Photo: TatelBest Cheesecake in Madrid
Introduction
The Madrid cheesecake List We Send to Friends
Thirteen Madrid restaurants make this list for cheesecake, from a Cantabrian recipe dated to 1981 that turns up under the Cañadío name at several addresses to a Basque grill that bakes one for two.
The short answer
Key Picks at a Glance
In a hurry? These are the essential picks from our full ranking below.
- Best all-around pickFismuler
built from three cheeses, fresh, smoked Idiazábal and blue, in a room in Trafalgar.
- Best award winnerTatel
Time Out reports it won the Community of Madrid's Best Cheesecake award in 2022.
- Best cheese-forward twistTreze
chef Saúl Sanz builds his version around Gamonéu, an Asturian blue cheese.
- Best historic recipeLa Primera
the 1981 Cañadío recipe, per Time Out, at a Cantabrian coastal restaurant on Gran Vía.
- Best for sharingEl Gran Asador Lecanda
a cheesecake sized and priced for two at this Basque grill in Recoletos.
- Best wood-fired versionEl Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo
baked in the same century-old holm-oak oven as the restaurant's cochinillo.
Before you order
A Guide to cheesecake in Madrid
What is tarta de queso?
Tarta de queso is the Spanish term for cheesecake, a dessert built on a cream-cheese or fresh-cheese filling set over a base, usually baked. Spanish versions range from firm, chilled cakes with a biscuit base to the crustless, deliberately burnt style that has spread from the Basque Country.
What is Basque burnt cheesecake?
Basque burnt cheesecake, tarta de queso vasca, is a crustless style baked at high heat so the outside caramelizes almost to the point of burning while the centre stays soft, often deliberately runny. It originated at a bar in San Sebastián and has since spread well beyond the Basque Country.
Baked versus ‘cremosa’ cheesecake
Madrid menus often distinguish between a firmer, fully baked cheesecake and a ‘cremosa’ style left softer or runnier in the centre, closer to the Basque burnt tradition. Both show up on the same dessert lists, and the difference usually comes down to how long the cake stays in the oven.
Why some Spanish cheesecakes use strong or blue cheese
Spain's regional cheese traditions, from Asturian Gamonéu to Basque Idiazábal, sometimes make their way into cheesecake in place of plain cream cheese, giving the dessert a sharper, more savoury edge than the classic version.
How We Built This List
Years of Eating, Asking, and Going Back
We read Time Out Madrid's dedicated cheesecake roundup and Hostal Oriente's list of the city's best, then checked what each source named against the Madrid restaurants we've profiled, matching by address as well as name since more than one Madrid restaurant can share a name. A restaurant made this list only if its own detail page, menu or editorial independently confirms cheesecake as a real dish it serves, not a single stray mention buried in a larger dessert list; a few venues that came up in the source articles, including Bistronómika, Café Comercial, El Hombre Pez and BiBo Madrid, were left off for that reason, since our own data on them doesn't include a dessert menu to verify specifics against. A few names from the source articles, including the specialist cheesecake maker Alex Cordobés and dedicated bakeries like Luna & Wanda and Cheesecake Avenue, aren't included because they're bakeries rather than restaurants on our platform. Where a claim, like a specific award year or a founder's name, only appeared in one article, we've kept it attributed to that source rather than restating it as settled fact.
More on how we rank: our methodology and quality standards.
At a glance
The 13 Best Cheesecake, Compared
Quick reference table. Click any name to jump to the full review.
