# Best Restaurants in Centro, Madrid > Nineteen restaurants across Madrid's Centro district, from DSTAgE's two Michelin stars in Chueca to Botín's 1725 firewood oven near Plaza Mayor. - **Canonical URL:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/best-centro - **City:** Madrid, Spain - **Published:** 2026-09-27 - **Updated:** 2026-10-04 - **Author:** Justin Mota, Guidavera founder - **Reading time:** 19 min ## Introduction DSTAgE holds two Michelin stars on a quiet Chueca street, and a few blocks away Casa Lucio has served the same huevos rotos on Cava Baja since 1974. Centro is Madrid's most central district, made up of the wards of Palacio, Embajadores, Cortes, Justicia, Universidad and Sol, and its restaurants run from tasting menus inside grand hotels to tabernas centenarias older than the city's metro. Nineteen restaurants across those six wards make this list, from Corral de la Morería Gastronómico's four-table dining room inside a historic flamenco tablao to Little Dragon's Shanghai-style dumplings near Plaza España. ## Key picks at a glance - **Best splurge** — [DSTAgE](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/dstage): Diego Guerrero's two-Michelin-star tasting menu on Calle Regueros. - **Best historic pick** — [Botín](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/botin): cochinillo from the same 1725 firewood oven, near Plaza Mayor. - **Best Peruvian** — [Tampu](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/tampu): Miguel Ángel Valdiviezo's narrative-chaptered menu on Calle de Prim. - **Best traditional taberna** — [Casa Lucio](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-lucio): the huevos rotos Cava Baja has served since 1974. - **Best cheap eat** — [Little Dragon](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/little-dragon): Shanghai-style xiaolongbao and shengjianbao near Plaza España, under €25 a head. ## A guide to Centro in Madrid ### Where is Centro? Centro is the most central of Madrid's 21 districts, made up of six official wards: Palacio, Embajadores, Cortes, Justicia, Universidad and Sol. Historic neighbourhoods like Barrio de las Letras, La Latina, Lavapiés, Chueca and Malasaña all sit within those six wards, and the restaurants on this list are spread across them. ### What is Barrio de las Letras? Barrio de las Letras is Centro's literary quarter, named for the writers who lived and worked around its streets in Madrid's Golden Age. Casa Alberto, on Calle de las Huertas, stands on a building where, according to the association of centenarian restaurants, Miguel de Cervantes lived and wrote part of the second Don Quixote. ### What is a taberna centenaria? A taberna centenaria is a tavern that has operated for more than a hundred years, several of which sit on the Ayuntamiento de Madrid's official Comercios Centenarios register. Casa Alberto (1827) and Lhardy (1839) are both members of Madrid's Asociación de Restaurantes y Tabernas Centenarias. ### What do Michelin Selected and Repsol Sol mean? A restaurant 'Selected' or listed in the Michelin Guide is included by the guide without holding a star. A Repsol Sol is the main quality distinction in Spain's Guía Repsol, awarded from one to three Soles, and 'Recomendado' is a listing below Sol level. > "Centro runs from DSTAgE's two Michelin stars in Chueca to Botín's 1725 firewood oven near Plaza Mayor, with a Lavapiés tasting menu and a Peruvian kitchen on Calle de Prim in between." ## How we built this list We built this list starting from the Centro restaurants we've profiled across all six wards, Palacio, Embajadores, Cortes, Justicia, Universidad and Sol, then checked our picks against Spanish and English food coverage of the wider Madrid dining scene to see which of them independent sources also single out. Nineteen restaurants made the cut, weighted toward our own ranking with an eye to spreading across the district rather than clustering in one corner of it. A few restaurants named repeatedly elsewhere, including some in Chueca, aren't currently among the Madrid restaurants we've profiled, or sit as staged listings rather than published ones, so they don't appear here. Where we couldn't verify a claim against a restaurant's own listing or a source we could quote directly, we left it out rather than guess. ## The 19 best Restaurants in Centro, compared | # | Restaurant | Neighbourhood | Price | Distinction | Signature dish | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | [DSTAgE](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/dstage) | Chueca | €€€€ | Michelin 2-Star · Repsol 3 Soles | Beso de carabinero a la sal | | 2 | [Paco Roncero](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/paco-roncero) | Sol | €€€€ | Michelin 2-Star · Repsol 3 Soles | Truffle pizza on a dry meringue base | | 3 | [Corral de la Morería Gastronómico](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/corral-de-la-moreria-gastronomico) | Palacio | €€€ | Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 3 Soles | Menú Compás (tasting menu) | | 4 | [CEBO](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/cebo) | Cortes | €€€€ | Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 2 Soles | Santoña anchovy, three versions | | 5 | [Gofio](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/gofio) | Barrio de las Letras | €€€€ | Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 2 Soles | Rabbit trucha with injected salmorejo | | 6 | [Chispa Bistró](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/chispa-bistro) | Justicia | €€€€ | Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 1 Sol | Pichón (squab, several ways) | | 7 | [La Tasquita de Enfrente](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-tasquita-de-enfrente) | Malasaña | €€€€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol 2 Soles | Red gamba from Garrucha, boiled | | 8 | [Yugo the Bunker](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/yugo-the-bunker) | Barrio de las Letras | €€€€ | Michelin 1-Star · Repsol Recomendado | Negitoro with crispy wonton | | 9 | [Le Bistroman Atelier](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/le-bistroman-atelier) | Palacio | €€€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol 2 Soles | Pâté de campagne | | 10 | [La Llorería](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-lloreria) | Justicia | €€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol | Cauliflower with bacon and baby squid | | 11 | [Casa Lucio](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-lucio) | La Latina | €€€ | Repsol 1 Sol | Huevos estrellados (huevos rotos) | | 12 | [El Brote](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-brote) | Embajadores | €€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol Recomendado | Escabeche de níscalos | | 13 | [Bolboreta](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/bolboreta) | Lavapiés | €€€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol Recomendado | Smoked eel donut | | 14 | [Tampu](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/tampu) | Justicia | €€€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol Recomendado | Ceviche (four variations) | | 15 | [Angelita](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/angelita) | Chueca | €€ | Repsol Recomendado | Our vegetable pisto, egg yolk and rosemary all i oli | | 16 | [Casa Alberto](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-alberto) | Barrio de las Letras | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | Callos | | 17 | [Lhardy](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/lhardy) | Sol | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | Cocido madrileño | | 18 | [Little Dragon](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/little-dragon) | Universidad | € | Michelin Selected | Xiaolongbao (pork soup dumplings) | | 19 | [Botín](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/botin) | Palacio | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | Cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) | ## The 19 best Restaurants in Centro in Madrid ### 1. DSTAgE *Diego Guerrero's two-Michelin-star tasting menu in Chueca* - **Neighbourhood:** Chueca - **Address:** Calle Regueros, 8, 28004 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 2-Star · Repsol 3 Soles - **Website:** https://dstageconcept.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/dstage DSTAgE is chef Diego Guerrero's two-Michelin-star restaurant on Calle Regueros, in the Salesas corner of Chueca. Guerrero, born in Vitoria in 1975, built two stars at El Club Allard before opening his own place in July 2014, and DSTAgE has held two stars since the 2017 guide; it also carries three Repsol Soles and added a Michelin Green Star in 2025. Three tasting menus run here: Dtaste at 16 courses (€195), Dstage at 18 courses (€210) and Denjoy at 22 courses (€230). Dishes include Beso de carabinero a la sal, a shrimp served on a pink salt stone, a crispy pork bun called Pepe, and a corn dessert called Maíz meant to be eaten by hand. Reservations open 120 days out, and it's closed Sunday and Monday. **Order:** - Beso de carabinero a la sal - Pepe (crispy pork bun) - Maíz (corn dessert) > "Diego Guerrero propone una alta cocina cercana, sin rigidez, con menús que cambian con frecuencia y un discurso muy personal." — DOD Magazine ### 2. Paco Roncero *Modern Spanish tasting menus atop the Real Casino de Madrid* - **Neighbourhood:** Sol - **Address:** Calle de Alcalá 15, 28014 Madrid (top floor of the Real Casino de Madrid, Centro), Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 2-Star · Repsol 3 Soles - **Website:** https://www.pacoroncerorestaurante.