Castellana Madrid – All our local tips

The CaixaForum Madrid is an art exhibition space sponsored by The La Caixa Foundation that opened in February 2008 as part of their social and cultural outreach efforts.

They’ve withstood all criticism and worries about keeping their amazing outdoor vertical garden green and lush despite Madrid’s sunny disposition. Designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc, this wall of green has 15,000 plants of 250 species covering a 460 m2 wall in the square in front of The CaixaForum.

The building itself was an old electrical plant, built in 1899 that has been reconstructed to be a funky rust-colored modern eye-catcher alongside classical beauties like the Prado and the Thyssen museums.

Inside you’ll find a permanent collection, several temporary exhibits, a café, a lounge area with a view of the garden and Paseo del Prado, and a bookstore.

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CaixaForum Madrid | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping | Free
Paseo del Prado 36 | Castellana | +34913307300
10:00 – 20:00 daily

It is a restaurant near the Bernabeú where you enjoy every bite of food. The place is not noisy and you can have “tapa” or an entire meal.

The tapas are little master pieces……The burger is exquisite. It’s a great place to enjoy lunch or dinner either with your professional partners or with your friends. The service is really nice and they have a great selection of wines.

And as a Grand Finale, the cheesecake is just spectacular… Just something you have to try!! (Since I am a big fan of this particular dessert I know what I am talking about!)

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Escauri | Restaurants (Basque) | Meal around € 35.00
C/ Dr. Fleming, 23 | Castellana | +34913430492
Mon – Sat 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:30 – 00:00

It has everything. This Irish Pub is different from the others you will find in Madrid. Obviously it has – like the others – a pool table and a big plasma screen to watch the matches. But there is much more.

After entering the pub you will believe that you have been moved to a cosy street in a lost village in Ireland. It’s always decorated matching the period of the year (you must go during Christmas and Halloween, you will be surprised!). Its stone floor and the streetlamp welcome you.

If you want to feel at home you must go upstairs and get into the room where you will find a chimney; sit down on one of the large rocking chairs and enjoy a cup of coffee or have a delicious dinner.

If you can, don’t miss the opportunity to listen to some live music. You won’t regret it!

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Irish Rover | Bars, Music, Relaxing | Cocktails € 7.00
Avenida de Brasil 7 | Castellana | +34915974811
Mon – Thu 12:00 – 03:00, Fri – Sun 12:00 – 05:00

If you want to try one of the most typical (although more unknown that others) Spanish dishes, go to La máquina de Lugones, where are specialist in fabada.

What is fabada? Is a kind of stew cooked with bot beans and meat (chorizo, morcilla…) that are very popular specially in the North of Spain (Asturias). I love it but perhaps is a big strong if you are not use to eating such a thing. But if you feel like trying, in La Máquina de Lugones have an excellent fabada.

So confident are they about this dish, than it is the only dish that serve in the restaurant, with the exception of the dessert (always cheese or rice with milk). Rice with milk is also fantastic with caramel on top.

The place is pleasant but in my opinion, quite serious. Most of the clients are up to fifty. Only opened for a meal, not for dinners.

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La Máquina de Lugones | Restaurants (Spanish) | Meal € 30
Paseo Habana 107 | Castellana | +34913430538
Mon – Sat 13:00 – 17:30

With over 13,000 works of art and collected objects, the Lázaro Galdiano Museum makes you think; what should I collect? The private collection of Don José Lázaro Galdiano is full of small treasures like miniature paintings, medals and coins, watches, porcelain figures, drawings and stamps, as well as arms and weapons.

The Foundation also has free concerts (usually classical music), ask at the reception for the changing schedule.

*note, photography and video are not permitted.

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Lazaro Galdiano Museum | Art & culture | Admission € 4.00
Calle Serrano 122 | Castellana | +34915616084
Wed – Mon 10:00 – 16:30, closed on holidays

Some traditional American diner style places have popped up in the last years in Madrid, and New York Burger is one of these. You’ll find what you expect about this kind of restaurant: good burgers (one of them vegetarian), grill meat, salads, sandwich, and brownies or ice cream for desert.

There are three sizes of each burger. The classic burger is named New York Burger, and other more original burgers have ingredients like blueberry marmalade and blue cheese… I like the Little Italy Burger with natural tomato, cheese and oregano. All of this, in an American ambience with numerous references to New York city in the name of the burgers (Bronx, Queens, Harlem, Empire State…) and in the pictures on the walls.

Some meals are also named after Hollywoord stars: the Scarlett Johansson salad or Robert the Niro sandwich are only two examples. The place is divided in two floors. During the day, I particularly prefer the upper one because is lighter.

A little New York Burger cost €6.70 and a big one €10.90. During dinner time sometimes there are a lot of people and the tables are very close. Not recommendable if you want privacy!

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New York Burger | Restaurants (Burger) | Small burger € 6.70
General Yagüe, 5 | Castellana | +34917703079
Mon – Sat 13:30 -17:00 & 20:00 – 00:00

Verging on being my favorite place on earth, this museum is a true gem.

You might not know the artist Joaquín Sorolla, but you’ve probably seen his paintings in a museum or two. He did his thing back in the late 1800s and developed a gentle realistic touch in his paintings of his family and friends. Sorolla is one of the many who has fallen under the beautiful spell of the Alhambra in Granada. While constructing his house (which is now the museum), he put in various reminders of the Alhambra, down to designing the garden with a mini version of one of the main fountains.

The house itself is set up to display not only his artwork, but also the artwork of his friends and the decor which he either designed or painted. Of note is the dining room decor which features painted angelic versions of his wife and children floating on clou

ds. His studio is the central focus of the house with a high ceiling and light from almost all sides – it’s easy to see how he was so inspired to paint.

The museum is a little off the beaten track of Madrid’s museums, but it’s walk

ing distance from the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano (see the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano article ).

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Sorolla Museum | Art & culture | Entry € 2.40
General Martinez Campos 37 | Castellana | +34913101584
Tue – Sat 09:30 – 20:00, Sun 10:00 – 15:00

Tao is part of a group of Asian restaurants distributed all over Madrid.

You can find unpretentious but attractive dishes with elements of different Asian cuisines: Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese… You can find dim sum, duck strip (both of them very tasty), sushi and spicy meat dishes.

Tao has several menus to choose from. A Japanese Menu (16 euros), Oriental Menu (12 euros) and so on; each one with many option for both the first courses and the main ones. Its decoration is minimalist and sober. The service at meals hour is a bit slow.

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Tao | Restaurants (Asian) | Average € 35
Felix Boix 7 | Castellana | +34913454047
Mon – Sun 13:30 – 16:00 & 21:00 – 00:00