| # | Restaurant | Neighbourhood | Price | Distinction | Signature dish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fismuler | Trafalgar | €€ | 1 Repsol Sol | Tarta de queso (fresh, smoked Idiazábal and blue cheese) |
| 2 | Tatel | Castellana | €€€€ | — | Our Famous Cheesecake |
| 3 | Treze | Goya | €€ | Michelin Bib | Gamoneu Cheesecake |
| 4 | La Primera | Cortes | €€ | Repsol Recommended | “Cañadío” Cheesecake |
| 5 | Cañadío Madrid | Lista | €€€ | Repsol Recommended | Our cheesecake |
| 6 | Tres por Cuatro | Goya | €€€ | Michelin Bib | Cheesecake with camembert and manchego |
| 7 | Samm | Nueva España | € | Repsol Recommended | Tarta de queso |
| 8 | El Paraguas | Recoletos | €€€ | 2 Repsol Soles | Cheesecake |
| 9 | Ramón Freixa Tradición | Recoletos | €€€€ | 1 Repsol Sol | Alex Cordobés's cheesecake |
| 10 | García de la Navarra | Jerónimos | €€ | 1 Repsol Sol | Homemade cheesecake |
| 11 | El Gran Asador Lecanda | Recoletos | €€€€ | 1 Repsol Sol | Cheesecake (2 pax) |
| 12 | El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo | Trafalgar | €€€ | Repsol Recommended | Wood-fired cheesecake (French Comté and English Stilton) |
| 13 | El Fogón de Trifón | Goya | €€ | Repsol Recommended | Cheesecake with black olive notes |
The ranking
13 Best Cheesecake in Madrid
Fismuler1. Fismuler — Built from three cheeses: fresh, smoked Idiazábal and blue
RepsolFismuler is part of Grupo La Ancha, founded in 2016 by Nino Redruello, Patxi Zumárraga and Jaime Santianes, all out of elBulli, in a casual, industrial, candlelit room in Trafalgar. Its cheesecake is the house signature: built from three cheeses, fresh, smoked Idiazábal and blue, and it's what the restaurant's own materials call the dish that helped make the place famous. Time Out describes the texture as very creamy, almost liquid at the centre, and reports it comes out large enough for around six slices, whether eaten there or taken home whole.
“la tarta de queso más famosa de Madrid”— SaborGourmet
Tatel2. Tatel — Won a Community of Madrid cheesecake award in 2022
TATEL sits on Paseo de la Castellana, an Art Deco room with a terrace and gallery and a nightly show, part of an international restaurant group. Its menu calls its dessert “Our Famous Cheesecake,” made daily from cream cheese. Time Out reports it won the Community of Madrid's Best Cheesecake award in 2022, crediting the recipe to David Rodríguez, described as TATEL Madrid's head chef. It's priced within TATEL's à la carte menu, which runs over €100 a person with no fixed set price, and reservations go through the restaurant's own booking widget. There's no Michelin or Guía Repsol listing for this address.
“Se llevó el Premio a la Mejor Tarta de Queso de la Comunidad de Madrid en 2022”— Time Out Madrid
Treze3. Treze — A Gamonéu blue-cheese cheesecake from chef Saúl Sanz
Bib GourmandRepsolTreze is a cocina de mercado restaurant in Goya, run by chef Saúl Sanz, with a market-led carta that changes almost daily alongside Treze Bar for the aperitivo. It started in 2010 as a neighbourhood bistro at number 13 of Calle San Bernardino, which gave it its name. Time Out reports that Sanz gives the traditional cheesecake recipe the character of Gamonéu, one of Asturias' most notable cheeses. It's a fixture of the house rather than a special, the Gamoneu Cheesecake priced at €8 on the menu, and can be ordered at the bar or in the dining room. The restaurant holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and one Repsol Sol.
“La tarta de queso de Saúl Sanz es atípica”— Time Out Madrid
La Primera4. La Primera — A Cañadío-recipe cheesecake dated to 1981
La Primera is a Cantabrian coastal restaurant at Gran Vía 1, run by a team with more than 45 years in hospitality and recommended in the Guía Repsol. Its “Cañadío” Cheesecake, priced at €9 on the menu, carries the name of the well-known Cañadío restaurant in Santander. Time Out reports that Paco Quirós has worked on the recipe since 1981, describing it as firm-textured with a moist centre and a thin biscuit base. The same 1981 recipe turns up at other Madrid addresses tied to the same Cantabrian lineage, including Cañadío Madrid itself. Book through the restaurant's own site.