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/paco-roncero Paco Roncero is a modern Spanish tasting-menu restaurant on the top floor of the Real Casino de Madrid, in Sol. Chef Paco Roncero took over the kitchen, then La Terraza del Casino, in autumn 2000, with early guidance from Ferran Adrià; the restaurant took his name in 2019. It holds two Michelin stars and three Repsol Soles. Three tasting menus run: Gran Madrid, 25 dishes at €310; Madrid Madrid Madrid, 23 courses at €240; and Esencia, 15 courses from €190 to €280. Dishes include a signature truffle pizza on a dry meringue base, an oxtail Wellington with mushrooms, and Dover sole in brown butter. The cellar runs to more than 800 references, chosen by sommelier María José Huertas. Dinner reservations run 20:00 to 21:00, Tuesday to Saturday. **Order:** - Truffle pizza on a dry meringue base - Oxtail Wellington with mushrooms - Dover sole in brown butter ### 3. Corral de la Morería Gastronómico *David García's four-table Basque tasting menu inside a flamenco tablao* - **Neighbourhood:** Palacio - **Address:** Calle de la Morería, 17, 28005 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 3 Soles - **Website:** https://www.corraldelamoreria.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/corral-de-la-moreria-gastronomico Corral de la Morería Gastronómico is the Michelin-starred dining room inside Corral de la Morería, the Madrid flamenco tablao that has run since 1956, on Calle de la Morería in Palacio. Chef David García, from Bilbao, trained under Martín Berasategui and worked at elBulli, Mugaritz and Nerua before earning a Michelin star at Álbora and taking over this kitchen. He cooks a Basque-rooted haute cuisine he calls cocina de raíz, for just four tables a night, no more than eight guests. The restaurant has held a Michelin star since 2019 and three Repsol Soles since 2023. The single tasting menu, Menú Compás, runs €105, with wine pairings from €155. The cellar holds more than 1,000 references of Jerez sherry, and evening sittings run 20:00 to 21:30. **Order:** - Menú Compás (tasting menu) > "Tablao flamenco histórico que alberga también un restaurante de alto nivel, donde la cocina contemporánea dialoga con la cultura del espectáculo." — DOD Magazine ### 4. CEBO *Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo's Michelin-starred kitchen inside Hotel Urban* - **Neighbourhood:** Cortes - **Address:** Carrera de San Jerónimo 34, 28014 Madrid. Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 2 Soles - **Website:** https://www.cebomadrid.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/cebo CEBO is a contemporary Spanish tasting-menu restaurant inside Hotel Urban, on Carrera de San Jerónimo in Cortes. Chefs Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo, the duo behind Cañitas Maite Gastro in Albacete, regained the restaurant's Michelin star under the 2024 guide, and it also holds two Repsol Soles. The 22-seat room runs two tasting menus: the 13-course Menú Clásicos at €160 and the 16-course Menú Temporada at €220, both cooked from the chefs' own vegetable garden and small producers nationwide. Dishes include Santoña anchovy served three ways, guinea fowl with truffle, and red prawns from Palamós with young goat and aged rice. Both menus close with wild strawberries, single-origin cacao and Spanish nuts. It's closed every August. **Order:** - Santoña anchovy, three versions - Guinea fowl with truffle (Tuber Melanosporum) - Red prawns from Palamós with young goat > "Cocina de autor que mira a la despensa de proximidad y a los territorios de la península con una sensibilidad moderna." — DOD Magazine ### 5. Gofio *Safe Cruz's Canarian tasting menus, Restaurante del Año 2025* - **Neighbourhood:** Barrio de las Letras - **Address:** C. Caballero de Gracia N 20, 28013 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 2 Soles - **Website:** https://www.gofiorestaurant.