# Best Tabernas in Madrid > Sixteen Madrid tabernas worth booking, from Casa Alberto's 1827 counter and Casa Labra's 1860 bacalao bar to a Bib Gourmand kitchen at La Barra de la Tasquería. - **Canonical URL:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/best-tabernas - **City:** Madrid, Spain - **Published:** 2026-09-27 - **Updated:** 2026-10-04 - **Author:** Justin Mota, Guidavera founder - **Reading time:** 14 min ## Introduction Casa Alberto has poured wine from the same spot on Calle de las Huertas since 1827, in a Barrio de las Letras building that stands where Miguel de Cervantes once lived. Sixteen Madrid tabernas make this list, from that nineteenth-century counter and Casa Labra's 1860 bacalao bar to La Barra de la Tasquería, a Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen that still calls its street-level bar a taberna. A taberna here means the classic Madrid tavern format, a zinc or marble counter, vermut or wine by the glass, and raciones meant for sharing, whether the room dates to the eighteen-hundreds or opened last year. ## Key picks at a glance - **Best historic centenaria** — [Casa Alberto](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-alberto): an 1827 taberna on the Ayuntamiento's centenarian register, in a building tied to Cervantes. - **Best modern reinvention** — [La Llorería](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-lloreria): a four-table, eight-stool room styled like a traditional taberna, with a Michelin Selected chalkboard menu. - **Best budget taberna** — [Casa Dani / Vinos 11](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-dani-vinos-11): under €25 a head, pouring wine on the same marble tables since 1861. - **Best Rastro taberna** — [Casa Amadeo Los Caracoles](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-amadeo-los-caracoles): on Plaza de Cascorro since 1942, built around caracoles stewed with garlic, parsley and onion. ## A guide to tabernas in Madrid ### What is a taberna? A taberna is a traditional Spanish tavern, historically a family-run counter serving wine, vermut and a short list of classic dishes rather than a full restaurant menu. Many Madrid tabernas still split into a walk-in bar section and a separate, reservable dining room. ### What's the difference between a taberna and a tasca? The words overlap. Both describe an old-school neighbourhood bar built around a counter, a short wine list and simple raciones, and Madrid venues use the two terms more or less interchangeably. ### What is vermut de grifo? Vermut de grifo is vermouth served on tap rather than from a bottle, a format tied to bodegas and tabernas that pour their own house recipe, often poured just before lunch on weekends as part of Madrid's vermut hour. ### What is cocina de cuchara? Cocina de cuchara, literally spoon cooking, refers to Spain's stews, braises and legume dishes eaten with a spoon: callos, cocido, judías and similar plates that are a staple on taberna menus. ### What are raciones? A ración is a full-size shared plate, with a media-ración as its half-portion version; taberna menus are typically built around ordering several raciones for the table rather than one dish per person. > "A taberna in Madrid can be a nineteenth-century tiled bar pouring vermut by the glass or a Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen that still calls its street-level counter a taberna." ## How we built this list We built this list by reading the Madrid restaurants we've profiled against the word taberna: whether a venue calls itself one, splits into a bar-and-dining-room format the way a taberna does, or sits on the Ayuntamiento's centenarian-business register alongside Madrid's historic tabernas. We checked professional recognition, Michelin and the Guía Repsol, and cross-referenced against several published taberna guides to Madrid, then read each pick's own menu and history rather than working from a desk. A defining taberna like Bodega La Ardosa or Casa Labra earns a place here even though it also turns up on our tapas guide, because leaving the classics off a tabernas list would read wrong. A handful of well-known historic tabernas that turn up again and again in those guides, including Antonio Sánchez in Lavapiés and the tiled Ángel Sierra in Chueca, don't have a Guidavera page yet, so they aren't on this list. Where a modern restaurant borrows the word taberna for a cuisine or format that isn't really the Madrid tavern tradition, or where a venue's own copy frames it as something else entirely, like a casa de comidas or a roast house, we left it off the numbered list, though a few still turn up in the honourable mentions. ## The 16 best Tabernas, compared | # | Restaurant | Neighbourhood | Price | Distinction | Signature dish | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | [Casa Alberto](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-alberto) | Barrio de las Letras | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | — | | 2 | [Bodega La