Here are some of my favorites (oh, and I am a stand up and snack person, not sit down dinner) in this neighborhood in no particular order:

On C/Echegaray

La Caserola- great place to drop in for a caña. They always have a tasty free tapa and the 2 men behind the bar are characters. Also, they have a really good menu del dia. Creamed spinach and grilled fish for like 8 eur.

La Venencia- need I say more from the Hostal Bianco post?

On C/Manuel Fernández y González

La Toscana- don't miss the man that cuts the tomatoes for the house salad. He is one of a kind. They make great morcillo AND morcilla. And, I think their albondigas en salsa are the best in town.

La Lacon- again, funny bartender that will flirt with every girl in the place. Most of their free tapas change every night but always have callos which are excellent.
Right across the street there is a bar (can't remember the name) that we had a few beers in. Friendly, good snacks, good tortilla.

La Trucha- I think the branch on this street has better food, but the other one has more personable staff. We had a pincho moruno, smoked salmon to die for, really thin crispy fried eggplant, and we didn't get a chance to order the salmonete fish but it looked really good.

On C/Ventura de la Vega

La Puebla- OK, I did actually sit down here. They have 3 different menu del dias to choose from and they are all pretty extensive. I think we ate from the least expensive one. Starters were salmorejo and scrambeled eggs with spring garlic shoots, and we each had a whole fish ala plancha for an entree (lubina and dorado) Everything was great. For dessert they make a baked apple that is really good. If they have gallo (fish) try that. They were out the day I was there.


OK, that's all for now. I will try to add more as I can but I think my boss would like me to get to work and stop daydreaming about my vacation!!!

That´s a great run through of the area Sparkalina !! Although I do take issue with the callos .. one of only 2 dishes here in España that I hate .. Good taste , for sure , but the texture ... Aaaargh . And Sesos Fritos ( I had in Girona ) .. Never again ! And I agree , snacking in Madrid , moving from bar to bar , is a real treat .

I ate the callos because I was too ashamed to say that I did not want them. Surprise! I liked it. Wouldn't go back for a great big bowl but the tapa was good. The texture does take a little getting used to.

Sesos...you are a braver person than I! I have not had the, um, pleasure.

I think la Toscana will be our 1st place when we arrive in Madrid next week . Morcillo and ensalada de las casa, ye cannae beat it

The man that makes the tomato salad at Toscana is amazing to watch. He knows his way around a tomato! Just looking at the amount of salt he puts on makes me want to chug a bottle of water, though!

Im sure thats sugar , I tried making it myself and it was never as good , but then I watched him and thought there is no way that is salt the amount he puts on it must be sugar , now when I make it its is a lot closer to the way you get it there .
If you want salty stuff go on the oil rigs in Denmark , they throw heaps of it on your food , and if you dont have enough salt , there is salt tablets on the table , and if afterwards your still needing salt you can have salty liquorice its disgusting .

La venencia, this is truly one of the best bars ever to have vino fino in, only rivalled by Bar Guzman in Cordoba

A friend of mine who had only tasted manzanilla from a supermarket bottle was blown away by this place and has returned with me on numerous occasions, needless to say he seems to develop a slight wobble as we leave

Echegaray and Ventura de la Vega for a long time were the cheap restaurant streets in Madrid. They had one restaurant after another where you could eat very well for little money. During my last few visits, I noticed every year a few more of the cheap places would be gone. I'm glad to see from Sparkalina's post that old favorites like La Caserola, El Lacon and La Puebla are still there. What about Hylogui and Bilbaino?

It's great that La Puebla is still there. So many similar cheap restaurants like Ballesteros have closed. I guess real estate in the area is pretty expensive now.

I haven't been to Madrid during the past year. I was hiding out in Argentina to escape the miserable exchange rate.

I like the Argentine restaurant La Cabana on Echegary. It's quite authentic. Everything is Argentine except the prices which are very European.

I stayed in lots of hotels over the years in the Echegary area - Ingles, Lisboa, Santander, Suites Prado...

I would eat on these streets at least once a day during those hotel stays. It was really good value at the time, but I think the area is becoming more mainstream. On my last visit I discovered Come Primo on the far end of Echegary which was a pretty authentic Italian restaurant, again not cheap.

I'm coming back to Madrid for a least a week in a few months, and I'm looking forward to spending time in the Echegary area again.

Sparkalina!! I just printed out your restaurant recommendations for Madrid. Thank you! Any more ideas out there? (I'm kind of hoping that our "innkeeper" who lists cooking as a hobby will offer to cook a special dish for my husband and me!)