La Castela is a madrileno taberna restaurant in Retiro, Madrid.
Editorially verified May 19, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
Guided tour · 2h 30m
Discover the highlights of Retiro Park with an expert guide. Enjoy typical Spanish cuisine with a tapas tasting in a famous bar.
Guided tour · 3h 30m
Enjoy incredible local tapas and a fun, informative, private or shared walking tour of Madrid’s historic city center. Discover how the city’s food and history go together.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Enjoy a delicious initiation to Spanish cuisine at the small, family-owned eateries Madrid locals know and love best.
Address: Calle de Doctor Castelo 22, 28009 Madrid
Bodegas Rosell near Atocha in Madrid has poured the vermut de grifo from oak barrels since 1920, with a marble counter, formica tables and bocadillos.
OrderA vermut de grifo (2.50 euros) and a bocadillo de calamares. A pincho de tortilla on the side.
TipWalk-in only; the counter fills up at 13:00. Cash strongly preferred at the bar. The terrace is on weekends only.
Bodegas Rosell near Atocha in Madrid has poured the vermut de grifo from oak barrels since 1920, with a marble counter, formica tables and bocadillos.
OrderA vermut de grifo (2.50 euros) and a bocadillo de calamares. A pincho de tortilla on the side.
TipWalk-in only; the counter fills up at 13:00. Cash strongly preferred at the bar. The terrace is on weekends only.
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.
OrderVermut de grifo (2.50 euros), a slice of tortilla de patatas, salmorejo. Crawl in via the back door.
TipWalk-in only; the back room takes 8 people max. The historic main bar fills up at 13:00; cash preferred.
Casa Lucas on Cava Baja in Madrid's La Latina is the modern taberna since 1997, with a focused carte of solomillo Carlitos (pork sirloin with cabrales sauce).
OrderThe solomillo Carlitos, the croquetas de jamon and the ensaladilla rusa.
TipBook five days ahead for weekend dinner. The bar at the entrance takes walk-ins for tapas; the dining room books fast.
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.
OrderA vermut de grifo (3 euros) at the bar, the croquetas (3 euros each) and the tortilla de patatas.
TipWalk-in only at the bar; the dining room takes reservations. The terrace on Calle Libertad fills up by 13:00.
Juana La Loca on Plaza Puerta de Moros in Madrid's La Latina serves the city's most-talked-about tortilla de patata with caramelized onion, plus modern tapas.
OrderThe tortilla de patata caramelizada (pincho 4 euros, racion 14).
TipWalk-in for the bar; the dining room books three days ahead. The tortilla is sliced at the counter for the bar crowd.
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.
OrderOreja a la plancha (6 euros), callos a la madrilena (8 euros) and a cana. A glass of vermut to start.
TipWalk-in only; the bar fills up at 13:00. Cash strongly preferred; the formica counter has no card terminal until 2024.