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/gofio Gofio is a Canarian restaurant in Barrio de las Letras, founded in 2015 by chef Safe Cruz, who grew up in a farming family in El Tablero, Tenerife, and his partner Aída González, who directs the dining room. It earned a Michelin star in November 2019 and relocated in July 2024, after nine years on Calle de Lope de Vega, to a larger two-floor space at Caballero de Gracia 20. In 2025 it won Restaurante del Año at the Premios Metrópoli, and González won Mejor Dirección de Sala the same year. Three tasting menus run unchanged through the move: Gofio Express at €95, Canariedad Máxima at €125 and Canariedad Máxima Plus at €185, capped at 20 diners a service. Dishes include rabbit trucha with injected salmorejo and a shrimp dish in cardamom mojo with a creamy millet broth. **Order:** - Rabbit trucha with injected salmorejo - Shrimp in cardamom mojo with creamy millet broth ### 6. Chispa Bistró *Juan D'Onofrio's Michelin-starred, grill-led kitchen on Barquillo* - **Neighbourhood:** Justicia - **Address:** C. del Barquillo, 8, 28004 Madrid, España - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** https://chispabistro.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/chispa-bistro Chispa Bistró is Argentine chef Juan D'Onofrio's Michelin-starred restaurant on Calle del Barquillo, in Justicia. D'Onofrio, born in Buenos Aires in 1997, trained at Mina in Bilbao and the two-Michelin-star Santceloni before opening here in 2022 with a team of eight; the restaurant won its star at the November 2024 gala. The cooking is international and grill-led, with Japanese touches, dashi, ikura, wasabi, yuzu and shiso, worked into market vegetables and fish. The signature is pichón, squab prepared several ways at once, alongside cogollo a la brasa with green curry and yogurt, and sweetbreads with polenta purée and huitlacoche cream. The Fuego Loco tasting menu runs €135, from a wine list of more than 400 references. It's closed Sunday to Tuesday. **Order:** - Pichón (squab, several ways) - Cogollo a la brasa with green curry and yogurt - Sweetbreads with polenta purée and huitlacoche cream > "Pequeño bistró donde se juega con sabores intensos, platos divertidos y una carta que cambia con rapidez." — DOD Magazine ### 7. La Tasquita de Enfrente *Juanjo López Bedmar's 25-year radical-minimalist Malasaña tavern* - **Neighbourhood:** Malasaña - **Address:** Calle Ballesta, 6 - 28004, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol 2 Soles - **Website:** https://latasquitadeenfrente.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-tasquita-de-enfrente La Tasquita de Enfrente is listed in the Michelin Guide and holds two Repsol Soles, on Calle Ballesta in Malasaña, where it has run for 25 years. It has been there since 1999. Juanjo López Bedmar left a career as an insurance director at 40, after his father's death, to take over the family's casa de comidas and turned its eight tables into a reference for product cooking; day-to-day leadership has since passed to Nacho Trujillo. The kitchen holds to radical minimalism, rarely more than three ingredients a dish, drawn from a repertoire of more than 300 dishes that changes daily. Dishes include red gamba from Garrucha served simply boiled, eel with pear, and lamb kidneys with caviar. Two tasting menus run alongside the carta: nine courses at €110 and the 11-course Experiencia Tasquita at €150. It's closed Sunday and Monday. **Order:** - Red gamba from Garrucha, boiled - Eel with pear - Lamb kidneys with caviar > "Un comedor pequeño convertido en lugar de peregrinaje para amantes de la cocina de mercado, los guisos, las verduras de temporada" — DOD Magazine ### 8. Yugo the Bunker *Julián Mármol's Michelin-starred Japanese izakaya and bunker* - **Neighbourhood:** Barrio de las Letras - **Address:** Calle San Blas, 4, 28014 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 1-Star · Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://www.yugothebunker.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/yugo-the-bunker Yugo the Bunker is chef Julián Mármol's Japanese restaurant in Barrio de las Letras, holding a Michelin star since 2019. It began in 2013 on Calle Alcalá as Yugo Sushi&Kobe, a takeaway. It runs across two zones: an upstairs styled after a Japanese izakaya tavern, and a downstairs built as a recreation of a Japanese WWII bunker. Mármol chases exclusive product from Alaska and Japan to Portugal and the Delta del Ebro. Two tasting menus split the offering, Clásicos del Bunker at €145 and Evolution at €175, both with extensive wine and sake pairings; everyone at a table must order the same menu, and only guests aged eight and up are seated, with no vegetarian or vegan option on the card. Dishes include negitoro with crispy wonton, black cod misoyaki gyoza, and foie gras nigiri with wild blueberries. **Order:** - Negitoro with crispy wonton - Black cod misoyaki gyoza - Foie gras nigiri with wild blueberries ### 9. Le Bistroman Atelier *Stéphane del Río's classic French bistro beside Teatro Real* - **Neighbourhood:** Palacio - **Address:** C. de