Sundays are to take it easy, because the next day will be long before the following weekend. So, better to end the week with a good taste in your mouth and to do so, what better than to go in search of the best paellas in Madrid? Madrid was also the region where it was cooked the biggest paella in history you don’t need to get on an AVE to go to Valencia to eat a good rice.
1. Segis’s rice dishes
At Los Arroces de Segis its main protagonist is to die for, but it also has two special features. First: the total price per head of the paella includes a tasting of pre-selected starters. Second: the paella is cooked over a wood fire in a glassed-in kitchen completely visible to the diners.
💶 Daily menu: 38€
Infanta Mercedes Street, 109 (Valdeacederas)
2. MĂa Sea
In the (perpetual) debate about the authentic Valencian paella, it seems that the rabbit is quite consensual, in MĂa they serve it like this, or only with vegetables, or in a mellow format and with red gambeta.
This restaurant is defined by two gastronomic concepts: embers and Mediterráneo cuisine, and if they are usually successful in themselves, together they would not be less successful. This self-defined urban chiringuito carries the signature of chef Rafa Zafra (Estimar) for most of the dishes and is joined by Luis Rodriguez (Casa Elias) for the rice dishes.
💶 Paella for two: 25€
Plaza de Isabel II, 7 (downtown)
3. La Barraca
La Barraca is a very traditional restaurant and many say that its paella is one of the “best in the capital” and they say it without fear of being wrong. They serve an authentic Valencian paella, which, accompanied by their sangria, enters without you even realizing it.
💶 Paella for two people: from 19,50€
Calle de la Reina, 29 (downtown)
4. Samm
With over 40 years of history, Samm’s baked rice is as good or better than the first day. It is not one of the cheapest on the list, but you have to go (if only to try their socarrat).
💶 Average price: 40 € per person.
Calle de Carlos Caamaño, 3 (ChamartĂn)
5. Benigna House
It is a traditional and very peculiar restaurant, because of its crockery and even its way of serving paella, which reflects the restless spirit of its founder, Noberto, who became the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Alicante. At Casa Benigna they present it in a patella a container that improves its texture and flavor.
💶 Ration of paella: 28€
Benigno Soto Street, 9 (Prosperidad)
6. Bodywork
Never has a name been so well placed. LarrocerĂa gives exactly what it promises: rice, yes, and of a quality comparable to that of very few restaurants in Madrid (and almost in the Valencian Community). Intense flavor, bold blends, the right thickness or classic combinations. In LarrocerĂa they know what they do, when to risk and when to conserve. The biggest shame: they open when the market opens, but they serve door-to-door.
paella portion: from 13€
Guzmán El Bueno Market (43, Andres Mellado St.)
7.Bar La Gloria
Since 2013, Bar La Gloria has been cooking Valencian paella every Sunday, which has earned them inclusion on lists of the best Valencian paellas around the world. Their care for the ingredients, purchased in local stores, make their paellas an irresistible dish.
💶 Ration of paella: 15, 50 €
Noviciado Street, 2 (Noviciado)
8. El Madrileño
The restaurant “El Madrileño” won the title of best Valencian paella in the world in September 2021 –a recipe, by the way, that is in the BOE (Official State Gazette) -which was awarded by the International Paella Competition of Sueca. The “60+1” edition of this contest recognized the work between the stoves of Ă“scar de la Fuente and Javier Hernández, chefs of this restaurant in Guadarrama.
average price: between 35 and 45 €.
Dr. Palanca Street, 3 (Guadarrama)
9. Berlanga Restaurant
JosĂ© Luis GarcĂa Berlanga, son of the filmmaker, is the chef of this restaurant with views of the Retreat. The spaces between table and table are narrow on the inside (they also have terrace), but there is enough space for the small side table where they serve their paellas, which are at least for two people and is the star dish of their long menu.
💶 Rice for two people: from 24,30€
Avenida de Menéndez Pelayo, 41 (Ibiza)
10. Paellitas Tradition
Paellitas Tradición, recently opened in the Zone of Nuevos Ministerios, offers a solution to a historical problem: the impossibility of dividing a paella as a pizza is divided. Their paellas are made with the eye of a nutritionist, as they are individual portions of 80 grams of rice and their place takes you to that Mediterráneo atmosphere so typical of the Levantine coast. Affordable and delivery oriented, if you can only try one, our recommendation is clear: the black rice.
💶 Individual paellas: from 12,90€
Calle de San Germán, 11 (Tetuán)
https://youtu.be/1867yxgPRxw