Casa Puerto Rico off Plaza Mayor in Madrid is one of the Centro counters serving bocadillo de calamares to a midday crowd, with squid rings fried in a small kitchen behind the standing-room bar.
Signature dishes: Bocadillo de calamares, Tortilla, Cana
Must order: Bocadillo de calamares (5 euros), a slice of lemon and a cana. Tortilla pincho on the side.
Tip: Walk-in only; standing room at the bar. Cash preferred. Open daily including Sundays through the rastro hours.
Address: Calle Postas 14, 28012 Madrid
Casa de las Tortillas in Madrid's Centro serves 20 variants of tortilla de patatas, from classic con cebolla to chorizo, blood-sausage and pimientos del piquillo, sliced thick at the counter.
Signature: Tortilla, Croquetas, Patatas bravas
Order: Pincho de tortilla con cebolla (3 euros) and one of the rotating specials. A cana to wash it down.
Tip: Walk-in only; the counter fills up by 13:30. Cash preferred at the bar; card terminal in the dining room.
Casa Toni near Sol in Madrid's Centro is the old-Madrid taberna for the offal canon: callos, oreja, mollejas and zarajos served from the formica counter to a midday vermut crowd since the 1960s.
Signature: Callos, Oreja a la plancha, Mollejas
Order: Oreja a la plancha (6 euros), callos a la madrilena (8 euros) and a cana. A glass of vermut to start.
Tip: Walk-in only; the bar fills up at 13:00. Cash strongly preferred; the formica counter has no card terminal until 2024.
Bodega de la Ardosa in Madrid's Malasana has poured the vermut de grifo since 1892 from the 30-foot zinc bar, with salmorejo, tortilla de patatas and the antique mosaic tile floor still original.
Signature: Salmorejo, Tortilla de patatas, Vermut
Order: Vermut de grifo (2.50 euros), a slice of tortilla de patatas, salmorejo. Crawl in via the back door.
Tip: Walk-in only; the back room takes 8 people max. The historic main bar fills up at 13:00; cash preferred.
Taberna Matritum on Cava Alta in Madrid's La Latina is the modern taberna by chef Tony Sanjuan, with a focused carte of cocido, tartare and seasonal market plates since 2010.
Signature: Cocido, Steak tartare, Croquetas
Order: The croquetas de jamon, the steak tartare and the cocido madrileno (weekdays only).
Tip: Book five days ahead for weekend dinner. The terrace on Cava Alta seats six; the inside dining room is wood-panelled.
Celso y Manolo in Madrid's Chueca is the 1928-revived taberna by the Carlos Zamora group, with a vermut barrel, tortilla de patatas and croquetas at counter prices in a marble-tile dining room.
Signature: Tortilla, Croquetas, Vermut
Order: A vermut de grifo (3 euros) at the bar, the croquetas (3 euros each) and the tortilla de patatas.
Tip: Walk-in only at the bar; the dining room takes reservations. The terrace on Calle Libertad fills up by 13:00.
Casa de las Tortillas in Madrid's Centro serves 20 variants of tortilla de patatas, from classic con cebolla to chorizo, blood-sausage and pimientos del piquillo, sliced thick at the counter.
Signature: Tortilla, Croquetas, Patatas bravas
Order: Pincho de tortilla con cebolla (3 euros) and one of the rotating specials. A cana to wash it down.
Tip: Walk-in only; the counter fills up by 13:30. Cash preferred at the bar; card terminal in the dining room.
Casa Toni near Sol in Madrid's Centro is the old-Madrid taberna for the offal canon: callos, oreja, mollejas and zarajos served from the formica counter to a midday vermut crowd since the 1960s.
Signature: Callos, Oreja a la plancha, Mollejas
Order: Oreja a la plancha (6 euros), callos a la madrilena (8 euros) and a cana. A glass of vermut to start.
Tip: Walk-in only; the bar fills up at 13:00. Cash strongly preferred; the formica counter has no card terminal until 2024.
El Tigre in Madrid's Chueca pours large jars of cana and serves free heaped plates of patatas bravas, croquetas, jamon and bocadillos with every drink, in a standing-room three-bar arrangement since 2003.
Signature: Patatas bravas, Croquetas, Bocadillos
Order: A jarra of cana (5 euros) which arrives with a free plate of bravas, croquetas, oreja and jamon.
Tip: Cash only. The original bar at number 23 is the loudest; the satellite at number 30 is calmer. No table service.
