Michelin stars give a lot of prestige and lift any special occasion, but knowing where the best cheap restaurants in Madrid are will fix your most ordinary day.
Whether you’re looking for traditional Spanish cuisine or international flavors, these restaurants will offer an affordable dining experience that’s good enough to make you want to repeat. The criteria to enter the list is, in addition to not exceeding the average price of 15€, that they are not only restaurants to eat on site, but also some designed for office days.
1. Pink’s Burger
If we agree that the proliferation of smashed burgers can be categorized as a gastronomic fad, we will also agree that Pink’s Burger is, on the one hand, a pioneer and, on the other, a master. The hamburger restaurant has grown at an incredible pace (they already have four locations) and they have done it through a concept that has no equal in Madrid. They only sell 100 hamburgers for the day and only sell 100 hamburgers at night. And when they run out, they close down the beach bar.
💶 Classic Cheeseburger: 8€.
2. B13
It is one of the most legendary vegans in Madrid and is just a few steps away from the Gran Vía b13: at B13 you can eat well, at reasonable prices and with 100% non-animal ingredients. It is especially famous for its potato omelette (which we understand and share), and its menu also includes sandwiches (watch out for the calamari!), hamburgers and mixed dishes.
💶 Average price: 9€ per person.
📍 Calle Ballesta, 13 (Malasaña)
3. Kebab House
One of the best kebabs in Madrid is also the oldest. The fame of this small restaurant located next to the Argüelles y Chamberí gets to come back every now and then to go back to the newspapers with the already repeated headline: the best kebab in Madrid.
The success is due to two cornerstones that are not always taken into account: the quality of the meat they serve, unlike other kebabs, it is not a uniform piece of meat, but stacked steaks as in the original recipe. And the price, which has not changed much in recent years.
The owner is an unfriendly gentleman, but with a certain rebellious charm -like his place- who, although he has retired, has left his legacy to a couple of workers. It used to open when it felt right, and when it happened the queue would go out on Menéndez Valdés street, you will see this complaint often in Google reviews, but now it seems they have reformed, premises included.
💶 Half kebab: 4€
📍 Calle de Meléndez Valdés, 67 (Moncloa)
4. The site
A few meters away is El Sitio. The area around Moncloa is usually crowded with students from Ciudad Universitaria who are looking for fast food and competitive prices, so it is not strange that cheap restaurants in Madrid proliferate here.
The claims of El Sitio is that it is the right place for fans of Estrella Galicia beer, artisanal pizza and hearty desserts. In addition to the menu of the day they do what they call “Crazy Tuesdays” which is the day of free pizza bar paying 8,90€.
💶 Average price: 15€
📍 Calle Fernández de los ríos, 93 (Moncloa)
5. Míguez Brothers
Among the cheap restaurants in the capital there must also be a place for homemade food, the food of a lifetime (few locutions say more about a place).
Hermanos Míguez lives from what it offers: not from its decoration, not from being in a central neighborhood, but from its cocido, its torrijas, its judiones, its rabo de toro (oxtail) and whatever dishes make up an excellent meal menu of the day traditional and, of course, lifelong.
Menu of the day: 12 € on weekdays and 16 € on weekends.
📍 Calle de Herminio Puertas, 10 (Alto de Extremadura)
6. Aegean
The famous souvlakis are, together with the gyros, the star dish of the greek street food and they certainly are in Aegean. This Greek restaurant in Madrid has two locations (one in Malasaña and another in Lavapiés).
And the good thing is that besides being cheap, here you eat without leaving the Mediterráneo diet. They have pitas stuffed with meat skewers, Greek sausage, pumpkin meatballs, mushrooms and many more options at less than 6 euros, most of them. They also have the most typical beers of the Hellenic country.
💶 Average price: 13€ per person.
📍 Calle Barco, 41 (Malasaña) and Calle San Carlos, 17 (Lavapiés)
7. Chun Li
Chun Li has new locations and intends to continue expanding throughout the city, but the product remains the same. The gyozas are handmade one by one in the traditional Chinese way. Its menu is concise, but with options within the dumplings: there are colored, vegetarian, fried or steamed in the typical bamboo baskets. And yes, the name and aesthetics of these stores refer to the Street Fightervideo game.
