20 tables near the museums, rankedBest restaurants in Madrid
Where to eat in Madrid before or after a museum: the 20 tables with a history within reach of them, the old taverns of La Latina and the literary quarter, the houses of cocido and roast lamb, the chocolate shops and the cafés of the tertulias, in the order their customers rate them.
- 20
- Tables near the museums, ranked
- 1642
- The oldest: Posada de la Villa
- 8
- Within 500 metres of a museum
- 4.6
- The highest rating: Horcher
The ranking for Madrid
Show
All 20
14.6
Horcher
Restaurant, Retiro
A restaurant of 1943 across from the gates of the Retiro, the Madrid branch of a Berlin house, with formal service and the game dishes of Central Europe.
24.5
Posada de la Villa
Restaurant, La Latina
An old inn on the Cava Baja, dating itself to 1642, with a wood-fired oven for roast lamb and rooms of beams and brick.
4.5
4,206 Google ratings
- Opened
- 1642, by its own account, as an inn
- Nearest museum
- Plaza Mayor, 300 m
34.5
Viva Madrid
Tavern, Barrio de las Letras
A tavern of 1856 in the Barrio de las Letras with one of the most famous tiled fronts in Madrid, reopened in 2018 as a house of the aperitif.
44.5
Antigua Pastelería del Pozo
Pastry shop, Puerta del Sol
A bakery of 1830 in a narrow street behind the Puerta del Sol, the place for Madrid's old pastries: bartolillos, puff pastry and the roscón of Epiphany.
54.4
The Calle de las Huertas, where Casa Alberto stands.. Picture: Barcex, CC BY-SA 3.0
Casa Alberto
Tavern, Barrio de las Letras
A tavern of 1827 on the Calle de las Huertas, in the Barrio de las Letras, full of the memories of writers, actors and bullfighters.
64.4
Corral de la Morería
Tablao and restaurant, La Morería
The tablao of 1956 near the Royal Palace where the great names of flamenco have performed, with dinner served before and during the show.
74.3
Chocolatería San Ginés
Chocolate shop, Puerta del Sol
The chocolate shop in a passage off the Calle del Arenal where Madrid has gone for chocolate and churros since 1894, open late into the night.
84.3
Sobrino de Botín
Restaurant, Plaza Mayor
The restaurant the Guinness Book of Records calls the oldest in the world, below the Plaza Mayor, roasting suckling pig and lamb in its old wood-fired oven.
4.3
17,142 Google ratings
- Opened
- 1725, by its own account: the house can be traced on this street from 1865
- Nearest museum
- Plaza Mayor, 150 m
94.3
Casa Labra
Tavern, Puerta del Sol
A tavern of 1860 a few steps from the Puerta del Sol, where the Spanish Socialist party was founded in secret in 1879, famous for its fried cod.
104.3
Bodegas Rosell
Tavern, Atocha
A wine tavern of 1920 near Atocha station, behind a front of painted tiles, known for vermouth from the barrel and dishes of cod.
114.3
A cocido madrileño, the dish the house is known for.. Picture: Adriao, Public domain
Malacatín
Tavern, La Latina
A family tavern of 1895 near the Rastro where four generations have served cocido madrileño.
124.3
Taberna de Antonio Sánchez
Tavern, Lavapiés
A tavern in Lavapiés that dates itself to 1787, named after a bullfighter, with its old tiles and the heads of bulls on the walls.
4.3
2,793 Google ratings
- Opened
- 1787, by its own account
- Nearest museum
- Plaza Mayor, 550 m
134.3
Taberna de Ángel Sierra
Tavern, Chueca
A tavern of 1908 on the Plaza de Chueca, with a pewter bar, old barrels and vermouth on tap, bought by Ángel Sierra in 1917.
144.2
Casa Lucio
Restaurant, La Latina
The restaurant on the Cava Baja in the house of an old coaching inn, opened in 1974 and known across Spain for its fried eggs on chips.
154.2
Taberna La Bola
Tavern, Ópera
The red-fronted tavern near the Royal Palace where the Verdasco family has served cocido madrileño in individual clay pots since 1870.
