spain · Year round · best Sep–Jun
The Mandarin Oriental Ritz at noon. DiverXO at eight. The Prado at five, when the rooms thin out. Madrid is the European capital that has, over the last five years, quietly become the most stylish dinner city on the continent — and the one our American clients now extend their Riviera trips for.
Hotels
Book the room — handled personally.
Palace · 5★ GLThe seven-building Canalejas restoration, opened 2020 — Four Seasons' Spanish debut and the brand's most ambitious European project of the decade.
Palace · 5★ GLThe Belle Époque icon on Plaza de la Lealtad, restored by Mandarin in 2021 — the most polished room in the capital.
Luxury · 5★ GLThe Salamanca address that re-opened under Rosewood in October 2021 — the residential five-star with the longest reception desk in the city.
Lifestyle · 5★ GLThe Palladium Group's lifestyle five-star on Velázquez — the rooftop pool that the rest of Salamanca uses for the long summer lunch.
Boutique · 5★Small Luxury Hotels' Madrid address — a 78-room palace conversion at the quiet edge of Chamberí, the under-the-radar five-star.
Festive · clubs, line-ups, long lunches
Reserve the table for the night out — handled personally.
Festive table · since 2016Calle Jorge Juan's jungle-themed dining room — the Sandro Silva and Eva Longoria project that has become the city's loudest dinner room.
Salamanca classicCalle Ayala — the Salamanca lunch-room that turns into the late-night address after eleven, owned by the Cofradía Vasca de Gastronomía.
Italian · SalamancaThe Florentine project on Padilla — the Italian dining room that has, since its 2020 opening, become the second address of every Salamanca regular.
Cocktail bar · top 50 World's BestDiego Cabrera's neon-lit cocktail counter on Echegaray — number 14 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024, and the late-night address for the trade.
Authentic · the quiet rooms
Reserve the quiet dinner — handled personally.
3★ Michelin · Dabiz MuñozThe only three-star kitchen in Madrid, and the most theatrical tasting menu in Europe — Dabiz Muñoz at the NH Eurobuilding, until he moves.
Institution · since 1972The Hormaechea family kitchen on Calle Juan Hurtado de Mendoza — the chefs' canteen of Madrid for fifty years, no stars and none needed.
Institution · since 1839Carrera de San Jerónimo's nineteenth-century dining room — the cocido madrileño served the way it has been since the year of Queen Isabel II.
Institution · since 1725Calle de Cuchilleros — the oldest restaurant in the world per the Guinness Book, and still the place for the suckling pig in town.
Institution · since 1974Calle Cava Baja — the late-night table for the political class, the bullfighters and the visiting royalty, and the home of the huevos estrellados.
2★ Michelin · Sandoval brothersThe Sandoval brothers' theatrical room on Calle del Marqués de Riscal — the menu that begins in the bar, moves to the cellar, and ends in the dining room.
Events · what's on this season
Book the experience — handled personally.
Market · since 1916The iron-and-glass market by Plaza Mayor — restored in 2009 and now the most efficient lunch-counter crawl in central Madrid.