This is a must go if you are in Madrid. It was a happy stumble for us as we were leaving the Sunday…read moreEl Rastro flea market, which was an amazing market by the way. We walked into this small but crowded joint and never been so glad to have made the pit stop. The specialties are definitely the grilled sardines and the grilled peppers. Sprinkled with some sea salt and voila, I teared up when feasting on them. The people watching experience was awesome too! We found it quite comical the various ways people attempted to eat a sardine. Some gnawed on its side, some tried to peel off the flesh with their fingers...we even saw one trying to take the skin off first! Wow, omg hilarious! Whatever ways tickle your fancy, as long as you can get these succulent fish in your mouth and taste it you will not regret it. My husband vows by my technique which he claims work the best. I accredit it to my Asian background. Fish is served whole where I grew up. Since the fish fits in the mouth, pick it up by the tail. Bite off the head first. Trust me it's not gross. The fish had been deep fried so well the head is a tasty crunch. Slowly then use your teeth to lightly peel or grind off the flesh using an upward motion, and what's left is the main spine with tiny bones. Lastly, you must eat the tail. Again it's so crunchy and full of umami like the head. Check out my photos for better visuals as I am not that good of a self help writer. Haha! I wished I lived here so I could go back every week and you can't beat the price and the energy of this place as well.

Hmm... strangely enough, only my friend & I seemed bothered by the fact that the grilled sardines…read morehad so much scales on them! That, as you can imagine, made it extremely difficult & messy for us to consume the otherwise yummy tasting sardines. A heaping plate of sardines is only 3.60 euros, and we were thankful to only have ordered half portion which was more than enough for the two of us. What we did enjoy, was the Pimentos de padron - a type of green chillies known as padron, pan fried & sprinkled with sea salt. Yummy! It was soft and tasty, a bit on the salty side. The beer complements everything perfectly, and we saw many people eating bread with their meal (we opted out of the bread because there was too high a consumption of bread on our trip in Spain). Overall, it would've definitely been a 4-5 star rating if the sardines didn't have scales on them. It was a fun experience! PS. I uploaded two of the same pictures of my meal but it won't let me write the captions nor does it give me credit on the business page! :'(

Very good food, but our (admittedly large) party had to wait over an hour to be seated, and I don't…read morethink it's worth that long of a wait. With that said, the staff were very accommodating for the most part, and we got our food very promptly.

Just around the corner and what a treat! Felt like a local in town and welcomed after a long plane…read moreride. It was great to have some yummy local food and drinks. If your looking for a spot where you can feel Right at home in Spain, this is the place! Oh! And don't forget to ask for their special sauce!!!

My favorite sandwich place. Delicious open-faced sandwiches for 2.50 to 3€, depending on what you…read moregot. It's always a madhouse during El Rastro. My favorites were the pulpo gallego and jamón serrano. Pick it up and then eat it on the curb or the street as you walk around El Rastro

Came here on a recommendation from a friend who lived in Madrid for a couple of years and it did…read moreNOT disappoint. She gave us the genius advice of coming here on a non market day (any day other than Sunday) and she was CORRECT! we came here on a Saturday for lunch and had maybe two people in line in front of us. When we were walking in the area on Sunday, the line was literally down the street and around the block. That being said the food was so good that it would fully be worth waiting in a line for. DELICIOUS jamon, perfect bread with the most delicious tomato spread. I literally can't recommend this place enough and it's a must do when you are in Madrid!!!!!

Excellent service, authentic food, and delicious wine! Prices are great and very non-touristy…read more Highly recommended for some real Spanish cooking and a casual atmosphere.

Great mom and pop shop. No frills. Small but cozy. They love tourists. Spanish omelet was out of…read morethis world. Calamari plate was huge. Sangria homemade. Lovely service!

This place was fabulous. Kind people and great food. We asked for their recommendations and…read morereceived the octopus (pulpo) and lamb (Cordero). Both were really good but the octopus was the best by far. The lamb was good, a little salty but good overall. Lastly we ordered the calamari and pimentos and that both were good, on par with other places in Madrid. Overall for this area, this place was great.