4.2
8,048 Google ratings
- Opened
- 1870, as a restaurant: the house sold drinks from 1802
- Nearest museum
- Royal Palace of Madrid, 400 m
164.2
Bodega de La Ardosa
Tavern, Malasaña
The oldest surviving bodega of a chain founded in 1892, on the Calle de Colón, behind a front of red wood and painted tiles.
174.2
Lhardy
Restaurant, Carrera de San Jerónimo
A pastry shop opened by a Frenchman in 1839 that became one of Madrid's first restaurants, with its shop and its silver samovar of consommé on the ground floor and dining rooms upstairs.
184.1
Casa Mingo
Cider house, Príncipe Pío
An Asturian cider house of 1888 by the Manzanares, beside Goya's chapel of San Antonio de la Florida, famous for roast chicken and bottles of cider.
194.1
La Mallorquina
Pastry shop and café, Puerta del Sol
The pastry shop on the corner of the Puerta del Sol and the Calle Mayor, open since 1894, with ensaïmadas from Majorca downstairs and a tea room above.
204.1
Café Comercial
Café, Glorieta de Bilbao
The great literary café of the Glorieta de Bilbao, open since 1887, with its revolving door, its marble tables and a chess club upstairs.
How long they have been open
Each bar runs from the year a restaurant opened to today. The oldest on the list opened 384 years ago, and 15 of the 20 were already open in 1900.
- Posada de la Villa1642, by its own account, as an inn
- Sobrino de Botín1725, by its own account: the house can be traced on this street from 1865
- Taberna de Antonio Sánchez1787, by its own account
- Casa Alberto1827
- Antigua Pastelería del Pozo1830
- Lhardy1839
- Viva Madrid1856
- Casa Labra1860
- Taberna La Bola1870, as a restaurant: the house sold drinks from 1802
- Café Comercial1887
- Casa Mingo1888
- Bodega de La Ardosa1892
- Chocolatería San Ginés1894
- La Mallorquina1894
- Malacatín1895
- Taberna de Ángel Sierra1908
- Bodegas Rosell1920
- Horcher1943
- Corral de la Morería1956
- Casa Lucio1974
How near they are to a museum
For each restaurant, the museum or sight it is nearest to, and how far it is in a straight line. Nearest first: the top of the list is where to go when you come out hungry.
- Chocolatería San GinésPlaza Mayor, 150 m
- Sobrino de BotínPlaza Mayor, 150 m
- La MallorquinaPlaza Mayor, 250 m
- Posada de la VillaPlaza Mayor, 300 m
- Casa LabraPlaza Mayor, 300 m
- Taberna La BolaRoyal Palace of Madrid, 400 m
- Casa LucioPlaza Mayor, 400 m
- Viva MadridThyssen-Bornemisza Museum, 400 m
- Casa AlbertoThyssen-Bornemisza Museum, 500 m
- LhardyPlaza Mayor, 500 m
- Antigua Pastelería del PozoPlaza Mayor, 550 m
- Taberna de Antonio SánchezPlaza Mayor, 550 m
- Bodegas RosellMuseo Reina Sofía, 550 m
- MalacatínPlaza Mayor, 600 m
- HorcherThyssen-Bornemisza Museum, 600 m
- Corral de la MoreríaRoyal Palace of Madrid, 600 m
- Casa MingoTemple of Debod, 650 m
- Taberna de Ángel SierraThyssen-Bornemisza Museum, 800 m
- Bodega de La ArdosaPlaza Mayor, 1.0 km
- Café ComercialTemple of Debod, 1.4 km
The track is 3 kilometres long. A restaurant inside a museum or a monument has almost no bar at all.
What diners say
Each restaurant's overall rating on Google, and how many people have given one. The longer the bar, the more people have eaten there and said so.