“De textura firme con un punto jugoso en el centro y con una fina capa de galleta como base”— Time Out Madrid
Cañadío Madrid5. Cañadío Madrid — Madrid outpost of Santander's original Cañadío
Cañadío Madrid sits on Conde de Peñalver in the Lista part of Salamanca, the Madrid outpost of the well-known Cañadío in Santander, and it's recommended in the Guía Repsol. “Our cheesecake” is on the carta at €9.50, part of the same lineage as the “Cañadío” cheesecake served at sister addresses around Madrid. Hostal Oriente included it on a roundup of the city's best cheesecakes. The kitchen runs traditional Spanish cooking, judged on produce and consistency, with a terrace.
“una de las tartas más cremosas y bonitas”— Hostal Oriente
Tres por Cuatro6. Tres por Cuatro — A camembert-and-manchego cheesecake that changes seasonally
Bib GourmandRepsol RecommendedTres por Cuatro began as a stall in the Mercado de Torrijos in 2017 before growing into its restaurant on Calle Montesa in Goya, run by chef Álex Marugán with a Peruvian, Latin thread through the kitchen. Its Cheesecake with camembert and manchego, priced at €4.50 for a half portion or €8 for a full one, changes cheeses with the season, according to Time Out. The stall-to-restaurant story and the market-first approach run through the rest of the menu too, built around the best seasonal fish and produce the kitchen can source that week. The restaurant holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a Repsol Recomendado listing.
“una de las mejores (y más cremosas) tartas de queso de la ciudad”— Time Out Madrid
Samm
7. Samm — Tarta de queso as the most-requested dessert
Samm has cooked Valencian rice in Madrid since Vicente and Carmen opened it in September 1973, building a name for arroz del senyoret and paella Valenciana, and it's listed in the Guía Repsol with a Wikipaella 2020 distinction for its paella. Cheesecake isn't the headline, the rice is, but the restaurant's own materials call the tarta de queso the most-asked-for dessert on the menu, alongside a classic ensaladilla rusa to start.
El Paraguas8. El Paraguas — Comes with its own suggested sweet-wine pairing
RepsolEl Paraguas opened in 2004 in Recoletos and became the name of a family of restaurants, Grupo Paraguas, which later opened Ten con Ten, Ultramarinos Quintín, Amazónico and more; this original stays Asturian, built on quality, authenticity and simplicity, and holds two Repsol Soles. Desserts run from a rice pudding to a queen of sheba cake, and the restaurant's own materials describe its cheesecake as one of several sweets that each come with a suggested sweet-wine pairing, on a carta that keeps separate cocktail and dessert lists. It's a house classic rather than a headline, standing alongside the verdinas with partridge and morels stuffed with foie the kitchen is best known for.
Ramón Freixa Tradición
9. Ramón Freixa Tradición — Serves the specialist Alex Cordobés's cheesecake
RepsolTradición is Ramón Freixa's return to traditional Spanish cooking, opened in July 2025 at Velázquez 24 next to his two-Michelin-star Ramón Freixa Atelier, in a Michelin Selected room holding one Repsol Sol. Desserts run from rum baba to what the restaurant's own materials call “Alex Cordobés's cheesecake,” a nod to the specialist maker with his own shop in Salamanca. Freixa grew up in his grandparents' bakery in Castellfollit de Riubregós before building his career, and the menu leans on Iberian ham, croquettes, stews, rice and a section labelled Ramón's Favorites, product-led and seasonal throughout. It holds an OAD Europe Top Restaurants 2025 placement at #263.
García de la Navarra
10. García de la Navarra — Homemade cheesecake from a no-fixed-menu wine bar
RepsolGarcía de la Navarra is a family restaurant and vinoteca in the Jerónimos quarter, run by the García de la Navarra brothers, Pedro in the kitchen and Luis on the cellar, about 700 varieties and 1,900 labels chalked up by the glass on a slate. The García de la Navarra brothers opened it in 2011, after running La Taberna de Pedro together. There's no fixed carta; the kitchen runs on the day's suggestions, among them a Homemade cheesecake priced at €9.50, alongside dishes like black truffle croquetas, seasoned artichokes and partridge a la toledana. The restaurant holds one Repsol Sol and leans on Navarra vegetables, game and Cántábrico canned fish rather than a set menu that repeats night to night.
