In new gastronomic openings, decoration is almost as important as the menu. And no, it’s no longer enough for it to be a nice restaurant now it has to be unique, linked to a concept, an idea, an experience. For two reasons: among so many options it is easier to be remembered and it is also an attraction for new customers. Sometimes it is not necessary that the space is spectacular, but rather that the restaurant’s entire proposal is not comparable to that of another place.
Zíngara
As with those films so curious that it is best to get into them without even having seen the trailer, the best thing to do is to step in Zíngara for the first time without information or context. We will say, because we have to say something, that it is a restaurant of cuisine and signature cocktails that offers an exquisite vegetarian menu whose dishes convince even the most carnivorous diner in the room. Provided he is willing to be surprised, of course.
You make a reservation at Zíngara thinking that you are going to dine at a more Justice restaurant and, as soon as you enter, you realize that the space has something different from the rest. An atmosphere, between dark and mystical, that is more typical of a sanctuary or the home of a tarot reader. And that is where its magic lies, and perhaps that is precisely what makes it one of the best restaurants for dinner in Madrid.
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Plaza de las Salesas, 8 (Salesas)
JAM
The word “original” has at least a couple of definitions. The first, refers to the Inception: something belonging to a specific place. The second, to creativity and inventiveness, referring to a work that, in some way, is unique. JAM is original in all its meanings. It is a tavern in Madrid, the city where it was born, but it is also a tavern in the Middle East, as we read in your Instagram Description. A double origin -and a double meaning- that has placed it in this nice list.
JAM is not a trip to the Middle East without leaving Madrid. JAM is a jam session in which Spanish gastronomy is mixed with the culinary tradition of the Middle East. A space that, as Hannah Montana did on the Disney Channel, brings together the best of both worlds to bring the best of both worlds to Lavapiés a unique fusion cuisine with dishes as striking as its tasty chistorra hummus or its unexpected chickpea popcorn with tahini and paprika de la Vera.
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7 Marqués de Toca Street (Antón Martín)
Mómö Kebab
The sophistication of kebab has arrived, it is here, and it is Mómö Kebab. But the particularity of this small restaurant in Chamberí does not stop at presenting the kebab as if it were the new smash burger the whole place is set in a subway car that could have been perfectly designed for a Wes Anderson movie.
They have two types of kebab, always with pita bread, one with chicken and one with beef, and the potatoes are made with charcoal.
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Hartzenbusch Street, 9 (Chamberí)
Lady Bongo
Japanese food with fusion touches and a cocktail menu almost as long as the food menu. Lady Bongo is a two-in-one for those who like to go out for dinner and drinks, but go home early.
While the upstairs has a tiki raw bar with Japanese decor and raw dishes being prepared on the spot (nigiris and rolls, cebiches, tiraditos, pokes), the downstairs is the bottom of the sea, aquarium included. It’s like Disneyland but for adults.
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Calle de Serrano, 1, (Retiro)
El Tinterillo of Malaga
“A little piece of Malaga in Madrid”. This is the definition of this Malaga restaurant specialized in rice, seafood and pescaíto where the dishes are not ordered: they are auctioned. Spaghetti, prawns, oysters or scallops come out of the kitchen and are sung -loudly and with great art- in the dining room, to eat as you crave the dishes that are announced.
The portions are generous and the quality is worthy of the land that is the flag in the name, so train yourself to be agile during your visit because the dishes fly as they come out.
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Plaza de San Miguel, 8 (Downtown)
Guru lab
“Original” is an adjective that perfectly defines the essence of Guru Lab: more than a restaurant, and as its name suggests, it is a laboratory. A place to experience, whether you’re on the kitchen side or one of the barely 20 diners who can sit at the only table in the place. Cocktails and dishes -which vary from week to week- are served at will: as our colleague Miguel Sánchez pointed out, “your tastes and intolerances mark the menu and the rhythm and quantity depend only on your preferences”.
That is why recommending this or that dish based on one’s own experience is not possible in Guru Lab: the only option is to surrender to the mystery and be willing to be surprised. But one thing is for sure: once you try it, you’ll want to return.
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Calle de Echegaray, 14 (Barrio de las Letras)
Guo Rong
Arriving at a restaurant and not understanding anything. If there is no more original and curious experience than that, we definitely don’t understand anything. The menu is full of dishes that (unless you are a native or very knowledgeable in Chinese gastronomy) you have never seen in your life.
From duck heads to frog legs (something more normal) and hilarious translations such as “arroz al pavor”. The best thing to do here is not to take advice. The best thing to do is to bet on courage and ask for what you would never ask of yourself. Incidentally, it is a Chinese seafood restaurant located at that Chinatown known as Usera.
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Dolores Barranco Street, 52 (Usera)
Cardumen
It is practically impossible to end up in Cardumen by mistake. You come here because you want to, because you have read something about the site, because it has been recommended to you, or for any other reason.
It’s rare, yes, but one of the best fish restaurants in Madrid it is located in an industrial park (behind a car dealership). The reason? One of the largest fish wholesalers in the capital has its warehouses there: the closest thing to the beachfront you can find in Madrid.
A showcase full of fish that looks as if it has just been taken out of the Atlantic, a wine cellar with thousands of references and a grill that delights the diner.
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Albufera 323 – Edif. Vallausa -, Pta.1 Nave 5-6 (Vallecas)
Medium Club
“Supernatural cocktails” is the claim and leitmotiv of this corner of Pez and Jesús del Valle streets. A place to order one of those cocktails with such spectacular names and presentations as Premonition, Faces of Bélmez, Uri Geller, Marian Apparitions… our favorite is Abduction (there’s a whole wonderful performance around this cocktail, seriously, order it).
But there is something even more peculiar that goes in the name: to the cocktail menu is added a complete offer of hand line reading, tarot cards, astral chart consultation, graphology… even hypnosis, for the more daring. And hey, we are not being untruthful: there is also a food menu here (and delicious, we must say): like the sun-dried tomato hummus, the Andalusian pringá bao, the chicken meatballs with coconut milk, the “santero” sandwich from Cuba?
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Pez Street, 18 (Malsaña)
Cuzco Lupita Salons
The best place. Why? Because there are fewer and fewer places like this left in Madrid. And they must be protected at all costs. Salones Cuzco Lupita is a restaurant, is a party room and is a place for celebration. This is where birthdays, quinceañeras, get-togethers… come together in a sea of toasts, karaoke and laughter.
On the plate, Peruvian delicacies such as seco de cordero a la Chiclayana, rice with duck with raspberry sauce, ceviches… and endless piscos.
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Calle del Monte Oliveti, 32, (Puente de Vallecas)
This article has been written by Alberto del Castillo, María F. Carballo, Miguel Sanchez, Isabel Nieto, y Elena French.