Battered fingers of salt cod, deep-fried until crisp and finished with a strip of roasted red pepper across the top, the militiaman's red sash. The Madrid Easter and Lent classic.

Soldaditos de Pavía were named for the Pavia cavalry uniform of General Pavia, who staged the Spanish coup of 1874; the red pepper strip across the golden batter mimics the regiment's sash. Casa Labra on Calle Tetuan, founded in 1860, is the canonical Madrid reference; the bar still serves them at the same standing counter where the Spanish Socialist Party was founded in 1879. The dish appears across Madrid tabernas during Lent.

2 editor picks for Soldaditos de Pavía in Madrid, ranked by editorial score. All Madrid signature dishes · Soldaditos de Pavía across every city.