El Gran Asador Lecanda
11. El Gran Asador Lecanda — A cheesecake built for two, from a Basque grill
RepsolEl Gran Asador Lecanda opened in April 2023 on Calle Lagasca in Recoletos, on the site where chef David Lecanda began his Madrid career in 1998, cooking Basque asador food over fire in an elegant, dimly lit room. The menu lists a Cheesecake for two people at €20, served with macerated red berries, alongside an Idiazábal Reserva sheep's cheese and a cheese-and-quince plate, keeping dessert in the same cheese-forward register as the rest of the carta. It's a Michelin Selected restaurant with one Repsol Sol, built as Lecanda's most personal project on the foundations of where his Madrid career started.
El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo
12. El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo — Comté and Stilton cheesecake, baked in a wood oven
El Pedrusco takes its name from a rock on the edge of Aldealcorvo, the Segovia village the founding family came from; the family opened their first taberna in 1956 and this restaurant in 1984, and the kitchen still runs on a century-old holm-oak wood oven. That oven does double duty past the cochinillo and lamb it's known for: a Wood-fired cheesecake made with French Comté and English Stilton, priced at €11, gets the same treatment as the torreznos and judiones. Chef Gonza de Pedro, born the month the restaurant opened, runs the kitchen; his brother Antonio runs the dining room and wine. It's a Michelin Selected restaurant with a Repsol Recomendado listing and an OAD Europe Top Restaurants 2025 placement at #281.
El Fogón de Trifón
13. El Fogón de Trifón — Cheesecake finished with black olive notes
Jorge Trifón Esteban grew up in his father's Mesón del Águila in Vicálvaro, working the kitchen from age five before opening El Fogón de Trifón under his own name in 2002; his wife Marisa and their children run it alongside him today. Beyond the callos and rabo de toro the kitchen is known for, the menu runs to a cheesecake finished with black olive notes, part of a carta built on sourcing detail, boletus from the Sierra de la Morcuera and tomatoes from the Sierra de la Culebra among the specifics Trifón built the kitchen's slow-cooked style around. It's listed with a Repsol Recomendado distinction in Salamanca's Goya area.
Also worth trying
Honourable Mentions
Botín
Palacio
The historic Castilian house's dessert list still runs a Cheesecake (Grandma's recipe) at €9.50, alongside the cochinillo asado it's known for.
La Bien Aparecida
Recoletos
Also part of the Cañadío 1981 lineage: its own carta lists a Cañadío cheesecake (1981) at €10, plus Cañadío-1981-style Galician clams.
La Maruca - Velázquez
Recoletos
Marks its coeliac-safe dishes and keeps the same Cañadío cheesecake (1981) on the menu at €9, alongside its Cantabrian carta.
The bigger picture
The cheesecake Scene in Madrid
Madrid's cheesecake scene splits a few ways. Some kitchens treat it as a signature: Fismuler in Trafalgar built part of its reputation on a three-cheese version, and TATEL on Paseo de la Castellana lists “Our Famous Cheesecake” on its own menu, a dessert that won the Community of Madrid's Best Cheesecake award in 2022, according to Time Out. A separate thread runs through a Cantabrian restaurant lineage: a recipe tied to the Cañadío restaurant in Santander and dated to 1981 turns up, under variations of the same name, at Cañadío Madrid, La Primera, La Bien Aparecida and La Maruca Velázquez. Elsewhere cheesecake shows up as one dessert among several rather than the headline act: Treze's version takes on the character of Asturian Gamonéu cheese, El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo bakes its Comté-and-Stilton version in the same wood oven as its cochinillo, and Samm's own materials call its tarta de queso the most-requested dessert at a restaurant better known for Valencian rice.