Ardosa](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/bodega-la-ardosa) | Universidad | € | — | — | | 3 | [Casa Labra](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-labra) | Sol | € | Repsol Solete | — | | 4 | [La Barra de la Tasquería](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-barra-de-la-tasqueria) | Goya | €€ | Michelin Bib Gourmand | — | | 5 | [Taberna Laredo](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-laredo) | Ibiza/Niño Jesús | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | — | | 6 | [La Llorería](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-lloreria) | Justicia | €€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol | — | | 7 | [Viavélez](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/viavelez) | Cuatro Caminos | €€€ | Repsol 1 Sol | — | | 8 | [Viva Madrid](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/viva-madrid) | Barrio de las Letras | € | — | — | | 9 | [Taberna Marcano](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-marcano) | Ibiza/Niño Jesús | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | Our Gildas | | 10 | [Triana](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/triana) | Ibiza | €€ | Repsol Recomendado | — | | 11 | [Casa Salvador](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-salvador) | Chueca / Justicia | €€ | Repsol Recomendado | — | | 12 | [Casa Amadeo Los Caracoles](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-amadeo-los-caracoles) | Embajadores | €€ | — | — | | 13 | [Casa Dani / Vinos 11](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-dani-vinos-11) | Palacio | € | — | — | | 14 | [Zalamero](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/zalamero) | Ibiza | €€ | — | — | | 15 | [El Cisne Azul](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-cisne-azul) | Chueca | €€ | Repsol Solete | — | | 16 | [Taberna del Chato](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-del-chato) | Gaztambide | € | — | — | ## The 16 best Tabernas in Madrid ### 1. Casa Alberto *Taberna centenaria from 1827, in Cervantes' old building* - **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, its 1827 founding marked by a plaque the Ayuntamiento de Madrid set into the entrance floor. The building stands over 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 pouring wine with hard-boiled eggs and dried cod, and those roots still show: callos, caracoles a la madrileña, manitas de cordero, rabo estofado, carrillada de ternera and bacalao a la madrileña anchor the carta, alongside newer plates like pulpo with sweetbreads and a vegetable menestra with egg yolk. Every dish can be eaten at the bar as well as at a table. It holds a Repsol Recomendado listing and sits on the Ayuntamiento's Comercios Centenarios register, and it's closed Mondays. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined - undefined - undefined > "Abierto desde 1827" — Time Out Madrid ### 2. Bodega La Ardosa *An 1892 bar de toda la vida, still pouring vermut* - **Neighbourhood:** Universidad - **Address:** C/ Colon, 13, 28004 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** € - **Website:** https://grupoardosa.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/bodega-la-ardosa Bodega La Ardosa opened in 1892, founded by Rafael Fernández Bagena, a Toledo vineyard owner, as one of a chain of Ardosa bodegas selling his own wine and vermut. More than a century on it's still a bar de toda la vida, the kind of narrow, tiled Universidad-neighbourhood taberna where nothing on the counter has changed much and nobody wants it to. It pours its own recipe vermut from a dedicated tap, and El Español credits it as one of the first bars in Madrid to bring in imported beer. It's open daily, Monday to Friday from 08:30 and weekends from 11:45, both running late, with cards and contactless accepted and the full carta on the group's website. **Order:** - undefined > "Solo traspasar las puertas de La Ardosa, te trasladará a esos bares de antaño" — Time Out Madrid ### 3. Casa Labra *Separate food-and-drink counters, a taberna since 1860* - **Neighbourhood:** Sol - **Address:** C / Tetuan, 12, 28013 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** € - **Distinction:** Repsol Solete - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-labra Casa Labra is a historic Madrid taberna that's kept the same Sol address since 1860, and it still runs the way old Madrid bars once did: separate counters, one for ordering food and one for drink, standing-room only at the busiest hours. Spain's Socialist Party was founded within its walls in 1879, and the taberna has poured vermouth on tap and fried its soldaditos de pavía ever since. It holds a Repsol Solete, and in 2023 the soldaditos took the Premio al Plato Castizo at the Madrid Gastronomy Awards. Not much has changed in the 160-plus years since it opened; traditional wooden frontals give it a classic tapas-bar look. It's quick and walk-in friendly despite the crowds, open daily year-round except January 1st. **Order:** - undefined > "Famoso por ser el lugar de nacimiento del Partido Socialista Español en 1879" — Time Out Madrid ### 4. La Barra de la Tasquería *Adrián Collantes's Bib Gourmand casquería taberna on Duque de Sesto* - **Neighbourhood:** Goya - **Address:** C. del Duque de Sesto, 48, 28009 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Bib Gourmand - **Website:** https://tasqueriabarra.