“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

“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

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

Even though the coffee is great, Harina’s backbone (“Harina” means flour in Spanish) is monopolized by the bread that is composed of bio flours. Harina has breads of slow fermentation, with spongy texture, with creaking barks, cooked at sight in almost uninterrupted batches. From its specialties, please do try the one with olives or the one with five cereals.

In addition to the bread, you can find buns, tarts and sweets as well as salads (Chicken and pasta; parmesan and nuts, etc.) and sandwiches (roast beef, ham, etc.). You can have your sandwich by the Retiro Park.

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Harina | Snacks, Restaurants (Intern.) | Loaf of bread € 4.50
Plaza de la Independencia, 10 | Salamanca Area | +34915228785
09:00 – 21:00 daily

Every time I go to Senzone (which is not very often) I experience and enjoy the food through all my senses and the spectacular wines they serve. The place has few tables and you have to make a reservation a few days in advance but every single experience there is worth it.

The restaurant is located inside the Hospes Hotel in front of “la puerta de Alcalá”, it was known as the “Antigua Cafeteria Independencia”. You enjoy food in an avant-garde design environment. As they say in their web page “you can savour a balanced combination of the local cuisine along with the most refreshing and surprising dishes.” and I totally agree.

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Senzone | Restaurants (Creative cuisine) | Menu € 70.00
Plaza de la Independencia, 3 | Salamanca Area | +34914322911
Mon – Sun 13:00 -16:00 & 20:00 -23:30

Sula is a place where you can enjoy the best Spanish ham (“jamón serrano”). Joselito (trade mark) is a top quality cured ham class “ibérico”. It’s expensive but worth every bite. The staff uniforms are created by Spanish fashion designer Amaya Arzuaga. Their wine list is worth studying it!

The two-level space has a shop stocking superior items like “jamón ibérico” and sells 200 different Spanish, French and Italian wines. The kitchen, overseen by the great Quique Dacosta of Alicante’s El Poblet, serves amazing modernist “tapas” like the Foie gras mousse with a rum-and-Coke reduction. It offers a varied range of freshly prepared “tapas” using only the best ingredients from the Mediterranean cuisine.

The clientèle of the restaurant is quite snobbish but all the courses are delicious.

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Sula | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Meal & wine € 45.00
C/ Jorge Juan 33 | Salamanca Area | +34917816197
Mon – Sat 13:30 – 15:30 & 20:30 – 23:00