Why locals love it: Tucked-down-a-lane Chamberi neo-taberna with a tiny 18-seat dining room, a daily-changing market carte and the city's best croqueta de cocido made from leftover cocido meat.
Tip: Book ten days ahead for the seven-seat tasting counter. Closed Sun-Mon. Tasting menu 55 euros; carte 35 to 45 per head.
Address: Calle del Alburquerque 5, 28010 Madrid
Why locals love it: Pricey 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.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Tortilla at 13:00; the second batch comes out at 14:30. The slice runs 6 euros at the counter.
Why locals love it: Conde Duque cellar bar behind an unmarked grey door; 60 by-the-glass Spanish wines and a tortilla con cebolla that runs the city's finest egg-and-onion variant.
Tip: Walk-in. Closed Sundays. The tortilla con cebolla runs 5 euros per pincho; the wine list is 60 by-the-glass.
Why locals love it: Cava Baja vermuteria behind an unmarked tile-fronted facade, with a 1925 zinc bar and a vermut crawl locals time at 13:30 Sundays for the Cebada market post-rastro hour.
Tip: Walk-in only. The Sunday vermut crawl 12:00 to 15:00 is the local hour. The vermut de grifo runs 3 euros.
Why locals love it: Chueca neighbourhood taberna that escaped the gentrification wave; 1947-founded, original tile walls, callos and patatas bravas at counter prices, a 14-seat dining room.
Tip: Walk-in. Cash preferred. Closed Tuesdays. Callos 9 euros, bravas 5, cana 2.50.
Why locals love it: Galician pulperia in Malasana with no English signage; pulpo a la gallega cooked the canonical Galician way over copper pots, salt and pimenton, eaten on wood platters.
Tip: Walk-in. Closed Mondays. The Galician pulpo a la gallega (16 euros) is the headline; bottle of Albarino is the pair.
Why locals love it: Cheap working-quarter taberna with 90 percent locals; counter-only and outside the centre tourist corridor, but the croquetas rival any Salamanca address.
Tip: Walk-in only. Closed Mondays. Cash preferred. Croquetas, callos and a cana for under 12 euros at the counter.
Why locals love it: Pricey 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.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Tortilla at 13:00; the second batch comes out at 14:30. The slice runs 6 euros at the counter.