la Amnistía, 10, 28013 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol 2 Soles - **Website:** https://lebistroman.es/madrid/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/le-bistroman-atelier Le Bistroman Atelier is chef Stéphane del Río's classic French bistro on Calle de la Amnistía in Palacio, next to the Teatro Real. Del Río and his partner Miguel Ángel García Marinelli, both sons of French mothers and Spanish fathers, opened it in 2019 to cook the French recipes they grew up missing; the Provençal dining room was designed by Javier Erlanz. Del Río trained with Salvador Gallego, prepared the Bocuse d'Or alongside Mario Sandoval and spent time with three-Michelin-star chef Michel Guérard. It's listed in the Michelin Guide and holds two Repsol Soles, and it won best international cuisine at the 2024 Madrid Gastronomy Awards. The menu includes pâté de campagne, foie gras de canard mi-cuit maison, and escargots au beurre persillé. It's open every day, 13:30 to 15:30 and 20:30 to 22:30. **Order:** - Pâté de campagne - Foie gras de canard mi-cuit maison - Escargots au beurre persillé > "Bistró de inspiración francesa, con salsas, fondos y clásicos revisados que miran a París sin copiarlo." — DOD Magazine ### 10. La Llorería *Carmen Alti and José Certucha' four-table chalkboard-menu kitchen* - **Neighbourhood:** Justicia - **Address:** Calle de San Lorenzo, 4. 28004 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** https://lalloreriarestaurante.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-lloreria La Llorería is a contemporary Spanish restaurant in Justicia, run by Carmen Alti and José Certucha, who met working together in a Madrid kitchen and opened the restaurant out of that friendship. It opened in spring 2022. The room is tiny, just four tables and eight bar stools around an open kitchen, with a chalkboard menu built for sharing. It holds one Repsol Sol. Dishes include cauliflower with bacon and baby squid, corvina with yellow chili and pak choi, beef tendon with leek and mint, and duck cannelloni with chamomile, most served as half or full portions. It's open Monday to Friday, 2pm to 5pm and 8:30pm to 11:30pm, and closed Saturday and Sunday; reservations are essential. **Order:** - Cauliflower with bacon and baby squid - Corvina with yellow chili and pak choi - Duck cannelloni with chamomile ### 11. Casa Lucio *Lucio Blázquez's huevos rotos institution on Cava Baja since 1974* - **Neighbourhood:** La Latina - **Address:** Cava Baja 35, 28005 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** https://casalucio.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-lucio Casa Lucio is a traditional Madrid institution on Cava Baja in La Latina, opened by Lucio Blázquez in November 1974 and known above all for its huevos estrellados (huevos rotos), fried eggs over potatoes. The building itself has held a tavern since 1720, when it was the Posada de San Pedro; Casa Lucio inherited that lineage, and Lucio's children now run it alongside him. Inside, tiled walls and wooden tables run across a bar and two floors. Beyond the eggs, the menu runs to a Revuelto Lucio of scrambled eggs with mushrooms and shrimp, callos a la madrileña, and acorn-fed Iberian ham. The huevos rotos remain the dish to order, the house signature since 1974. **Order:** - Huevos estrellados (huevos rotos) - Revuelto Lucio - Callos a la madrileña ### 12. El Brote *Pablo Roncal's five-course wild-mushroom tasting menu, Michelin Selected* - **Neighbourhood:** Embajadores - **Address:** Calle de la Ruda 14, 28005 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://www.elbrote.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-brote El Brote is a wild-mushroom and foraged-produce restaurant in Embajadores, built around a single five-course tasting menu plus dessert that changes entirely with the season. Head chef Pablo Roncal cooks alongside co-founders and mushroom foragers Eduardo Anton and Álvaro De La Torre, who gather and buy the restaurant's wild mushrooms and foraged produce themselves; the mushrooms turn up everywhere, even in dessert. The restaurant has operated for more than ten years and holds a Michelin Selected listing for 2025-2026. Dishes include escabeche de níscalos, saffron milk cap mushrooms in a vinegar marinade, and a black truffle ice cream to close. Tables are hard to book, so reserve ahead; it's open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. **Order:** - Escabeche de níscalos - Black truffle ice cream ### 13. Bolboreta *Aaron Quaife and Patricia Grandío's short, changing Lavapiés tasting menu* - **Neighbourhood:** Lavapiés - **Address:** Calle Del Ave Maria 8, Local Derecha, Madrid, 28012, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://bolboretarestaurante.