Eating well and at a reasonable price is becoming increasingly complicated in the capital, so the list of restaurants where you can eat for less than 25 € becomes necessary to say the least. Madrid is in fashion in the gastronomic world, the restaurants with several Michelin stars year by year, and there is almost no time to digest the openings of great chefs but you can still find some restaurants with an affordable price and a competent quality.
1. Olive Tree Tavern
how can it be a restaurant where locals eat their rice dishes regardless of whether it’s nighttime or not? At Taberna del Olivo it doesn’t matter what time it is: the paellas with arroz al senyoret or with grouper and octopus come out all the time. The octopus deserves a special mention: its recipe was considered some years ago as the best in Madrid.
Taberna del Olivo has the spirit of those places where you enter by chance and end up coming back many times. This prescription serves to remove an equation from the previous sentence: so that you go in because you feel like it and end up coming back many times.
Around 25€ if you have tapas.
98 José Ortega y Gasset Street, Salamanca (Salamanca)
2. Briochef
Hamburgers are all the rage (or, rather, have been for years). And always being in the gastronomic limelight is due to the reinvention of the format over and over again. But you don’t have to do experimental capers to make a burger delicious. This is demonstrated by Briochef, a restaurant (or rather two, since they have just opened their second location in Alcalá de Henares) that bets on the quality of the raw material as the basis for a burger that explodes in the mouth.
The secret is in the meat: Dry Aged from Galician blonde cow. And in the bread which, as you can deduce from its name, is a fluffy brioche bread that embraces the rest of the ingredients. Among the most ordered: Picanto (15,90 €; with 1 or 2 paties of 100g smash style, cheddar and Gouda cheese, bacon and bacon jam and a mix of raw sauces), Guilty Pleasure (16,50 €; with truffle and boletus sauce, bacon, arugula, gouda cheese and topped with a parmigiano cheese cracker) and Pickleish (15,90 €; well of battered pickles, chopped red onion, cheddar cheese and a very pickle-likesauce).
About 20 €
Paseo de la Florida, 47 (Príncipe Pío); Calle Ramón y Cajal, 3 (Alcalá de Henares)
3. La Encomienda
The vegan cuisine is neither boring nor repetitive. This is demonstrated by places like La Encomienda, which aims to entertain, innovate, surprise… always from the concept of homemade, ecological and proximity. And with a clear objective: to bet on the sustainable future of food. We’d go for the delicious causa limeña ( with jack fruit and kala namak veganesa) or the pickled mushroom salad, which also has roasted sweet potato, spiced chickpeas and a cashew and thyme sauce.
About 20 €
Calle de la Encomienda, 19 (Lavapiés)
4. Santa Canela
Few things are more human than the impulse to want to share something when we like it, and like it a lot. That’s why sharing the existence of Santa Canela is quite natural: the casual and young atmosphere of the place and its good cooking make it a classic of Chamberí despite its relatively short life, it is difficult not to want to return once you try it.
On other occasions we have mentioned it in connection with its potatoes bravísimas (in this editorial office have already tired of hearing this recommendation), but in its menu you can also find from burgers to artichoke flowers candied in flower on truffle hummus.
Around 20€ per person
Guzmán el Bueno Street, 20 (Chamberí)
5. Vega
It is pure happiness. Delicious vegan cuisine, which dares to mix concepts, inspirations from different international cuisines, with organic products and that which is not eaten but is noticeable: a lot of pampering. Both the original location on Luna Street and the more recent one on Alamo Street (with that little terrace prepared for sunny days), are two safe bets when you want to eat well, vegan, conscious, tasty and affordable. We recommend the heura korma curry with almond, coconut and yogurt with basmati rice and crispy papadum and the tremendous black rice with ‘calamari’, artichokes and asparagus with sweet garlic aioli.
About 20 €
Calle del Álamo, 3; Calle de la Luna, 9 (downtown)
6. Cedron
Cedron is a wine bar where the food is particularly good. It is located in an 1850’s building in La Latina, with remains of the wall of Madrid. The menu is brief and has two clear influences: Mediterranean and Argentinean. The milanesa is the main protagonist and they make it both in the Argentinean and Neapolitan style, of course, if you order the Italian version it is better to share.
The wine list is, as expected, longer and focused on natural wines. If you order a whole bottle, the bill will be over 25 €, but they also have wine glasses that are more in line with the price.
About 20 €
Almendro Street, 25 (La Latina)
7. Arce Sisters
Hermanas Arce has a Nordic spirit with a Mediterráneo cuisine. Although they are well known for their desserts and breakfasts, here they serve meals and they deserve to have the same fame because they are made with the same principle that governs the entire restaurant: nothing comes out of a jar. Of course, to try their dishes you have to go before 3:30 pm, the time when the kitchen closes (and they don’t serve dinner). The menu changes daily, they usually have several starters and two main courses. The portions are adjusted to the price and the idea is to order several dishes to try.
About 20 €
Calle Marqués de Monasterio, 6 (Salesas)
8. Tatema
Tatemar is a pre-Hispanic cooking technique that consists of putting food on the fire to roast it in the embers. And, as its name suggests, it is the favorite preparation of this restaurant in Lavapiés although its menu has everything. His fried broccoli with sesame dressing and slices of aged cheese is a delight that convinces even the haters of Verde. Promise.
One advantage is that almost all of their dishes can be ordered in different sizes: skewer, half portion or full portion, which allows you to try many different recipes without wasting food or digging too deep into your pockets.
20 per person
Argumosa Street, 11 (Lavapiés)
9. Los Andenes
The peruvian cuisine is booming in Madrid. Vermouth is making room for pisco sour and more and more restaurants are offering ceviche on their menus. But none like Los Andenes. This humble locale located in the heart of the chamberí neighborhood brings the best of Inca food but in a vegan version. Ceviche without fish, aji de no gallina, milanesas without meat. .. Traditional Peruvian recipes successfully converted to the vegetable kingdom.
23 per person
Calle de Fernández de los Ríos, 43 (Chamberí)
10. Toboggan Bar
The traditional, when it is modernized and leaves aside the stale, is always the best option. Bar Toboggan knows this and therefore offers a menu that is rather a mosaic of traditional portions and contemporary dishes at very affordable prices. From bravas and croquettes to gyozas and tequeños, from cochinita pibil tacos to calamari montadito or pepito levantino. A neo-patriotic mix that will satisfy anyone.
16€ per person
Rutilio Gacis Square, 2 (Delicias)
11. Asian Army
For some time now, the Antón Martín Market has been a place where the gastronomic mecca for the number and variety of good restaurants that sit in its stalls. And one of those restaurants that have contributed to forge him that fame is Asian Army.
In this canteen the flavors of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are mixed in its dishes that, besides being delicious and at a good price, we guarantee that they will not leave you hungry. For example, its star dish: Grandma’s classic laksa, a spicy noodle soup made with shrimp and coconut, which can be tasted for 14.50€.
Around 20€ per person
Antón Martín Market, first floor, stall 7-11 (5, Santa Isabel St.)
This article has been written by Alberto del Castillo, María F. Carballo, Isabel Nieto, y Elena French.