Casa Julio in Madrid's Malasana has fried the city's most-talked-about croquetas since 1921, with rotating fillings (jamon, boletus, espinacas con queso) and a counter that queues onto Calle de la Madera.
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only; arrive before 13:00 or after 16:00 to skip the queue. Docena of croquetas runs 13 euros.
Address: Calle de la Madera 37, 28004 Madrid
Casa Amadeo Los Caracoles on Plaza Cascorro in Madrid's Lavapies has cooked the caracoles (snails in spicy chorizo broth) for the Sunday rastro crowd since 1942. The recipe still uses 12 spices.
Try: Caracoles a la madrilena
Tip: Walk-in only. Closed Mondays. Cash preferred. Racion of caracoles (12 euros) with bread; Sunday rastro hours are busiest.
Casa Toni near Sol in Madrid is the offal-counter taberna for oreja a la plancha (grilled pig's ear, crispy and tender), with the offal canon (callos, mollejas, zarajos) served from the formica bar since the 1960s.
Try: Oreja a la plancha
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only at the standing-room bar. The oreja a la plancha (6 euros) is the headline; vermut beforehand.
El Rey de Gallinejas in Madrid's Embajadores quarter is the working-quarter taberna for gallinejas (fried lamb intestine) and entresijos (fried lamb-belly fat), the offal canon that defined the Madrileno cheap eat since 1947.
Try: Gallinejas and entresijos
Tip: Walk-in only. Cash preferred. Closed Mondays. Racion of gallinejas runs 8 euros; entresijos 6 euros.
Rosales on Calle Echegaray in Madrid is the standing-room tapas counter where the Basque-origin gilda (anchovy, olive, guindilla on a stick) anchors the Spanish-Northern tapas canon adopted by Madrid taberneros.
Try: Gilda tapas
Tip: Walk-in. Gilda tapas run 2 euros each; pair with vermut. The bar fills up at 20:30 weekend evenings.
Panaderia Mision in Madrid's Conde Duque sells sourdough sandwiches at the counter, with daily fillings of jamon iberico, tortilla and salmorejo, plus the city's reference sourdough loaves to take away.
Try: Sourdough sandwich
Tip: Walk-in only at the counter. Sourdough sandwich runs 6 to 8 euros. The loaves sell out by 14:00; buy early.
Casa Puerto Rico off Plaza Mayor in Madrid is the bocadillo de calamares counter, with squid rings fried to order in the small kitchen behind the standing-room bar, beside fresh-pressed lemon slices.
Try: Bocadillo de calamares
Tip: Cash preferred. Walk-in only. Bocadillo runs 5 euros, cana 2.50 at the standing-room counter.