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/bolboreta Bolboreta is a restaurant in Lavapiés run by chef Aaron Quaife, who is British, and owner Patricia Grandío, who runs the front of house; both previously worked with chef Diego Guerrero at Dstage and Dspeak. It opened at the end of 2023, a few steps from the Mercado de Antón Martín, paid for with the owners' own savings. The dining room is minimalist, about ten bare-wood tables with warm-toned walls and a shelf of pickled vegetables and spices. The menu is short and changes often, exact rather than excessive. It's listed in the Michelin Guide and the Guía Repsol, though neither is a star. Dishes have included a smoked eel donut, cured fish with ponzu vinaigrette, a crispy 'scraps' batter modeled on fish and chips, and squab with parsnip and elderberries. It's closed Monday and Tuesday, with dinner Wednesday to Saturday and lunch on the weekend; expect to spend around €50 to €60 a head. **Order:** - Smoked eel donut - Cured fish with ponzu vinaigrette - Squab with parsnip and elderberries > "Pequeño restaurante donde el producto y la estacionalidad marcan el ritmo de la carta, con especial atención a las verduras" — DOD Magazine ### 14. Tampu *Miguel Ángel Valdiviezo's narrative-chaptered Peruvian menu on Calle de Prim* - **Neighbourhood:** Justicia - **Address:** Calle de Prim, 13, 28004 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://tampurestaurante.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/tampu Tampu is a Peruvian restaurant in Justicia, run by chef Miguel Ángel Valdiviezo, who trained in the first cohort of Le Cordon Bleu in Lima. Chef Miguel Ángel Valdiviezo opened it in 2011. It started modestly in Prosperidad before relocating to Calle de Prim, and its name comes from a Quechua word meaning inn or lodging. The menu is organized into narrative chapters that follow the chef's approach to Peruvian cooking, served across a bar area, three private rooms and a main salon in wicker, wood and warm gold. Ceviche is offered in four variations, alongside dishes like mussels in mojito granita with sweet potato threads and a tamal carabinero. Tampu carries a Michelin recommendation and Repsol recognition. Hours run Tuesday to Sunday, 1:30pm to 4:00pm and 8:30pm to midnight. **Order:** - Ceviche (four variations) - Mussels in mojito granita with sweet potato threads - Tamal carabinero ### 15. Angelita *The Villalón brothers' garden-driven wine and cocktail bar* - **Neighbourhood:** Chueca - **Address:** C. de la Reina, 4, 28004 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://madrid-angelita.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/angelita Angelita is a family-run wine bar, cocktail bar and restaurant in Chueca, the project of brothers David and Mario Villalón, who opened it in 2016 on Calle de la Reina. It sits at No. 45 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026 and has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars extended list. The room spreads over two floors: a modern wine bistro upstairs and a classic cocktail bar below. The kitchen is seasonal and produce-led, much of it grown in the family's own garden, built to sit alongside the wine and cocktails rather than compete with them. Dishes include the vegetable pisto with rosemary all i oli and oxtail cannelloni with Palo Cortado hollandaise, and bartenders make cocktails without shakers or mixing vessels, measuring by weight instead. The wine list runs to more than 2,000 references. **Order:** - Our vegetable pisto, egg yolk and rosemary all i oli - Oxtail cannelloni with Palo Cortado hollandaise > "Farm-to-table produce, sourcing most of its vegetables and herbs from its garden just outside the city center." — The Infatuation ### 16. Casa Alberto *An 1827 taberna centenaria on Calle de las Huertas* - **Neighbourhood:** Barrio de las Letras - **Address:** Calle de las Huertas, 18, 28012 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://www.casaalberto.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-alberto Casa Alberto calls itself a taberna centenaria on Calle de las Huertas in Barrio de las Letras, its 1827 founding recorded on a plaque the Ayuntamiento de Madrid set into the floor at the entrance. The current building stands on an earlier one from the mid-sixteenth century where Miguel de Cervantes lived, and where the association of centenarian restaurants says he wrote part of the second Don Quixote. It started as a plain taberna serving wine with hard-boiled eggs and dried cod, and it's now on the Ayuntamiento's Comercios Centenarios register. The classics are callos, caracoles a la madrileña, manitas de cordero, rabo estofado and bacalao a la madrileña, alongside newer plates like octopus with sweetbreads. Every dish can be eaten at the bar. It's closed Mondays. **Order:** - Callos - Caracoles a la madrileña - Rabo estofado ### 17. Lhardy *An 1839 Madrid institution known for its cocido madrileño* - **Neighbourhood:** Sol - **Address:** C/ Carrera de San Jerónimo 8, 28014 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://lhardy.