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.

CCG!! GREAT follow-up!! I think YOU'RE the FIRST person to post messages/questions about your upcoming trip AND THEN come home to tell us how it went. We all thank you here. Thank you.

I'm so happy you found yourself more or less happy in Madrid. And what great/specific tips/places to try there! It's true, one can eat VERY VERY well in Spain for little money. MAN! I'm getting hungry thinking about it!! ARGH!! By the way, you can ALWAYS get free tapas with drink at the Museo del Jamon bars/eateries as well as the Bar Brillante near the Reina Sofía museum where you were.

By the way, can we assume you're in the USA? Your profile didn't say. I only guess this because, as my ladyfriend from Madrid says, "Only Americans worry so much and are so happy to share with others how much they spent on a meal."

Saludos, MadridMan

HA! Your ladyfriend is correct. I live in the USA.

I'm surprised that I'm the first to ask then report. I probably wouldn't have thought to give a report, except that rgf encouraged me to do so (on this, and also on the security page).

The Bar Brillante is the one place I did go where they had the really good (and complementary) tapas. I decided to try it because rgf mentioned that you really like the fried squid sandwich at a place near the Reina Sofia. When I saw that on the menu, I just had to try it. I passed on the Museo del Jamon once I saw that there was more than one because it seemed to be a chain; I guess that was my mistake.

It is so wonderful when someone reports back, and especially when they have been SO SUCCESSFUL as you at getting in there and trying the REAL madrid. The lunch you had near La Latina reminds me of one I had in 1975 with a bunch of students. We were just wandering around there, and went into a place, and started ordering all these amazing things... and it was so cheap! MadridMan's Brillante bar is starting to get a reputation! As for tapas with drinks... in fact, it is a custom that in many places IS disappearing. It is found more often in casual, neighborhood places. If you saddle up to the bar and ask for a chato (wine) or can~a (beer), you almost always get a little tapa, but... times do change. Where did you stay, and what was that like? rgf

Aaaaahhh.. Bar Brillante. So you tried the bocadillo de calamares or did you only have the free tapas with your beer? Mmmm.... I LOVE those things! I must have gone 3 times last year, stood at the bar and had my sandwich and drank my caña de San Miguel porque no sirven la de Mahou. (heheheee) I don't think I have EVER seen another tourist in that place when I was there during the day. However, at night, there are a few more...like when we had our "Party With MadridMan" outside on the terraza (sidewalk tables). I NEED to go back to Bar Brillante and Madrid... and I will soon enough (October is calllllling!!).

The Museo del Jamon is a chain, there are many in Madrid, but they're all really quite good! You'll always find some tourists there mainly because they're almost all located in touristy areas, but the large majority of patrons are Spaniards grabbing a beer/drink with the free tapas (during the day) and/or having a small meal with their families.

There's another place that served me free tapas with my afternoon beer and I was a bit surprised because of the touristy location. If you go out of El Arco de Cuchilleros of the Plaza Mayor (Southwest corner), down the
steps and down the Calle de Cuchilleros where it meets the small Plaza de Puerta Cerrada (where Calle de Segovia starts - going west) and you turn right, there's a small bar with beautifully painted tiles into a mosaic. I went here one afternoon, about to grab the bus on my way "home" across the river, and they served me free tapas of green, spiced olive. Mmmm... I liked them so much I bought another beer, but this time they gave me a small dish of patatas bravas I think. I was so thrilled!! I felt like I lived there! Walking around the city, then stopping for beer and free tapas, then hopping on bus going down calle de Segovia and UNDER El Viaducto, crossing El Rio Manazanares, looking over my shoulder to see the majestic Palacio Real and La Almudena up on the hill, continuing up the hill of the Paseo de Extremadura, and getting off at the top of that hill. At THE TOP of the hill, you can look down El Paseo, across the river valley, and see the Palacio Real PERFECTLY framed between the tall trees lining El Paseo. Ohmygod..... I'm in "THAT" place again.... I've GOT to go make some café con leche and put on some Spanish music now. Please excuse me... My heart is beginning to flutter with the memories.

And yes, thanks again CCG for reporting back. We all appreciate the follow-up!!

With a warming heart, MadridMan

Although tipping traditionally is 5%, I'm sure they wouldn't mind substituting that tradition with our traditional 15%. I am so accustomed to the 15% tip that we leave here, when I go to Spain, I almost always leave 15%, at least. If they give you good service and the food is good, is there any real reason to tip only 5% as opposed to the 15% that we are already accustomed to? I know some americans that won't try paella de gambas,but they sure don't mind checking out that 5% tip!

I tried to tip in Spain once (I'm rather generous since both my father and sister are waiters) and was chased out of the bar with my change. The bar man ran after me to give it back. No, I explained, it's the tip. NO! he insisted, and shoved it back at me. It was only change from a coffee, but I felt like I had done something really wrong by leaving it there.

Madridman, yes I did try the bocadillo de calamares along with my tapas and cerveza. I enjoyed the texture, but felt it didn't have much flavor (I should say that my sense of smell is not great, so I may miss out on very subtle flavors). This was my first meal in Madrid and I had been expecting the food to be spicier (more chilies) after growing up eating Mexican food (I know, I know, Spain and Mexico are NOT the same). Later in Madrid, I did have some spicy food (gazpacho, paella), but again it was not chili-based spicy.

rgf, I stayed at Hotel Asturias between the Sevilla and Sol metro stations (a great location for being close to attractions). This hotel was offered as one of the two choices for conference attendees. The staff were very accomodating, the room was clean, and the price included breakfast. Only two notes of caution: 1) It was noisy outside (partying, traffic) into the early morning hours, but I guess it is to be expected in such a busy area. 2) There was no air conditioning (at least not that I could tell). Luckily my week there was cooler than usual for August and I usually keep my own house fairly warm in the summer, so I was reasonably comfortable. Opening the french doors helped, but increased the noise level (thank goodness for the ear plugs the airline handed out).

Overall, I had a wonderful time and would definitely go back. I never did get around to seeing the museums or the nearby cities this time, so I need to do a better job of being a tourist instead of working next time!

CCG, as posted here elsewhere, I stayed in the Hotel Asturias in the late 70s with a student group I was accompanying! I know it well. Great location indeed. The rooms were wildly different: on the lower floors, more elegant; the higher floors, dorm-like. Sounds like you had a great time in Madrid!