Average price: around 12 €
📍 Calle de las Fuentes, 1 (downtown) and Calle Toledo, 28 B (downtown)
8. Takos al pastor
There is always a queue to eat one of these tacos for a reason: price and quality are not always at odds. Years go by and the level of its famous tacos is maintained, although the price has gone up, now costing 2 €, but still very economical. Yes, only two euros for one of the best tacos in Madrid. Don’t leave without trying the cochinita pibil and, of course, their specialty, tacos al pastor with the classic achiote marinade.
Tacos from 2 € (the unit)
Calle de la Salud, 13 (downtown) a
9. Focacciamo
The market is like that, all of a sudden something that had always been there takes a new shape and turns out to be the key to success. Focaccias are that new something, and Focacciamo, specifically, the hot spot. Minimalist design and concept, many ingredient options and a reasonable price have made this small restaurant in Malasaña a hot spot in the city.
Average price: 14€
29 San Bernardo Street, Malasaña (Malasaña)
10. Scrambled eggs
In Revuelto the space to eat there is fair, but there is, although the truth is that their Korean sandwiches are more designed for take away.
The brioche in these sandwiches is as fluffy and sweet as it is hearty, and the fillings add volume and flavor, with several vegetarian options among the six types of sandwiches they serve, all of which are topped with sweet mayosauce. Their 9,90€ combo includes fries and drink.
Average price: 10€
Calle de Víctor Hugo, 5 (Chueca)
11. Gyoza Go!
Fans of gyozas (or jiaozis or dumplings, whichever you prefer) are in luck. Gyoza Go! is the ideal place to try authentic Chinese dumplings. 10 units of gyozas cost only 6 euros and the best thing is that they are handmade and cooked on the spot, you can see how they are made! They come in many flavors: chicken, pork, vegetables… and you can ask for them to be grilled or steamed. A pretty good fast food restaurant in which neither its price nor its quality disappoints.
💶 Average price: 8 per person.
📍 Calle de Carranza, 4 (Trafalgar) and Plaza del Comandante las Morenas, 5 (downtown).
12. Don Oso
Image courtesy of: Don Oso
It is one of the classics to eat at a much more than economic price in Madrid. At Don Oso you will find hamburgers for less than 4€ and, from there (and paying a supplement) you can customize them with the ingredients you want: cheese, bacon, mushroom… In their menu they also offer, of course, fries, and they have other options such as hot dogs and sandwiches.
burgers for less than 4€ and sandwiches for just over 3€.
📍 Various locations.
13. The sky
“It’s like you’re going to buy a jar of mom’s home cooking.” That’s the definition I usually use to talk about El Cielo to those who haven’t tried it yet. In this small take-out place it is difficult to choose from the variety of homemade dishes they offer: stews (lentils, chickpeas or pork stew with plums), potato omelette (delicious), stuffed eggplants, quiches, rice, burgers… You can choose to take a whole or half portion (they are generous) and we assure you that if you try them, you will repeat.
💶 Average price: 8 per person.
📍 Calle de Fúcar, 4 (Las Letras)
14. Kibey II
The Kibey Bar is the proof that you can eat well and at a good price next to plaza de Olavide. Their sandwiches are spectacular, especially the sirloin with cheese, which only costs 6€.
Our recommendation if you go with two people is to order a portion to share and a sandwich split in half accompanied by two huge doubles of beer perfectly poured. When the tables fill up, the windows overlooking Palafox Street become makeshift bars. People stand around using the window sill as a table to enjoy the square, but especially a good snack.
💶 Average price: 10 per person
📍 Calle Palafox, 31 (Trafalgar)
15. Vira Vira The Gyro’s – Street food
In the upper corridor of San Pablo, right next to the Plaza de San Ildefonso of Malasaña we found Vira Vira The Gyro’s. A street food restaurant with a product quite similar to a kebab, but more elaborate. They prepare the tortilla bread on the spot. After this they fill your gyro with the products of your choice – from feta cheese to pomegranate. They have vegan and vegetarian versions (also delicious).
The space is open and modern. It is also important to note that they are open until 3 a.m., so you can go there to satiate your late-night appetite or to revive after a night out.
💶 Drink and Gyro’s: 12 per person
📍 Corredera Alta de San Pablo, 1 (Malasaña)