I will be in Madrid in early August for a meeting at Colegio Oficial de Medicos. We have 1:30 to 3 off for lunch every day (Saturday through Wed) and I'm looking for suggestions for places to eat that are within walking distance of the college and that serve traditional Spanish food. There may be several hundred people at this meeting also trying to get lunch at the same time, so places a bit off the beaten path might be a good idea.

That's a VERY short lunch time. A traditional Spanish lunch requires more digestive time that you are going to have! I suggest eat rather lightly at the Colegio (there will probably be a cafe of sorts there) and enjoy a good meal later in the day when you have time to enjoy it!

Where is the Colegio de Medicos? We can help you more if we know what neighborhood....

The Colegio de Medicos is at c/Santa Isabel, 51, apparently across the street from the Reina Sofia Museum in the Atocha section of town.
Unfortunately, lunch has to be this short in order to accomodate the meeting without having to stay there all night. I'm looking forward to leisurely dinners, though.

Wow, great neighborhood! MadridMan's favorite bar/eatery is right there, across from Reina Sofia (he;s the list manager: ask him for the address). It's where he gets the fried squid sandwiches and beer, cheap and fun. Head up Santa Isabel and many of those streets have great tapa bars and informal restaurants. The Reina Sofia itself used to serve good food; don't know if it does anymore. There's also some decent casual places right on the Paseo del Prado on the same side as your conference, heading north. Other people may have specific names of places.... rgf

Oh, another thought: the "menu del dia" is always the deal, and it is typical Spanish food. A cheap one is between 1500-2000 pesetas, and usually includes food like tortilla espanyola, some kind of fried fish or meat, etc. It includes bread, wine or water, and a simple dessert. No substitutions! It will either say "IVA incluido" (tax included) or "mas IVA" (tax, 7%, added to bill). Remember in Spain that tipping, especially in casual places, is no more than 5% of the bill. Often it is whatever loose change you get back (60 pesetas, etc). Fun summer food: gazpacho (cold "liquid salad soup"); ensalada mixta (salad w/ goodies). Please write and tell us your experiences!

My wife and I never tip in Spain. I believe the service charge is built into the prices of the meal and drinks. This is acceptable behavior as far as I can see. Especially among my Spanish relatives and friends.

Raj

RP, don't you tip? Oops, I wouldn't like to hear what they are calling you on your back. You should tip unless you don't like the food or service. It is rude not to do so. I don't understand why your Spanish family didn't tell you that.

Of course you tip in Spain! The service charge is included in the bill, but the tip is not. Unless you are very poor or very young or very disgruntled (or all three!! ha ha), you tip as follows: for your beer and tapas, leave the change. If it is 550, leave 600. For your menu del dia at 1200 ps, leave 1 hundred minimum. Fancy meal in a fancy place gets at LEAST 5%. I went to dinner with a very upstanding madrilenyo and his family. The bill was 20 thousand, and he left one thousand tip. 5%. rgf

I'm back from Madrid, and I had a wonderful time! Thanks for all the tips. I found several places to eat lunch near the conference. I started off the first day with the menu del dia, but couldn't stay awake during the afternoon presentations after eating such a big meal. I ended up getting bocadillos (salmon or jamon), which were also good. My favorite meal of the whole trip, though, was on my last day in Madrid, after the conference had ended. I wondered around on foot, just following my notions to turn right or left, until I ended up somewhere between the Latina and Anton Martin metro stations at a tiny little bar/restaurant where I had gazpacho, a whole fish, bread, wine (that I mixed with agua con gas, a new one for me), and flan for dessert. No one in the restaurant spoke English, but the waitress was very patient with my attempts to speak complete sentences in Spanish. The most amazing thing is that this huge, delicious meal cost me 900 pesetas! The conference banquet at the Casino de Madrid cost me 11,000 pts. It was lavish and elegant, but I can't say it was any "better", at least in terms of how satisfied I was at the end of the meal.
I would like to go back to Madrid, next time for a real vacation instead of work. Next time, I would get more information ahead of time about tapas bars where the tapas are free with a drink. That only happened in one place during my whole week there (oh, and it was really yummy: fish, artichoke hearts, and red peppers in oil). Other people at the conference told me they found free tapas all over the place; I guess I just didn't go to the right places.

Oh, I guess I should give a plug to the great little place I found for lunch. It's the Bar Viriato at c/Ave Maria, 17. You have to walk through the bar to get to the restaurant in back.