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El Ingrediente
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A wide crop of a paella in a dark pan: saffron-orange rice with flat green beans, browned chicken pieces and butter beans, crisped at the edges
A close crop of a beef tartare disc dressed with chopped gherkin, capers on dots of pale cream, curls of yellow pickled pepper and small green leaves
A white bowl of braised vegetables in a light broth, sliced carrot, celery and charred green beans under a scatter of purple micro leaves, on a dark wooden table
A white bowl of white bean and green bean stew in an amber broth, topped with slices of crisp-skinned pork belly
A red-handled paella pan of dark glossy rice dotted with pieces of white fish and small pools of yellow alioli, shot from directly overhead on a wooden table

El Ingrediente

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#231 in MadridRanked #231 of all Madrid restaurants on Guidavera. Click to see the full ranked list./Hidden GemGuidavera tier, our editorial classification combining ratings, accolades, and source consensus across the Madrid dining scene./SpanishSpanish cuisine: the kitchen's primary culinary tradition and style./€€€€/Chamberí/

El Ingrediente is a small restaurant on Calle Alenza in Ríos Rosas, listed in the Guía Repsol, cooking personal, tradition-based plates to share, in half or full portions, with a short list that changes with the season. Twenty-two seats in the dining room and ten at the bar, where many dishes are finished in view. Lunch Tuesday to Sunday, dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

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From r_ingrediente on Instagram

Background

About El Ingrediente

The Story

El Ingrediente is a small restaurant on Alenza, in Ríos Rosas, the residential grid north of the old centre, deliberately outside the fashionable circuit. It cooks personal, author-driven food with a clear base in tradition, designed to be shared informally, in a style the Guía Repsol sums up as fleeing labels and cooking from the gut, 'sin bobadas', after one of the kitchen's big inspirations, the Basque chef David de Jorge, Robin Food on television. The kitchen is tiny, so many plates are finished behind the bar: neighbourhood cooking in full view. It's listed in the Guía Repsol.

The Cuisine

Tradition-based sharing plates with global detours, in half or full portions, from a carta of about fifteen dishes plus off-menu specials that changes with the season and, as the house puts it, the kitchen's mood. Five dishes is its suggested amount for a table to share.

The Carta

Half portions run about €9 to €13, full ones €18 to €26. The current list includes a duck steak tartare in the Robin Food style with fried capers and 'japo' mayonnaise, a chicken and pork rillette with marinated salmon, tartare sauce and pickles, stewed caviar lentils with tendons and seared prawns, a sea-bream tiradito with ponzu and mojo canario, beef meatballs in mole de olla with corn cream, a creamy rice of cabbage and smoked bacon with marinated corvina, stewed red chipirones with Chinese rice pasta, and pork cheeks in red curry with Thai rice. Tacos and vegetable ssam come by the piece, there's a chilli dog with Basque-style meat, and the house 'Cubano' sandwich of glazed pork belly with teriyaki and sriracha mayo (€18.50).

Groups, Wine and Cocktails

Group menus of shared dishes run €42, €45 and €48 a head, with bread and water included and an optional €11 add-on of three drinks. The wine list is its own, with some wines by the glass and a selection of fortified wines for sherry lovers, and the bar has a short list of original cocktails. Nearby car parks include Alenza 18-20, Ponzano 37, Ríos Rosas 47 and Hernani 23.

Highlights

What Diners Say

CozyRomanticIntimateGood for DatesGood for FriendsWarm ServiceTraditional

Consensus

El Ingrediente Ratings & Reviews

Professional Ratings

Macarfi

decor 6.1/10, service 6.7/10, typical spend 40€

food 7.2/10

Diner Ratings

Restaurant Guru

4.4

720 reviews

Google

4.4

662

TripAdvisor

4.3

204

#231 in MadridHidden Gem

El Ingrediente ranks #231 of 1001 rated restaurants in Madrid. Diners rate it 4.4/5 on Restaurant Guru (720 reviews) and 4.3/5 on TripAdvisor.

Reservations

How to Book El Ingrediente

Experience

El Ingrediente Dining Experience

Small, cosy and informal, with two ways to sit: a quieter dining room of 22 seats with tables for one to twelve, and a livelier ten-seat bar where many dishes are finished in front of you. The house itself says the bar has fans and the odd detractor, so book the dining room if you want calm. Service is warm and unhurried.

Navigate

El Ingrediente Location & Neighbourhood

Address

Alenza, 5, 28003, Madrid, Spain

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Getting There

El Ingrediente is on Alenza, 5, in the Ríos Rosas barrio of Chamberí, about 1,500 m south-west of the Bernabéu. Ríos Rosas is a working residential grid north of the old centre, where restaurants answer to the people who live there and the eating is unhurried and mid-priced.

Nearby

Ríos Rosas is a working residential grid north of the old centre, where restaurants answer to the people who live there rather than to visitors. It sits nearer Estadio Santiago Bernabéu than anything touristic, and the eating is unhurried, mid-priced and quietly confident. This is where you go for a proper lunch without theatre.

Details

El Ingrediente Reservations, Hours & Contact

Opening Hours

DayHours
MondayClosed
Tuesday13:30–17:00 & 20:30–23:00
Wednesday13:30–17:00 & 20:30–23:00
Thursday13:30–17:00 & 20:30–23:00
Friday13:30–17:00 & 20:30–00:00
Saturday13:30–17:00 & 20:30–00:00
Sunday13:30–17:00

El Ingrediente hours verified 2026-08-10. Contact the restaurant to confirm.

Contact

Good to Know

Listed in the Guía Repsol
Tiny room: 22 seats in the dining room, 10 at the bar; about fifteen sharing plates in half or full portions
Lunch Tuesday to Sunday from 13:30; dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 20:30; closed Mondays (confirm, as summer hours differ)
Group menus €42 to €48; dog-friendly; step-free seating
Half portions about €9–13, full €18–26; book the bar or the dining room online

Questions

El Ingrediente FAQ

When is El Ingrediente open?

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Lunch Tuesday to Sunday from 13:30, and dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 20:30, until 23:00 midweek and midnight on Friday and Saturday. It's closed on Mondays, and summer hours can differ, so check the restaurant's own site.

What kind of food does El Ingrediente serve?

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Personal, tradition-based sharing plates with global touches, in half or full portions: duck tartare in the Robin Food style, caviar lentils with tendons and prawns, sea-bream tiradito, meatballs in mole, pork cheeks in red curry and the house Cubano sandwich.

Where is El Ingrediente?

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Calle Alenza 5, in the Ríos Rosas barrio of Madrid's Chamberí district, a residential grid north of the old centre.

How much does it cost to eat at El Ingrediente?

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Half portions are about €9 to €13 and full portions €18 to €26; the house suggests five dishes for a table to share. Group menus are €42, €45 or €48 a head.

Should I sit at the bar or in the dining room?

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The dining room seats 22 and is the quieter option. The ten-seat bar is livelier, gets the same carta plus a short cocktail list, and can take groups of up to eight. Both can be booked.