Saddle in Madrid's Almagro district is the modern grand-bistro by chef Adolfo Santos, the 2018 Michelin-starred room with a tortilla cart, French-Spanish carte and a top wine list.
Must order: The truffle tortilla finished table-side from the silver cart. From carte, the lobster fricassee and the dover sole.
Tip: Closed Sunday; bookings via website or directly. The truffle tortilla supplement runs 28 euros and is worth the spend.
Address: Calle de Amador de los Rios 6, 28010 Madrid
Clos Madrid in the Chamberi district is the one-Michelin-star room by sommelier-chef Marcos Granda, with a market-led carte and a wine list of 700 references curated personally by the owner.
Order: The 8-course tasting (EUR 110) with the wine pairing (EUR 65). The seafood croquetas and the bonito de Burela are signatures.
Tip: The cellar dining room downstairs seats 6 for private dinners. Ask for the wine pairing; the cellar is the room's headline asset.
Kabuki Wellington at the Wellington hotel in Madrid's Salamanca is Ricardo Sanz's one-Michelin-star room, the canonical Mediterranean-Japanese fusion: nigiri with usuzukuri and Iberico.
Order: The tasting omakase (EUR 165) or carte highlights: huevo Kabuki, nigiri de pez mantequilla, usuzukuri de toro.
Tip: Closed Sunday; the counter seats 8 facing chef Sanz and is the room to book. Book three weeks ahead for weekend dinner.
Aleia inside Casa Cardona on Gran Via in Madrid is Paulo Airaudo's one-Michelin-star Italian-Argentine fusion, with an open kitchen, hand-rolled pastas and a focused 11-course tasting menu.
Order: The 11-course tasting (EUR 175) only. The agnolotti del plin and the lamb shoulder with smoked aubergine are signatures.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The counter seats 10 facing the kitchen pass; ask for those when booking.
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.
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.
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.