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/lhardy Lhardy is a classic Madrid restaurant in Sol, open since 1839, when Frenchman Emilio Huguenin Lhardy founded it as a pastry shop before expanding into full meals; it's a member of Madrid's Asociación de Restaurantes y Tabernas Centenarias. It also claims several Madrid firsts, including separate individual tables, silver cutlery, white tablecloths and the fixed-price menú del día concept still used across Spain. The house signature is cocido madrileño, the Madrid stew, served with a homemade tomato sauce on the side, and the mahogany facade dates from 1880. The attached shop runs sweet and savoury counters, plus a street-level take-away serving its consommé to walk with. Other dishes on the menu include smoked salmon with Lhardy spun egg yolk, Lhardy pâté en croûte, and Galician lobster salpicón. **Order:** - Cocido madrileño - Lhardy pâté en croûte - Galician lobster salpicón ### 18. Little Dragon *Shanghai-style xiaolongbao and shengjianbao near Plaza España* - **Neighbourhood:** Universidad - **Address:** Reyes, 11, 28015, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** € - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected - **Website:** https://littledragon.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/little-dragon Little Dragon is a Chinese restaurant on Calle de los Reyes in Universidad, at the Plaza España end of the Centro district, and it's listed in the Michelin Guide. Its own site lists this address as Little Dragon Plaza España, with further branches in Serrano and Moncloa. The carta leans Shanghai-style: xiaolongbao soup dumplings, pan-fried shengjianbao buns, wontons in chilli oil, hand-pulled noodle soups, and dishes like Shanghai-style pork chop rice and Sichuan-pepper chicken, traditional and ingredient-led rather than fusion. The room is elegant and modern, the service polished, and the bill sits at the lower end. It's closed Monday, open Tuesday to Sunday, 13:00 to 16:30 and 19:30 to 23:30, with booking online through the restaurant's own site. **Order:** - Xiaolongbao (pork soup dumplings) - Shengjianbao (pan-fried buns) - Shanghai-style pork chop rice > "Its sheng jian bao, spicy chicken, and nutty noodles offer all the comfort you want" — The Infatuation ### 19. Botín *The 1725 firewood-oven roast house near Plaza Mayor* - **Neighbourhood:** Palacio - **Address:** Calle de Cuchilleros 17, 28005 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://botin.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/botin Botín is a traditional Castilian roast house on Calle de Cuchilleros, near Plaza Mayor in Palacio, and Guinness World Records lists it as the oldest restaurant in the world, open since 1725. Cochinillo asado, roast suckling pig, is what it's known for, and it still comes out of the original firewood oven, priced at €32.50 on the carta. The building runs to four floors that keep their eighteenth-century interiors, plus a terrace. It's listed as Recomendado in the Guía Repsol. Beyond the cochinillo, the menu runs to roast Castilian lamb, callos a la madrileña, and chicken and ham croquettes. It's open every day, 13:00 to 23:30. **Order:** - Cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) - Roast Castilian lamb - Callos a la Madrileña ## Honourable mentions - **[El Triciclo](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-triciclo)** (Barrio de las Letras) — El Triciclo, in Barrio de las Letras, has run since 2013 with seasonal Spanish menus served in full, half or third-size portions. - **[Ikigai](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/ikigai)** (Palacio) — Ikigai, on Flor Baja in Palacio, is chef Yong Wu Nagahira's Japanese haute-cuisine restaurant, built around an omakase menu. - **[La Buena Vida](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-buena-vida)** (Chueca) — La Buena Vida, in Chueca, is Carlos Torres and Elisa Rodríguez's market-cooking kitchen, making its own bread on stone-ground organic flours. ## The Centro scene in Madrid Centro's restaurant scene spreads across six wards, Palacio, Embajadores, Cortes, Justicia, Universidad and Sol, and