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-barra-de-la-tasqueria La Barra de la Tasquería occupies Calle del Duque de Sesto 48, the room where Javi Estévez first opened La Tasquería before it moved on. Chef Adrián Collantes, Estévez's right hand for years across El Mesón de Doña Filo, La Tasquería and El Lince, came back as partner and head chef, keeping the original's soul with a more open, approachable style; the venue calls itself a taberna at heart with the soul of a restaurant. Casquería leads the carta: callos cooked over three days, pork snout confited then fried under fabada foam, veal and lamb sweetbreads, and brains, alongside a jamón croquette that was a Madrid Fusión finalist. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and Joaquín García runs an 80-strong wine list, about 70 percent available by the glass. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined - undefined ### 5. Taberna Laredo *Family-run taberna with a 250-reference cellar in Ibiza/Niño Jesús* - **Neighbourhood:** Ibiza/Niño Jesús - **Address:** C/ Doctor Castelo, 30 - 28009 - Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://tabernalaredo.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-laredo Taberna Laredo sits on Calle Doctor Castelo, between the Ibiza and Niño Jesús neighbourhoods, north-east of the Retiro, run together by brothers David, Javier and Miguel Laredo. The family opened its first taberna in 1993 and moved to this address in 2012. Tapas and raciones get served informally off a big bar counter, alongside a livelier, more modern room behind it, and the venue has become a meeting point for fine-dining regulars and wine professionals in its own right. The producto-driven, traditional Spanish cooking runs from jamón ibérico and croquetas to salmorejo, served in half or full portions. Miguel has overseen the wine program for more than 30 years, and the cellar runs to roughly 250 references with particular depth in champagne and Burgundy. It holds a Repsol Recomendado listing. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined ### 6. La Llorería *Michelin-Selected taberna reworked into four tables and a chalkboard* - **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 was born from friendship: chefs Carmen Alti and José Certucha met working together in a Madrid restaurant and opened their own place to keep cooking side by side. It opened in spring 2022. The room holds just four tables and eight bar stools in a narrow space styled like a traditional Spanish taberna but modernised, the kitchen working in the open behind the bar. It holds a Michelin Selected listing and one Repsol Sol. The chalkboard menu runs to small and half-portion plates named for their key ingredients: cauliflower with bacon and baby squid, corvina with yellow chili and pak choi, beef tendon with leek and mint, and duck cannelloni with chamomile. It's open weekdays only, and with so few seats, a reservation is essential. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined - undefined ### 7. Viavélez *Cross a taberna to reach the 1-Sol restaurant behind it* - **Neighbourhood:** Cuatro Caminos - **Address:** Av. General Perón, 10, 28020, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** http://restauranteviavelez.com - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/viavelez Viavélez runs two spaces under one roof on Avenida General Perón in Cuatro Caminos, a busy northern junction with a genuinely local eating scene. To reach the restaurant, you cross the taberna and go down a flight of stairs into a small room seating 25 to 30. Both sides now share a single carta, Spanish and traditional in register, with tasting menus available in the restaurant alongside a daily menu and wine list. Asturian-cuisine pioneer Paco Ron opened it in 2008 with his sister Sara, and since 2023 it has been run by Enrique Limón, who led the dining room from the start. It holds one Sol in the Guía Repsol. The room reads quiet, modern and intimate, with warm, polished service, and there's a terrace. It's closed Mondays, Sunday is lunch only, and Tuesday to Saturday it runs continuously from 11:00 to midnight. ### 8. Viva Madrid *An 1856 building pairing a taberna with craft cocktails* - **Neighbourhood:** Barrio de las Letras - **Address:** Calle de Manuel Fernández y González 7, 28014 Madrid (Barrio de las Letras / Cortes, Centro), Spain - **Price:** € - **Website:** https://www.vivamadrid1856.