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Number 7 of 20 in Madrid

Tapas in La Latina: the Cava Baja and the old taverns

In Madrid you do not go to a tapas bar, you go to several. La Latina, the quarter south of the Plaza Mayor, is where the city does it best, on a Sunday at midday after the market or late on any evening.

What it is
Walk
Time to allow
1.5 to 3 hours
Cost
Pay for what you eat and drink
Best time
Sunday after the Rastro, or any evening after eight

Madrid this week

    Why La Latina is worth it

    La Latina takes its name from a hospital founded in 1499 by Beatriz Galindo, known as La Latina for her learning, who taught Latin to Queen Isabella. It covers much of the oldest Madrid, between the Calle de Segovia, the Calle de Toledo and the great dome of San Francisco el Grande.

    Its spine for eating is the Cava Baja, which runs along the line of the medieval wall. From the seventeenth century it was full of inns, where the carters and coaches from Toledo and Segovia arrived, and some of the taverns on it still keep the name of a posada.

    The custom is simple: a drink at the bar, a small plate with it, then on to the next. A few bars have stood here for more than a century, and the newer ones have learned the habit from them.

    What to see

    1. The Cava Baja

      A curving street of taverns and restaurants running from the Plaza de Puerta Cerrada to the Plaza del Humilladero. Its parallel, the Cava Alta, has more.

    2. The Plaza de la Paja

      The sloping square that was the heart of medieval Madrid, with a walled garden at the top and café tables in summer.

    3. What to order

      Croquetas, patatas bravas, tortilla, fried squid and huevos rotos, the fried eggs broken over chips that Casa Lucio made famous. Ask for a caña, a small beer, or a vermouth from the tap.

    4. Sunday after the Rastro

      When the flea market ends at midday, its crowd climbs the hill into La Latina, and the bars and squares are at their fullest.

    How to do it well

    • Madrid eats late. The bars fill from about two for lunch and from nine in the evening.
    • Order at the bar, a little at a time. A ración is a full plate to share, a tapa or a pincho a small one.
    • Go with a guide the first time if you want to know which bar does what best.
    • On Sunday the Rastro and La Latina make a morning together: the market first, then the bars.

    Where it is

    Address

    The Cava Baja, the Cava Alta and the streets around the Plaza de la Paja

    Nearest station

    La Latina (line 5), at the end of the Cava Baja

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Tapas in La Latina

    Tapas in La Latina: common questions

    Where is the best place for tapas in Madrid?
    La Latina, around the Cava Baja and the Plaza de la Paja, is the best-known quarter for it. The Barrio de las Letras, around the Plaza de Santa Ana, is the other.
    What time do people eat tapas in Madrid?
    At midday, from about one to three, especially on Sundays, and in the evening from about eight until late. Dinner in a restaurant rarely starts before nine.
    Are tapas free in Madrid?
    Some bars still put a small plate in front of you with a drink, without being asked. Most of what you eat you order and pay for.
    How much time do you need for La Latina?
    Allow 1.5 to 3 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

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