- Chocolatería San Ginés4.373,551 Google ratings
- Sobrino de Botín4.317,142 Google ratings
- Casa Labra4.315,913 Google ratings
- Casa Mingo4.114,625 Google ratings
- La Mallorquina4.113,724 Google ratings
- Casa Lucio4.211,173 Google ratings
- Café Comercial4.19,327 Google ratings
- Taberna La Bola4.28,048 Google ratings
- Bodega de La Ardosa4.27,781 Google ratings
- Bodegas Rosell4.36,411 Google ratings
- Casa Alberto4.45,385 Google ratings
- Corral de la Morería4.44,541 Google ratings
- Malacatín4.34,293 Google ratings
- Posada de la Villa4.54,206 Google ratings
- Lhardy4.23,453 Google ratings
- Taberna de Antonio Sánchez4.32,793 Google ratings
- Taberna de Ángel Sierra4.32,737 Google ratings
- Viva Madrid4.52,518 Google ratings
- Antigua Pastelería del Pozo4.51,052 Google ratings
- Horcher4.6721 Google ratings
Read on Google Maps. A famous café is rated by a great many visitors who came for the name, which is why the best known are not the best rated. Ratings change, and so will this.
Where they are
Each number is a restaurant, by its place in the ranking. The yellow squares are the museums and sights this site has a guide to. The blue band is the river, the green blocks the parks, and each square of the grid is one kilometre.
- 1Horcher
- 2Posada de la Villa
- 3Viva Madrid
- 4Antigua Pastelería del Pozo
- 5Casa Alberto
- 6Corral de la Morería
- 7Chocolatería San Ginés
- 8Sobrino de Botín
- 9Casa Labra
- 10Bodegas Rosell
- 11Malacatín
- 12Taberna de Antonio Sánchez
- 13Taberna de Ángel Sierra
- 14Casa Lucio
- 15Taberna La Bola
- 16Bodega de La Ardosa
- 17Lhardy
- 18Casa Mingo
- 19La Mallorquina
- 20Café Comercial
River and green areas: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where to eat in Madrid: common questions
- Which is the best restaurant in Madrid?
- Of the 20 on this list, Horcher: 4.6 out of 5 from 721 ratings on Google. Posada de la Villa and Viva Madrid come next. The order on this page follows that rating and nothing else.
- Where can you eat near the Prado?
- Horcher, 600 m away; Viva Madrid, 650 m away; Casa Alberto, 700 m away; Antigua Pastelería del Pozo, 800 m away. Distances are in a straight line.
- Which is the oldest restaurant in Madrid?
- Of those on this list, Posada de la Villa, which dates itself to 1642, by its own account, as an inn.
- Which are the famous cafés of Madrid?
- Antigua Pastelería del Pozo, Chocolatería San Ginés, La Mallorquina and Café Comercial are the cafés and tea rooms on this list.
- How is the list made?
- The restaurants are chosen by this site: famous tables with a history, within reach of the museums. Their order is not chosen. It follows each one's overall rating on Google, and where two are level, the one more people have rated comes first. No restaurant pays to be listed or to be higher.
Things to do in Madrid
- 1Spend a morning with Velázquez and Goya at the PradoPaseo del PradoMuseum, 2.5 to 5 hours, ticket, free in the last two hours
- 2Walk through the state rooms of the Royal PalaceÓperaMonument, 1.5 to 3 hours, ticket
- 3Stand in front of Guernica at the Reina SofíaAtochaMuseum, 1.5 to 3 hours, ticket, free in the evenings
- 4Walk seven centuries of painting at the ThyssenPaseo del PradoMuseum, 2 to 3.5 hours, ticket, free on mondays
Where to stay in Madrid
- Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid4.7Five-star hotel, Plaza de la Lealtad
- Wellington Hotel & Spa Madrid4.7Five-star hotel, Calle de Velázquez
- Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá4.7Five-star hotel, Ópera
- Santo Mauro4.7Five-star hotel, Almagro
How the ranking is made
Which restaurants are on the list is this site's choice: famous tables with a history, within reach of the museums. Their order is not. It follows each one's overall rating on Google, highest first, and where two are level, the one more people have rated comes first. No restaurant has paid to be here or to be higher.
No prices are given, because they change, and no stars, for the same reason. The button on each restaurant's page leads to its own site, where the menu and the bookings are.