
Usera began as a neighborhood that took as its name the surname of the military man who urbanized the land in the south of Madrid in the early twentieth century. The heiress and owner of the land was his wife Carmen del Río.
The truth is that these lands were not very profitable as a crop field, so her husband, Marcelo Usera, decided to parcel them out and start building. This is why some of the streets are named after his family or the neighbors of the time. In the 60’s the area was expanding, mainly thanks to the arrival of immigrants from other parts of Spain, which also happened in other areas such as Tetuán or Vallecas. This was creating other neighborhoods such as Almendrales, Moscardó, Orcasitas, Zofío, Pradolongo, San Fermín and Orcasur, which since 1980 are part of the district of Usera.
Today, when getting off at the Usera subway stop, it is easy to see some signs written in Chinese. Since the 2000s the population of the Asian country began to grow in the neighborhood -especially in Dolores Barranco street and surroundings- and now is a third of the entire foreign population of the district -there are a total of 10,651 people born in Asia living here, according to data from the Madrid City Council.
This has been a major attraction for the area, and festivities such as Chinese New Year are provided institutionally and the idea of Madrid’s Chinatown is insisted upon. Even with this particularity, it is happening like other neighborhoods in the south of the capital, such as Puerta del Angel, rent prices are rising at a rate that is driving out people who could previously afford to live here.
Chinese restaurants in Usera
Mr. Doulao

At Mr. Doulao (and in so many other places specializing in hot pot) the cauldron functions as a griddle, so to speak, and the food is finished cooking in the soup itself. (Soup, by the way, of which you also choose its flavor: spicy, mushroom, tomato). ) A soup you have to order from your phone. The service at the table is one-way: they bring you what you order, but what you order from your cell phone.
📍 Calle del Olvido, 46
Average price: 25€ per person.
Hong Kong 70 in Chinatown
Hong Kong 70 started on Calle Toledo, then opened in Usera, but in 2022 they closed the original establishment and are now only in Madrid’s Chinatown.
As expected, they focus on the specific cuisine of the city that gives the restaurant its name and which is one of the gastronomic strongholds of Asia. One of their specialties is duck in almost all its forms: roasted, fried or shredded in their dim sum. The latter are homemade and with fillings as appetizing as duck with foie flambé.
📍 Calle de Nicolás Sánchez, 11
Average price: 15 € per person.
Igo Pasta
Ramen, starters, rice dishes, vegetables, soups, all kinds of xiao longbaos and gyozas… Igo Pasta is the restaurant to go to when you want a complete gastronomic experience. Its dishes are varied, hearty and recognized for being that take away always ready to make you happy.
However, Igo Pasta’s ramen, that wonderful dish capable of recomposing and reviving a dead person, is the law: you will find it in a thousand ways, with meatballs, beef curry, vegetables, chicken… infinite possibilities and also extras to enjoy it to taste. Don’t ask for it: enjoy it in situ to take advantage of the heat of the stove.
📍 Calle de Dolores Barranco, 88.
Average price: 16 € per person.
Helaotai

If there’s one thing that Usera locals highlight about Helaotai is its generous portions: abundant quantities, perfect for sharing and, thus, tasting more and more dishes. The concept is simple: the best and authentic Chinese street food on a plate. Their noodles (especially inexpensive) stand out, as well as the sautéed rice pasta and guotie (fried dumplings).
📍Calle de Dolores Barranco, 13.
Average price: 10 € per person.
What to do in Usera
Wenzhou Supermarkets

The Wenzhou Supermarkets chain opened its first establishment in 1998 in Tetuán -where there is also a strong Chinese community- and grew as the Asian population in Madrid grew. In Usera they have two establishments specialized in selling Asian food from countries such as China, Japan and Korea.
📍 Establishments in Usera: Calle de Dolores Barranco, 70 and Calle Nicolás Sánchez, 17.
Sundials and the Moscardó colony

In the 1980s, the designer Alberto Corazón and the mathematician Juan José Caurcel painted 17 sundials on different facades in the Moscardó neighborhood of Usera. Recently, by an initiative promoted by the Moscardó Neighborhood Association with the support of the Municipal Board of Usera, these clocks have been restored and recovered for the heritage of the neighborhood and all the neighbors of Madrid.
Some of these clocks can be found on the façade of another of the neighborhood’s jewels: the Colonia Moscardó, the first public housing colony in Madrid. It was baptized in 1929 as Colonia Salud y Ahorro and is, without a doubt, one of the obligatory stops if you visit Usera. One of those places that are in Madrid, but do not look like Madrid.
📍 Various locations in the Moscardó neighborhood of Usera
Linear Park of Manzanares

You may not be familiar with the name, but what you’ve probably seen before is the mythical sculpture of La Dama del Manzanares, a work of the Valencian artist Manolo Valdés in the shape of a woman’s head and 13 meters high. It is located at the top of La Atalaya, a pyramid-shaped viewpoint designed by the famous Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill.
The Parque Lineal del Manzanares is one of the most unique green spaces in Madrid and has different areas, such as the Plaza Verde (crescent-shaped), the Paseo de los Sentidos, the Pradera (a large lawn) or the Parque del Belvedere, with children’s play ground. And, as its name indicates, the course of the Manzanares River crosses part of it.
📍 Camino de Perales, s/n
This article has been written by Alberto del Castillo, María F. Carballo, Isabel Nieto, Lucía Mos and Elena Francés.