“Inari” which means rice in Japanese is a nice mix between Chinese and Japanese food. The sushi, maki and dumplings are very tasty and the service is good. The prices are fair and the restaurant is quite cute; the place is enjoyable!

The sushi choices are too numerous to mention, but they can be purchased as a meal or a la carte. You also have special dishes such as the “Inari Spicy tuna”, the “California Special” and the “Inari Uramaki” which are full of flavour.

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Inari | Restaurants (Japanese) | Meal & glass of wine € 35
General Pardiñas, 43 | Salamanca Area | +34915763312
Mon – Sat 13:30 – 16:00 & 21:00 – 00:00

It looks like a crappy bar at first sight and it has very few tables but oh sweet Lord!! Try the garlicky boletus topped with a fried egg. They have a short list of wines but well selected. They have all varieties of mushrooms, wild fungus and amazing steak from the north part of Spain (Galicia). Many of the wild fungus are picked by the owners at weekends in Madrid’s surrounding mountains.

They don’t have deserts but you will be so full from the main courses that you will forget about them!

It is worth to eat there but after the diner wash all your clothes and yourself too because you will smell as if you have been cooked too!!

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Cisne Azul | Restaurants (Muchrooms) | Meal € 35.00
Calle de Gravina, 19 | Chueca & Malasaña | +34915213799
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 00:30

This restaurant brings back the traditional flavors that makes eating out a really enjoyable experience. It is 100% Spanish food and wants to honor the quality of the Mediterranean products such as the olive oil.

You can find traditional recipes such as meat balls and soups. The kitchen is open so you can watch the cooks prepare all the meals. Please try the hamburger with “Manchego” cheese!

In the afternoon, downstairs, you’ll find the GIN CLUB, situated at De La Reina Street. The Gin tonics are supposed to be really good. Unfortunately I can’t test that since I don’t like them. They have nice wines by the glass too!

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El Mercado de la Reina | Bars, Restaurants (Spanish) | Main meal € 20.00
C/ Gran Vía, 12 | Gran Via & Princesa | +34915213198
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 00:00, Sat 10:00 – 01:00, Sun 10:00 – 00:00

A typical Spanish “Cafeteria” where you will see a “limpiabotas” (shoe cleaner) like in the old times with people having breakfast, lunch or just having a coffee… It’s a big space with wooden tables and waiters dressed like waiters were dressed in Madrid not so long ago.

Coffees are served in big mugs (“taza de desayuno”). You can also have also ham & cheese sandwiches grilled with real butter like when we were kids!

I go often there to meet friends; you can spend the whole afternoon sipping a coffee or a freshly made orange juice. In summer you have a terrace. You can also eat the typical “platos combinados”, huge dishes with everything (salad, a steak or fish and French fries). It is worth trying.

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La Flecha | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Coffee € 2.50
C/ Juan Bravo, 37 | Salamanca Area | +34915639846
07:30 – 00:00 daily

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf, and I completely agree. This restaurant named after the Irish fabric and decorated accordingly to it captures the essence of it.

T.A.R.T.A.N is a cosy place with creative energy and “savoir-faire”. It is very friendly and makes you feel comfortable and at ease.

Every dish is presented delicately and it is accompanied by really nice wines. The Chef, Javier Muñoz-Calero, takes finest ingredients and utilizes a variety of techniques, textures and temperatures in order to extract flavors without altering their taste.

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T.A.R.T.A.N | Restaurants (Spanish) | Main meal € 40
General Pardiñas, 56 | Salamanca Area | +34914027689
Mon 14:00 – 17:00, Tue – Sat 14:00 – 17:00 & 21:00 – 01:00

One of the four locations in Madrid, El Lateral is a local favorite amongst the “madrilians” for providing good quality “tapas” at a fine ambiance along with easy prices.

This is the perfect place to grab some quick appetizers and a casual chat before leaving for dinner. The sirloin steak with brie cheese foie gras or caramelized onions are just a few of the many recommended dishes. Along with steak, fish and ham dishes, they have great salads too.

A modest amount of desserts (the lemon cake is my favourite one!) and wines are also offered.

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Lateral | Snacks, Restaurants (Salads & Tapas) | Meal € 15.00
C/ Velasquez, 57 | Salamanca Area | +34914350604
10:00 – 00:00 daily

If you happen to love India as I do, you will find this small restaurant quite enjoyable and with real Indian food at a very affordable price (though not as affordable as the India places you find in Lavapiés!).

The naans are exquisite as the rest of the food they serve….samosas are crispy and delicious as well as the achari baigan or the deserts (try the ice creams…….Kulfi).

The service is great and you feel really pampered and welcome (which is not often the case in Madrid where sometimes waiters and waitresses are quite rude!).

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Tandoori Station | Restaurants | Dinner & drinks € 34
Jose Ortega Y Gasset, 89 | Salamanca Area | +34914012228
Tue – Sat 12:30 – 16:00 & 20:30 – 00:30, Sun 12:30 -16:00

It is just a great place where you can find different kind of people. Actually it is quite eclectic, great for weekends; you can spend hours in the terrace (even in winter!) reading the newspaper enjoying breakfast if you consider breakfast as Spaniards do (usually coffee or tea with whatever “tapa” you can find) until late in the afternoon if you find a table because it is usually quite crowded!

There are concerts the last Thursdays of every month and DJ’s sessions the first Sundays of the month. Sometimes there are photo exhibits as well as paintings exhibits. The food is good and drinks are good and the cocktails are great. You can have the typical “pomada” of the Balearic Islands (popular drink made out of gin and lemon), but also “mojito” or caipirinha.

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Café Mahón | Bars, Music, Snacks | Meal € 15.00
Plaza Dos de Mayo, 4 | Chueca & Malasaña | +34915324756
Mon – Thu 12:00 – 01:30, Fri – Sun 12:00 – 03:00

Around 13:00 have an “aperitivo”, a vermouth, a glass of wine or a beer with some “tapas”, a bit of “empanada” (typical dish from the north of Spain) or a Spanish omelet (sooooo good!).

I used to go there after classes with my cousin a couple of years ago when I was at the University, to enjoy the tortilla which restores your soul as well as your body (as you can guess I am absolutely fanatic of the “tortilla de patatas”).

You can also have dinner here. Every dish tastes like the ones my grandmother used to cook.

You can also find la Daniela near the Bernabeú (Calle de Gutiérrez Solana 2- Tel: +34914 115 861) and near Huertas Street ( Calle de Jesús, 7 – Tel:+34 913 896 238)

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La Daniela | Snacks, Restaurants (Intern.) | Meal € 25.00
General Pardinas, 21 | Salamanca Area | +34915752329
Mon – Thu 12:00 – 16:30 & 20:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 12:00 – 16:30 & 20:00 – 01:00, Sun 12:00 – 16:30

Just as when it opened back in 1931, the place is idyllic to have a tea with pastries or scones. Embassy has the “savoir-faire” of good old times. Around 18:00 you will find all the grannies having their afternoon snack. There is also a delicatessen store nearby where you can buy the exquisite thin as a leaf sandwiches they serve.

If you are not a tea person you can sip a mimosa just enjoying the place that sets you back in the beginning of the twentieth century. You can also buy bonbons there; home made and natural.

If you don’t feel like staying there, just have a taste of the sandwiches or the excellent goodies they have and keep walking to the Colon square. Here you will find a little statue in a big pedestal commemorating the great Spanish explorer, Columbus.

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Embassy | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Coffee € 3.50
Paseo de la Castellana, 12 | Salamanca Area | +34915764877
09:00 – 21:00 daily