Eating & drinking, Madrid

At the moment of writing, it is a disease spreading in Huertas: they put cheap head-ache causing alcahol in your mix drinks. In stead of getting the real brands you ask for in the mix, they put another cheap liquor in it. garrafón its called.

Unique Suggestions: Order at the bar and watch the bartender carefulllly.

Fun Alternatives: dont have mix drinks.

Allthough the square itself is very beautifull, its very expensive to sit at the outdoor terraces. Apart from that, the service is slow and the food is not that interesting. There are no real tradinonal restaurants at the square such as you can find in La Latina.

Unique Suggestions: Go to La Latina, where they have the best tradinional restaurants and tapas bars. Also many pavement terraces can be found there at the Plaza de la Cebada. An alternative is Plaza San Ana

it is very rare that you will see a madrileno in a cafe in the Plaza Mayor. There is a good reson for this-the food is generally horrible, it is totally over priced and the service is very slow (even by Spanish standards).

Unique Suggestions: However the setting is lovely so if you are going to the Plaza Mayor you should just order a coffee or a drink (though alcohol is also really expensive) and eat somewhere else.

Basically, The 'Gran Via' is not where you are going to find ecent Spanish food.

Food here is for tourists only, therefore expect overpriced Tapas and dodgy 'Tortilla Espanol'

Unique Suggestions: Go and eat in Vips if you are on this road and there are no other options.

Fun Alternatives: Pop over to 'Chueca'. its round the corner from 'Gran via' and there is great food there and great shopping.

Botin is in the Guinnes Book of World Records for being the oldest restaurant in the world. (Since 1725) And Hemingway visited it in The Sun also Rises.
I had a bad experience the first time I went here and vowed never to go back untill my boyfriends parents (from Bilbao) insisted on visiting a typical madrileño restaurant and they had already been to several others. I liked it, SO I´ve decided to update my tip.
The first time I was there felt like it was totally a touristy place with over-priced food and extreme disorganization. But the second time we went for lunch on a Saturday in January, it was full of Spanish people enjoying a good meal. And I have to admit, the service was great, the food good and the dining rooms have a lot of typical castilian Spanish "encanto" (charm).
The suckling pig is one of the specialties but both times I was there people I was with had it and said it was dry. The steak (solomillo), however, was excellent. (about 18 Euros) The scrambled eggs with salmon very good (8euro), the large salad "Botin" was great too(7euro). Oh, and I must say the icecream was really good too. So all in all, its a good place, and if you are just visiting Madrid and want a place that feels really Spanish and has a lot of history, go for it.

Unique Suggestions: If there is a line of confused tourists and you have a reservation just go up the stairs...Reservations recommended.

You may have a good experience and you can say you ate where Hemmingway did. Its near the Pl. Mayor down the steps on C/ Cuchilleros.

Fun Alternatives: Casa Lucio, La Bola, for typical Madrid fare. They are not cheap either but good.

Ouch! Every city has one and this is where it's at in Madrid!....Sitting outside at one of the cafes on Plaza Mayor is super expensive so watch out! It's great to people watch and look at the very talented musicians play in front of you whilst you savour the tapas and drink sangria... but then you are expected to tip them of course....so imagine the total cost of your night out....again...ouch! :)

Fun Alternatives: Try finding a cafe like I did in a little side street, it's just as entertaining trust me!

We were directed by our hotel to a seafood restaurant on the Plaza Mayor. We luckily checked the prices out first and decided to move on. It was definitely not typical Spanish prices. Just down the road on one of the quaint, little, connector streets, there were places that offered much better value.

Unique Suggestions: Just go to Plaza Mayor to walk around and admire the people/architecture/music etc. Go to another place (like the Plaza Real to eat).

Fun Alternatives: Plaza

Ok, so this may not be completely correct, please correct me. But when I was in Spain, several bartenders told me that mostly it was only tourists drinking Sangria. Locals who want a light drink, I was told, drink Tinto de Verrano, which is really refreshing -- red wine with soda water. Also good, sweeter, is Tinto de Verrano con Limon, made with Limonade instead.
On the other had, I've been in lots of really non-touristy bars that had great sangria. Go figure ...