Eating in Madrid: the back story

About Eating in Madrid: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Madrid Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Madrid eats on two levels at once. At one end, the 2026 MICHELIN Guide gives Three Stars to DiverXO and Two Stars to Deessa, Coque, Ramón Freixa Atelier, DSTAgE, Paco Roncero and Smoked Room, with more than twenty one-star tables beside them. At the other end are the old taverns of the centre, where cocido madrileño still simmers in clay pots and the counters of the Cava Baja fill up after dark.

The tasting menus

DiverXO, near the Bernabéu, holds Three MICHELIN Stars in the 2026 guide. Deessa at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Coque on Marqués de Riscal, Ramón Freixa Atelier on Velázquez, DSTAgE on Calle Regueros, Paco Roncero at La Terraza del Casino and Smoked Room on the Castellana each hold Two.

Cocido madrileño

Madrid’s great dish is a slow stew of chickpeas, meats and vegetables, served in courses: first the broth, then the rest. Taberna La Bola says it has cooked it “since 1870” in clay pots over holm-oak charcoal; Malacatín, in La Latina, “since 1895”; and Lhardy, on the Carrera de San Jerónimo, “since 1839”.

Book the big tables weeks ahead, and keep one long lunch for cocido.

The old dining rooms

Restaurante Botín says it was founded in 1725. Casa Lucio, on the Cava Baja, is the address for huevos rotos.

Good value

The MICHELIN Guide’s Bib Gourmand list, for good cooking at moderate prices, includes La Montería, Las Tortillas de Gabino and La Barra de la Tasquería.

When to eat

Madrid eats late: lunch from about 2pm, dinner from about 9pm. Many restaurants close one or two days a week, so check before you go.

Our advice: lunch is the time for a long tasting menu; save dinner for tapas in La Latina.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Eating in Madrid: the back story before you go.