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SpanishChueca
Casa Salvador, a 1941 Chueca taberna off Gran Via, slow-cooks rabo de toro for four hours; the dining room is hung with bullfighting prints.
Why locals goCheckered-tablecloth, taurine-themed taberna in Chueca since 1941, on a side street off Gran Via, with rabo de toro slow-cooked four hours and a dining room hung with bullfighting.
TipBook ahead for weekend lunch. The rabo de toro (22 euros) and the merluza rebozada are the headline plates; closed Sundays.
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SpanishLa Latina
Taberna La Chata on Cava Baja keeps a green-tiled facade and a back dining room; vermut de grifo 3 euros and rabo de toro 18 since the 1980s.
Why locals goCava Baja taberna behind the green-tiled facade locals walk past for the tourist circuit.
TipWalk-in for the bar; the back dining room takes reservations. Vermut de grifo 3 euros; rabo de toro 18.
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SpanishChueca
Casa Ricardo is a 1947 Chueca taberna with original tile walls; callos at 9 euros, patatas bravas at 5, cana at 2.50. Closed Tuesdays, cash preferred.
Why locals goChueca neighbourhood taberna that escaped the gentrification wave; 1947-founded, original tile walls, callos and patatas bravas at counter prices, a 14-seat dining room.
TipWalk-in. Cash preferred. Closed Tuesdays. Callos 9 euros, bravas 5, cana 2.50.
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SpanishCentro
Garelos is a Centro Galician taberna serving pulpo a la gallega cooked over copper pots; Albarino by the bottle, lacon con grelos in season here.
Why locals goGalician taberna in Madrid's Centro with no English signage; pulpo a la gallega cooked the canonical Galician way over copper pots.
TipWalk-in or book. Closed Sundays. Pulpo a la gallega 18 euros; bottle of Albarino 18 to 25 is the canonical pair.
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SpanishLavapies
Casa Macareno is a Lavapies counter taberna with 90 percent locals; croquetas, callos and a cana run under 12 euros. Closed Mondays, cash preferred.
Why locals goCheap working-quarter taberna with 90 percent locals; counter-only and outside the centre tourist corridor, but the croquetas rival any Salamanca address.
TipWalk-in only. Closed Mondays. Cash preferred. Croquetas, callos and a cana for under 12 euros at the counter.
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SpanishChamberi
Bar Trafalgar in Chamberi serves the citys reference Madrid tortilla, sliced thick and runny at 13:00 sharp; a second batch comes out at 14:30 daily.
Why locals goPricey carte, no Plaza de Olavide signage, but the kitchen serves the city's reference Madrid tortilla, sliced thick and runny in the centre at 13:00 sharp.
TipClosed Sundays. Tortilla at 13:00; the second batch comes out at 14:30. The slice runs 6 euros at the counter.