Practical tips
Know before you go
A short survival guide for eating cheesecake in Madrid— everything we wish we’d known on our first trip.
- 1
Cheesecake here is priced by the slice more often than not: Treze's Gamoneu version is €8, García de la Navarra's homemade one is €9.50, and El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo's wood-fired Comté-and-Stilton cake is €11.
- 2
A few of these share the same recipe. The Cañadío-style cheesecake dated to 1981 turns up, under slightly different names, at Cañadío Madrid, La Primera and, as honourable mentions, La Bien Aparecida and La Maruca Velázquez, so if you like it at one you'll likely like it at the others.
- 3
El Gran Asador Lecanda's Cheesecake for two, at €20, is sized to share rather than order as an individual dessert; Fismuler's, per Time Out, comes out large enough for around six slices and can be taken home whole.
- 4
A few of these restaurants don't run a fixed dessert menu online. García de la Navarra and Samm both work from daily suggestions or a short in-house list rather than a printed carta, so it's worth asking what's available that day.
What's nearby
Landmarks around these restaurants
These sights sit within a short walk of most of the places on this list — handy for planning a day around the area.
Where to stay
Hotels in the area
Hotels we cover that sit within a short walk of the restaurants on this list — for staying where the eating is.
Know the terms
Glossary
The vocabulary you need to order cheesecake in Madrid like a local.
- Tarta de queso vasca
- Basque burnt cheesecake: a crustless style baked hot enough to caramelize the top while the centre stays soft, originally from a bar in San Sebastián.
- Cremosa
- Spanish for creamy; on a dessert menu it usually signals a softer, runnier cheesecake rather than a firm, fully set one.
- Bib Gourmand
- A Michelin Guide distinction for good food at moderate prices, separate from and below a Michelin star.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
All restaurants on this list were independently verified as open and serving the dishes described as of .
Which Madrid restaurants are known for their cheesecake?
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Fismuler in Trafalgar is the restaurant most often named for its cheesecake, built from three cheeses, fresh, smoked Idiazábal and blue, which the restaurant's own materials credit with helping make the place famous. TATEL, Treze, La Primera and Tres por Cuatro were also each named individually by outside coverage.
Has any Madrid restaurant won an award for its cheesecake?
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Yes. Time Out reports that TATEL, on Paseo de la Castellana, won the Community of Madrid's Best Cheesecake award in 2022, crediting the recipe to head chef David Rodríguez.
What is the Cañadío cheesecake?
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It's a recipe tied to the Cañadío restaurant in Santander, dated to 1981. In Madrid it turns up at Cañadío Madrid, its own outpost on Conde de Peñalver, and at La Primera on Gran Vía, where Time Out reports Paco Quirós has been perfecting the recipe since that year; it also shows up at honourable mentions La Bien Aparecida and La Maruca Velázquez.
Where can I get cheesecake made with a strong or blue cheese instead of cream cheese?
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Treze's Gamoneu Cheesecake, from chef Saúl Sanz, uses the Asturian blue cheese Gamonéu. El Gran Asador Lecanda and El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo both lean on aged cheeses too, Idiazábal at Lecanda and a Comté-and-Stilton mix at El Pedrusco.
Is there a cheesecake in Madrid made for sharing?
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El Gran Asador Lecanda in Recoletos lists a Cheesecake for two people at €20. Fismuler's version, per Time Out, comes out large enough for around six slices, whether eaten there or taken home whole.
Where can I try a wood-fired cheesecake in Madrid?
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El Pedrusco de Aldealcorvo bakes its Comté-and-Stilton cheesecake in the same century-old holm-oak wood oven it uses for its cochinillo, priced at €11.
Which Madrid restaurants serve cheesecake alongside a Michelin Bib Gourmand menu?
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Treze and Tres por Cuatro, both in the Goya part of Salamanca, hold Michelin Bib Gourmand distinctions and both serve their own cheesecakes, a Gamonéu version at Treze and a camembert-and-manchego one at Tres por Cuatro that changes cheeses by season.
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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 about Justin→