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/viva-madrid 'El Viva es el Viva,' the Viva is the Viva, is how regulars and staff sum up the personality of this taberna and cocktail bar in Barrio de las Letras, trading as Viva Madrid 1856. Bartender Diego Cabrera led a 2018 reopening that revived aperitivo traditions the venue had let lapse, working from the same building and its original glazed ceramic tiles, magnificent bars and counters, and a coffered ceiling. Beyond traditional tapas, the drinks list runs to signature pours like La Gilda del Viva, an Espresso Martini, a Bloody Mary and La Pareja Perfecta. It's a classic, lively room where tourists and locals mix at the bar, plus a terrace, open daily with no reservations required. ### 9. Taberna Marcano *David Marcano's Basque haute-cuisine taberna, Michelin-listed since 2015* - **Neighbourhood:** Ibiza/Niño Jesús - **Address:** Calle Doctor Castelo, 31. 28009 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://restaurantemarcano.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-marcano Taberna Marcano is chef David Marcano's contemporary Spanish restaurant in the Ibiza/Niño Jesús area, built on product quality with Basque roots and Asian and American influences; Marcano trained under Arzak. Chef David Marcano has run it since 2012. It splits into a dining room and a bar area with high seating overlooking the open kitchen, so you can watch the chefs work. The carta opens with the house gildas and a croqueta of the week, and runs to red tuna tartare with fried egg, squid in its ink and hake with squid in ink following Juan Mari Arzak's recipes, and veal cheeks. It's held a place in the Michelin Guide since 2015, per its own site, and holds a Repsol Recomendado listing. **Order:** - Our Gildas - Baby squid in its ink - Veal cheek in Port wine ### 10. Triana *Andalusian taberna, tapeo y tradición, by the Retiro since 2006* - **Neighbourhood:** Ibiza - **Address:** C. de Narváez, 39, Retiro, 28009 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://trianarestaurante.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/triana Triana opened in 2006 as an Andalusian taberna near the Parque del Retiro, and sums itself up in three words: taberna, tapeo y tradición. The kitchen serves Andalusian recipes kept close to tradition with a few renewed touches, built from fresh market produce and served in half or full portions to share. It's listed in the Guía Repsol, and chef Rubén Amro has adapted almost the entire menu, 99 percent by the venue's own count, to a gluten-free certification, remaking breads and fried dishes so the recipes hold up. The room reads cheerful and welcoming, set up for groups with a separate events area, and a year-round terrace runs with heaters through winter. It's open daily from 12:30 to 1:00am. ### 11. Casa Salvador *A 1941 taberna taurina turned bullfighting-history dining room* - **Neighbourhood:** Chueca / Justicia - **Address:** Calle de Barbieri, 12, 28004 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://casasalvadormadrid.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-salvador Salvador Blázquez opened Casa Salvador in 1941, in the hard years after the Civil War, as a taberna taurina on Calle de Barbieri, between Chueca and Justicia. It drew a high-flying crowd that has never quite left, by the venue's own account: bankers like Alfonso Escámez and Pablo Garnica, bullfighters like Luis Miguel Dominguín, Victoriano Valencia and Paco Camino, actors like Charlton Heston, Alain Delon and Ava Gardner, the producer Samuel Bronston and the writer Ernest Hemingway. In 1976 his nephew Pepe Blázquez turned the taberna into a reference for cocina tradicional madrileña, known for callos a la madrileña, estofado de rabo de toro and Lenten potajes. It's listed in the Guía Repsol, closes for the whole of August, and the room still reads classic and rustic, doubling as a museum of the city's social and taurine history. **Order:** - undefined - undefined ### 12. Casa Amadeo Los Caracoles *A 1942 Rastro taberna built around stewed caracoles* - **Neighbourhood:** Embajadores - **Address:** Plaza de Cascorro, 18, 28005 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Website:** http://www.caracolesdeamadeo.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-amadeo-los-caracoles Casa Amadeo – Los Caracoles has worked Plaza de Cascorro, at the top of the Rastro in La Latina, since 1942. By the founder's own telling, Amadeo arrived in Madrid as a boy in 1940 and started as a taberna apprentice on the square; what began as a pure taberna of wine, aguardiente and a few olives grew into a kitchen once his mother and sister added raciones, and the caracoles, snails simmered simply with garlic, parsley and onion, became the draw. His children and grandchildren still run it today. The wider cocina de cuchara carries the rest of the carta: callos, oreja, judías viudas, rabo de toro and mejillones a la marinera, with raciones like bacalao, homemade croquetas and calamares a la romana, and a homemade arroz con leche for dessert. It's family-run, vintage in feel, and open daily, roughly 10am to midnight. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined - undefined ### 13. Casa Dani / Vinos 11 *Marble-topped wine taberna pouring since 1861, under €25* - **Neighbourhood:** Palacio - **Address:** Calle Calatrava 11, 28005, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** € - **Website:** https://sites.google.com/view/vinos11casadani/inicio - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-dani-vinos-11 Casa Dani, also trading as Vinos 11, has poured wine on Calle Calatrava since 1861, one of old Madrid's marble-topped tabernas; its own site still trades on the date, calling itself the place 'donde se esconde el viejo Madrid desde 1861.' The room reads classic, cosy and rustic, built around marble-topped tables and a marble bar for leaning on, with regulars coming for jamón ibérico de bellota, cheese, lomo, chicharrones, cecina, bonito and mussels over a glass of wine rather than a long menu. It runs under €25 per person, there's standing bar service, and the menu is published on the venue's own site. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined ### 14. Zalamero *A sommelier-run, wine-led taberna in Retiro's Ibiza barrio* - **Neighbourhood:** Ibiza - **Address:** Calle de Narváez, 67, 28009 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Website:** https://zalamerotaberna.com - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/zalamero Zalamero started as a wine bar, the idea of two sommeliers, Ana and David, who wanted to share the people behind the wines they respect. The kitchen and dining room share the spotlight, wine running as the thread through both, with cooking that's traditional and Madrid to its core, updated for the present and built on seasonal produce. There are three spaces to sit: a lively bar for a quick glass and some tapas, a cosy dining room for a longer meal, and a terrace. It runs roughly €26 to €50 per person, has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and seating, and is closed Monday and Tuesday; it's dinner only Wednesday to Friday, with lunch added at the weekend. ### 15. El Cisne Azul *A wild-mushroom taberna specialist, feeding obsessives for forty years* - **Neighbourhood:** Chueca - **Address:** Gravina, 19, 28004, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Solete - **Website:** https://www.elcisneazul.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-cisne-azul By its own account, El Cisne Azul has spent forty years feeding wild-mushroom obsessives out of a small taberna on Gravina 19, before outgrowing the room; a second, larger restaurant later opened a few doors up at number 27. Wild mushrooms come first: setas silvestres, meats and cheeses take up most of the carta, ingredient-led rather than clever. It holds a Repsol Solete. Only the newer restaurant takes reservations; the original taberna at number 19 is first-come, first-served. It's closed Mondays, Sunday is lunch only, and a meal runs roughly €26 to €50 per person. **Order:** - undefined ### 16. Taberna del Chato *Tapas served in small glasses called chatos, from €10* - **Neighbourhood:** Gaztambide - **Address:** Calle de Andrés Mellado, 88, 28015 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** € - **Website:** https://tabernadelchato.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-del-chato Taberna del Chato calls itself a personal project that began in 2012 in a small tavern in the Barrio de las Letras, and now pours on Calle de Andrés Mellado in Argüelles. Its take on tapas, served in small glasses called chatos, is where the name comes from: the idea, in its own words, is simple, honest, affordable food where people feel at home. The menu is built to share, a wide range of tapas served in chatos alongside Basque pinchos, montados and plates, with traditional standards like huevos con jamón, croquetas and calamari sitting next to more gourmet turns such as the house steak tartar. It stays budget-friendly, with group menus including drinks from €26, and it's an easy, informal, dog-friendly spot good for groups. **Order:** - undefined - undefined - undefined ## Honourable mentions - **[Casa Pedro](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-pedro)** (Valverde) — A Castilian roast house with roots in a 1702 pilgrims' inn, and a member of Madrid's Asociación de Restaurantes y Tabernas Centenarios. - **[Taberna Verdejo](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-verdejo)** (Lista) — Chef Marian Reguera's own copy calls it a casa de comidas rather than a taberna, but it holds two Repsol Soles in Lista. - **[The Market Madrid](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/the-market-madrid)** (Prosperidad) — The more casual, taberna-branded gastrobar sibling of The Market Madrid's Príncipe de Vergara restaurant, in Prosperidad. - **[La Tasca Suprema](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-tasca-suprema)** (Justicia) — A tasca on Calle Argensola in Justicia since 1890, cooking cocina tradicional madrileña like callos and cocido. - **[Casa Paulino](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-paulino)** (Ríos