the entries here reach nearly all of them. Chueca and Justicia carry the heaviest concentration of Michelin recognition, from Diego Guerrero's two-star DSTAgE to Chispa Bistró's grill-led kitchen on Calle del Barquillo, while Cortes centres on CEBO's tasting menus inside Hotel Urban. Barrio de las Letras mixes Gofio's Canarian fine dining with the taberna centenaria cooking of Casa Alberto, and Palacio holds both Corral de la Morería Gastronómico's four-table dining room and Botín's 1725 firewood oven near Plaza Mayor. Further out, La Latina's Casa Lucio, Lavapiés's Bolboreta and Embajadores's El Brote round out the southern edge of the district, and Little Dragon sits at the Universidad end near Plaza España. ## Know before you go ### 1. DSTAgE's booking calendar opens 120 days ahead, and Paco Roncero's dinner reservations run in a fixed 20:00 to 21:00 window, Tuesday to Saturday. Plan ahead if you have a specific night in mind. ### 2. A few kitchens close for stretches: CEBO shuts every August, and Chispa Bistró is closed Sunday to Tuesday. Check a restaurant's current hours before you go. ### 3. Some rooms are genuinely tiny: La Llorería has four tables and eight stools, and Corral de la Morería Gastronómico's tasting counter seats just four tables a night. Book ahead for either. ### 4. Prices swing wide across the district, from Little Dragon's dumplings under €25 a head to Paco Roncero's Gran Madrid menu at €310. There's room to eat well here on very different budgets. ### 5. Yugo the Bunker requires everyone at a table to order the same tasting menu and only seats guests aged eight and up, and Gofio caps each service at 20 diners. Check house rules before booking either. ## Glossary - **Taberna centenaria** — A tavern that has operated for more than a hundred years; several in Madrid sit on the Ayuntamiento's official Comercios Centenarios register. - **Izakaya** — A casual Japanese tavern style serving small plates alongside drinks. - **Cocina de raíz** — Chef David García's term for his Basque-rooted cooking at Corral de la Morería Gastronómico, built on carefully made broths, stocks and juices. - **Cocido madrileño** — Madrid's classic chickpea, meat and vegetable stew, traditionally served in courses; Lhardy's version comes with a homemade tomato sauce on the side. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which restaurant tops this Centro, Madrid list? DSTAgE tops this list. Diego Guerrero's restaurant on Calle Regueros in Chueca holds two Michelin stars and three Repsol Soles, and has held two stars since the 2017 guide. ### Which historic restaurants are in the city centre? Botín, on Calle de Cuchilleros near Plaza Mayor, is listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest restaurant in the world, open since 1725. Lhardy has served Sol since 1839, and Casa Alberto's 1827 founding is recorded on a plaque at its entrance on Calle de las Huertas. ### Which Centro restaurants hold a Michelin star? DSTAgE and Paco Roncero each hold two Michelin stars, and Corral de la Morería Gastronómico, CEBO, Chispa Bistró, Gofio and Yugo the Bunker each hold one. ### Where can I eat well in Centro without spending a lot? Little Dragon, near Plaza España, serves Shanghai-style xiaolongbao and shengjianbao dumplings for under €25 a head. ### Is there good Peruvian food in central Madrid? Tampu, on Calle de Prim in Justicia, runs a narrative-chaptered Peruvian menu from chef Miguel Ángel Valdiviezo, including ceviche in four variations. ### Where's a classic Madrid taberna near La Latina? Casa Lucio, on Cava Baja, has served its signature huevos rotos since 1974, in a building that's held a tavern since 1720. ### Does this guide break down further by neighbourhood? Yes. We've also built dedicated guides to La Latina, Chueca, Barrio de las Letras, and the areas near Sol and Plaza Mayor and near the Prado, each going deeper on their own stretch of the district. ## About the author **Justin Mota** — Guidavera founder Justin Mota is the founder of Guidavera. He has lived in Spain for over 10 years and runs a native AI agency alongside building this platform. Food has always been the way Justin connects with friends, and Guidavera started as the list he kept sending to everyone visiting Barcelona. He built it for himself and his friends first, and now hopes it can transform the way people discover great food experiences everywhere. More: https://guidavera.com/about --- This guide is the canonical machine-readable version of https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/best-centro. Every claim is verifiable against the linked restaurant profiles. Source: Guidavera (https://guidavera.com).