Alabaster in Madrid's Retiro is Inaki Bretal's one-Michelin-star Galician seafood room, with daily-changing fish landed in the Bretal family's Pontevedra boats and a clean white dining room.
Must order: The tasting (EUR 95) with the seafood that lands that morning. The empanada gallega and the cocochas are signatures.
Tip: Closed Sunday; ask for the corner table near the window. The owner-chef circulates between courses to talk fish.
Address: Calle de Montalban 9, 28014 Madrid
Yugo The Bunker in Madrid's Las Letras is Julian Marmol's one-Michelin-star sushi-and-tapas room, with the public dining counter upstairs and the private members-only bunker dining room downstairs.
Order: Yugo tasting omakase (EUR 165) upstairs. The signatures are the nigiri de bonito and the toro tartare.
Tip: Closed Sunday; the upstairs counter seats 12. The downstairs bunker is members-only but the upstairs experience is the public one.
Ramon Freixa Madrid inside the Hotel Único in Salamanca is the Catalan chef's two-Michelin-star Madrid room, with a contemporary Catalan tasting and a courtyard terrace dining option in summer.
Order: The Concept tasting (EUR 195, 12 dishes). The black-truffle bun and the suckling lamb are signature dishes.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The courtyard terrace is the seat to book April to October; ask the maitre d when reserving.
El Invernadero on Calle Ponzano in Madrid is Rodrigo de la Calle's one-Michelin-star vegetable-only room, the canonical Spanish gastrobotanica tasting, with the chef's own market garden supplying produce.
Order: Choose the 9 or 14-course vegetable-only tasting. The carrot-tartare and the smoked seaweed sashimi are signatures.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The chef's table by the open kitchen seats 4 and is the seat to ask for when booking.
DiverXO at NH Eurobuilding hotel in Madrid is David Munoz's three-Michelin-star room. The 14-canvas tasting is the most theatrical fine-dining service in Spain, with painted pigs as plates.
Order: The full 14-canvas tasting menu only; no carte. The kimchi-marinated foie and the cochinillo dim sum are signatures.
Tip: Bookings open exactly two months ahead at midnight CET on the website. Set an alarm; the first 30 seconds sell out.
Coque in Madrid's Chamberi is the Sandoval brothers' two-Michelin-star room, with the tasting menu staged across five spaces: cellar, kitchen, sacristy, dining room and lounge.
Order: The full Caminos del Coque tasting (5 spaces, around 18 dishes) only. The roast suckling pig is the signature.
Tip: Allow 4 hours for the full experience; arrive on time as the journey through spaces is choreographed start to finish.
DSTAgE in Madrid's Chueca is Diego Guerrero's two-Michelin-star room: an open kitchen at the back, a 30-cover dining room around it, and a tasting menu that travels Mexico, Japan and the Basque coast.
Order: The full Days tasting menu (16 dishes) only. The mole verde and the eel-and-foie torchon are signatures.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The counter seats facing the kitchen are first-come on booking; ask when you reserve.
