Image by Claudia Ortega

There are several wanna-be diners in Madrid that don’t come close to a “real” American diner. Tommy Mel’s is the exception because the food is pretty authentic – think chili, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes and burgers – and the atmosphere is complete with 50′s music blasting and energetic waiters in timely costume.

To bridge the Spanish-American gap, you can order cocktails, beer and wine and have cheese fries with local blue-cheese topping. But, the majority of the menu is reminiscent of the movie Grease and is probably cooked with plenty.

Don’t miss the dessert and milkshake menu: the pecan pie gets my stamp of approval. The restaurant has been so successful, they’ve opened more around Madrid and are branching out to different Spanish cities.

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Tommy Mel’s | Snacks, Restaurants (American) | Classic burger € 6.35
Pedro Jeixeira 8 | Castellana | +34914178744
Mon – Thu 13:15 – 00:00, Fri 13:15 – 02:30, Sat 09:00 – 02:30, Sun 09:00 – 00:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by E.G.G.

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) | Dinner € 35
Felix Boix 7 | Castellana | +34913454047
13:30 – 16:00 & 21:00 – 00:00 daily

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Image by La Cesta

La Cesta is an informal but cool restaurant with reasonable prices. Its dishes contain excellent ingredients and are created (not executed) by one of the best cooks in Madrid: Oscar Velasco. He is the cook at Sant Celoni, a two Michelin star restaurant.

In La Cesta, which opened in the last months of the past year, you can enjoy tasty dishes based on the traditional Spanish cuisine: callos, solomillo,  judías… I specially recommend tortilla and croquetas. All this in a modern and comfortable place (I love the decoration) with a good service, as well, and a good selection of wines.

As it’s a contemporary tavern, you can also go only for a drink or an aperitif. Despite the fact the restaurant works with booking, La Cesta has a little bar and two tables at the entrance for people that haven’t booked.

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La Cesta | Bars, Restaurants (Traditional) | Dinner € 35
Calle Recoletos 10 | Castellana | +34911400696
Mon -Tue 13:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 12:30 – 01:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by Palob

Palob offers breakfast, lunches and dinners in an elegant ambient. It’s spacious enough for events such as business breakfast or family celebrations.The food is Spanish and based in the ingredients that they can find in the daily market.

Palob has four reserved spaces that brings about the privacy. They are equipated with the last technologies for presentations and other corporative events.

They have a daily menu for 18 Euros and a weekend one for 25.

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Palob | Restaurants (Spanish) | Dinner +/- € 25
General Gallegos 1 | Castellana | +34913454318
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 16:00 & 21:00 – 00:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by E.G.G.

Before the trend of quality burgers restaurants arrived in Madrid, this over-elaborate and dark place, that reminds you of British pubs, was a classic for eating very acceptable burgers in Madrid, and for a good price.

The best one is the Knight burger, of course. You have them from four euros to six. But not only can you choose a burger, you can also order hotdogs, sandwichs, eggs, salads, desserts…

The decor is made up of a wooden bar and furniture, a big beer bottle collection, red curtains and the walls are filled up with art decó posters, actor’s photos, and even the ceiling is full of classic pictures.

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Knight n’Squire | Bars, Restaurants (Burger) | Burger average € 4.50
Felix Boix, 9 | Castellana | +34913450159
Tue – Sun 13:00 – 01:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by New York Burger

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 from 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 Hollywood 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 €7,90 (160 grs.) and a big one (500 grs.!) €14.90. During dinner time sometimes there are a lot of people and the tables are very close. Not recommendable if you want privacy!

Now, you have another NY Burger in Recoletos Street.

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New York Burger | Snacks, Restaurants (Burger) | Small burger (160 grs.) € 7.90
General Yagüe, 5 | Castellana | +34917703079
Mon – Sat 13:30 -17:00 & 20:00 – 00:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by La Máquina de Lugones

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

What is fabada? Is a kind of stew cooked with both beans and meat (chorizo, morcilla…) that is very popular specially in the North of Spain (Asturias). I love it but perhaps is a big strong if you are not used to eating something like this.

That is the specialty, but you have also other (not a lot) traditional dishes as Entrecot (big piece of beef meat) or Merluza a la sidra (fish). For the dessert I recommend rice with milk. It’s fantastic its caramel on top.

The place is pleasant but in my opinion, quite serious. Most of the clients are up to fifty. It’s only opened for lunch, not for dinner.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
La Máquina de Lugones | Restaurants (Spanish) | Meal € 30
Paseo de la Habana 107 | Castellana | +34913430538
Mon – Sat 13:00 – 17:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by Nikko Hinderstein

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

You might not know the artist JoaquínSorolla, 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 clouds. 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 walking distance from the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano (see the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano article).

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Sorolla Museum | Art & culture | Entry € 3.00
General Martinez Campos 37 | Castellana | +34913101584
Tue – Sat 09:30 – 20:00, Sun 10:00 – 15:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid

Image by Nikko Hinderstein

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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Lazaro Galdiano Museum | Art & culture | Admission € 6.00
Calle Serrano 122 | Castellana | +34915616084
Wed – Mon 10:00 – 16:30, Sun 10:00 – 15:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Madrid