickname El Comunista), but also a gathering spot for guitar lovers, since the current owner’s great uncle used to play in the back room. Today, bohemians and artists meet here at midday to enjoy dishes and stews that are hard to find in modern menus, such as the migas with grapes and egg, squid in its ink with rice, or rabbit with tomato sauce.

This restaurant offered casual street food when it first showed up in the middle of the Chueca neighborhood, but it eventually showed its true colors with a playful, globetrotting menu that moves fluidly through the flavors of Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Chef Rafael Bergamo leads a young team who keep the experience informal, but every single dish is worth a star. Indulge in French oysters in Nikkei dressing, Beijing duck croquettes, crunchy wontons with honeyed pastor and pineapple mojito, or the octopus tikka masala with Japanese and Peruvian mojo.

Madrid partly owes its booming cocktail culture to Del Diego, an iconic bar with an art deco style and top-notch service located right next to Gran Vía and near the Chueca neighborhood. Its owner Fernando del Diego passed away in 2016, but his legacy and teachings live on through his two sons, who always accompanied him at the bar. Together, they continue to welcome locals, tourists, celebrities, and restaurateurs with a menu of classic cocktails that never disappoints.

After earning a Michelin star at Punto MX, chef Roberto Ruiz decided to close the restaurant during the pandemic and leave behind tasting menus. His newer, more casual concept, Barracuda, remains one of the best representations of haute Mexican cuisine in Spain, focused on the fresh flavors that compose the 5,000 miles of Mexican Pacific coastline. Ruiz relies on Mexican recipes but utilizes local produce to achieve perfect aguachiles, ceviches, and sea bass a la talla, as well as more ambitious dishes like wagyu memelas or bone marrow accompanied by red tuna tostadas. If that weren’t enough, there’s a tequila and mezcal cart that parades around the tables.

Madrid is well known for aperitivo hour, the moment in the afternoon when friends and family gather at a bar to enjoy vermouth and bites of pickled snacks. Hermanos Vinagre gives the tradition a charming update starting with the bar itself, replacing the usual, old-school decor with exquisite design from Cristina Carullo. Cañas and vermouths hit the steel bar alongside gildas, cockles with chile sauce, escabeche ahumado (mussels with smoked brine), or ox chorizo. The modern take has proven successful with locals; the owners opened a second location in the Chueca neighborhood and a third location in the Chamberí neighborhood.

Younger generations have come to know Lhardy as the location for C. Tangana’s music video for “Comerte Entera,” but the restaurant has been serving traditional Spanish food with French influences since 1839. It’s at the heart of the city, both metaphorically and geographically, located right next to Puerta del Sol. The restaurant is now owned by Pescaderías Coruñesas, one of the best fish and seafood providers in Spain, but things inside the restaurant remain as they have been for more than a century: The famed Madrileñian stew is as sophisticated as ever, the consomme still comes in a silver samovar, croquettes are still filled with puchero (chickpea, vegetable, and meat stew), and the oxtail is still accompanied by Robuchon smashed potatoes and a souffle that makes Instagram green with envy.

Sherry is the pride of Spain, and this historic gem of a bar is where it should be enjoyed. One of Hemingway’s favorite haunts, it allows neither photos nor tips. (Urban legend has it that the photo ban was put into place during the Franco era because spies captured their enemies on film here, and the tipping ban honors the bar’s Republican views.) Bartenders only serve sherry — don’t bother asking for soda, water, beer, or wine, because they don’t have any — accompanied by tapas such as salted tuna, Campo Real olives, cheese, and anchovies. Fino, manzanilla, palo cortado, amontillado, and oloroso all pair perfectly with the retro decor, the black cat wandering around the tables, and the servers, who keep track of what you drink by jotting it down with chalk on the bar counter.

Right in the heart of the Literary Quarter, Chuka is hands down the city’s most successful ramen bar. American chef John Husby, who spent time at Momofuku in New York, knows how to please crowds with an umami-packed menu, which includes seasonal and daily additions. Start with some baos, which come stuffed with Korean fried chicken, soft shell crab, and pork belly. Then move on to the three types of ramen, which change throughout the year and always include a brothless option. Don’t forget to try the superb eggplant mapo, “fake” veal nigiri (served on bread instead of rice), and the pluma ibérica char siu. Book in advance; walk-ins are welcome but usually don’t get lucky with a seat.

Bar hopping in the city center can be overwhelming, but here’s a tip: Go to the places that seem like they’ve been there forever and avoid eating reheated paella at a chain. Among the small streets surrounding Plaza Mayor, look for a small and over-crowded bar called Casa Revuelta. Make yourself some room at the bar and order tajada de bacalao (fried cod) and a glass of vermouth on tap.

It’s not easy to find food from the Canary Islands in Madrid, but the Spanish islands are well represented at Gofio in the Literary Quarter. At the small but outstanding restaurant, the tasting menu focuses solely on the flavors of the archipelago without relying on stereotypes. Cooks play creatively with the ingredients and seasonal produce of the islands, and they bring the same energy to the wine list and dessert. Gofio is a mind-blowing experience that proves Spain has much more to offer than just paella and sangria.

Flamenco, dinner, and a show may sound like a cliché, but you won’t regret paying a visit to arguably the most famous tablao in the world. Guests not only get to witness the true soul of flamenco, with an awe-inspiring show that rotates every week, but they also get to sample chef David García’s Michelin-starred tasting menu honoring Basque roots — in an exclusive setting of just four tables. As for the evening’s beverage, let David Ayuso, the restaurant’s sommelier and sherry expert, guide the way.

When a lovely small restaurant opens a second location (Toguita) to accommodate all the booking requests coming from its loyal diners, something is going very right. Fusion is the premise at Toga, in La Latina neighborhood, which achieved fame for its original dish of noodles with kimchi mayo and raw red tuna, an outstanding creation that people still cannot get enough of. The rest of the menu mixes Nikkei, Latin American, and Japanese flavors in dishes such as sea bass tiradito with garlic and lime mayo and the crunchy chile chicken with aioli.

Santurce is best known for serving grilled sardines and Padrón peppers from Galicia. The place is nothing fancy — just a great neighborhood tavern where the dynamic is as simple as finding your spot at the bar, ordering caña after caña, and devouring fish as if you were stranded on a desert island. The prices are unbeatable, and dinner comes with a hectic live cooking show, as you watch the cooks grill sardines behind the bar. Sundays are particularly busy, when the nearby Rastro market is in full swing.

Olives, brined fish, and vermouth have always been integral parts of Madrid’s aperitif culture. But, weirdly enough, it is hard to find a place that really devotes its menu to them. La Gildería in the La Latina neighborhood (near the Rastro market) honors items like gildas: olive skewers that draw their name from the Rita Hayworth movie of the same name. The rest of the menu includes Murcia’s version of the ensaladilla rusa (potato salad), canned mussels and razor clams, and an octopus sandwich with Basque chile pepper mayo. Vermouth accompanies every bite, with brands sourced everywhere from Galicia to Cataluña. Drink it on the rocks or with a splash of gin.