Eating in Madrid

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Plaza Mayor is particularly notorious for high prices and low quality.

A much better option is the La Latina neighborhood just south of Plaza Mayor, especially along the Cava Baja street. To enjoy a gastronomic tour of this area you can join the Old Madrid Tapas & Wine Tour. At bars, one generally orders various sized plates, a ración meaning a full dish, a media ración a half dish or a smaller version which would be a tapa, a pinxto or a pincho.

If you are looking for food for a picnic the Corte Ingles on Calle de Preciados near Sol has a basement store fully stocked supermercado that includes a deli, bakery and fresh produce. There are also a number of deli-like shops along Calle Arenal that offer food para llevar (for take away). Also, if you are looking for cheaper food try any of the Museo del Jamon scattered throughout the city.They offer deli take out service as well as tapas and raciónes at fairly reasonable prices. Other cheap but good food options include: La Zapateria, El Brillante, Fastgood and Las Bravas.

Don't forget that the Spaniards don't eat lunch until 2 or 3 pm, and dinner doesn't start until 9 or 10 pm. As a rule of thumb, restaurants serve lunch from 1PM (earlier in touristic zones) until 3:30PM, then close and re-open for dinner at 8:30PM, serving until 11:00PM.If you're really desperate, the standard bunch of fast food chains do stay open throughout the day.