Rosas) — A narrow taberna turned Ríos Rosas dining room with a Repsol Solete, its fish and meat arriving daily from the Mercado de Alonso Cano. - **[Los Chanquetes](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/los-chanquetes)** (Cortes) — A taberna-mesón in an 1857 Barrio de las Letras building, serving Carmen Puentes's home recipes for about fifty years. ## The tabernas scene in Madrid Madrid's taberna scene runs from the nineteenth century straight through to new openings. Casa Alberto's 1827 building on Calle de las Huertas sits over an earlier house tied to Cervantes, Casa Labra has poured bacalao and vermouth in Sol since 1860, and Bodega La Ardosa has run its own vermut tap in Universidad since 1892. Casa Amadeo – Los Caracoles has worked Plaza de Cascorro, by the Rastro, since 1942. Michelin and the Guía Repsol both recognise the format at its sharper end: La Barra de la Tasquería holds a Bib Gourmand, and Taberna Marcano carries a Michelin Selected listing alongside a Repsol Sol. Others fold the taberna idea into something else, like Viva Madrid's 1856 building pairing tapas with a craft cocktail programme, or Taberna Laredo's bar counter that's become a meeting point for Madrid's wine professionals. ## Know before you go ### 1. Bar or dining room, check which Several of these split into a walk-in bar and a separate dining room with its own hours, including Casa Alberto, Viavélez and El Cisne Azul. Decide which side you want, since only some take reservations. ### 2. August closures are common Casa Salvador closes for the whole of August, a common pattern at family-run Madrid tabernas. Confirm a venue's current calendar before a special trip, especially in summer. ### 3. Some don't take bookings at all El Cisne Azul's original taberna room is first-come, first-served; only its newer restaurant a few doors up takes reservations. Casa Amadeo – Los Caracoles reads as a walk-in spot too. ### 4. Half portions stretch a visit further Kitchens like La Barra de la Tasquería, La Llorería and Casa Alberto serve many dishes as a media-ración, so a small group can work through more of the carta without over-ordering. ### 5. Weekday lunch is the quiet window La Barra de la Tasquería names weekday lunch as its slowest time, and it's a reasonable bet for a walk-in table elsewhere on this list too. ## Glossary - **Taberna** — An old-school Spanish tavern, traditionally family-run, built around a short list of classic dishes. - **Tasca** — Used more or less interchangeably with taberna: a neighbourhood bar built around a counter, a short wine list and simple raciones. - **Vermut de grifo** — Vermouth poured on tap rather than from a bottle, often a bodega's own house recipe. - **Ración** — A full-size shared portion of a dish. A media-ración is the half-size version, common on Madrid taberna menus. - **Cocina de cuchara** — Literally 'spoon cooking': Spain's stews, braises and legume dishes, such as callos and cocido, that are a staple on taberna menus. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a taberna in Madrid? A taberna is a traditional Spanish tavern built around a counter, wine or vermut by the glass, and a short list of classic raciones. Several tabernas on this list, like Viavélez and El Cisne Azul, still split the idea across a walk-in bar and a separate, more formal dining room. ### What's the oldest taberna on this list? Casa Alberto, which traces its founding to 1827 and sits on the Ayuntamiento de Madrid's Comercios Centenarios register, is the oldest on this list. Viva Madrid dates its building to 1856 by its own branding, Casa Labra has served bacalao from the same Sol address since 1860, and Casa Dani (Vinos 11) has poured wine on Calle Calatrava since 1861. ### Which taberna on this list holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand? La Barra de la Tasquería, on Calle del Duque de Sesto, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. ### Where can I find a cheap taberna meal in Madrid? Casa Dani (Vinos 11) runs under €25 per person for wine and cured meats on marble tables, and Taberna del Chato in Argüelles serves its tapas in chatos at under €25 a head. ### Which taberna on this list is near the Rastro? Casa Amadeo – Los Caracoles has worked Plaza de Cascorro, at the top of the Rastro in La Latina, since 1942, built around caracoles simmered with garlic, parsley and onion. ### Is there a taberna in Madrid that doubles as a cocktail bar? Viva Madrid, in an 1856 building in Barrio de las Letras, pairs traditional tapas with a craft cocktail programme revived by bartender Diego Cabrera in 2018. ### Which taberna on this list specialises in wild mushrooms? El Cisne Azul, on Calle de Gravina in Chueca, has built its carta around setas silvestres for around forty years by its own account, and holds a Repsol Solete. ## 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-tabernas. Every claim is verifiable against the linked restaurant profiles. Source: Guidavera (https://guidavera.com).