Good Restaurants in Salamanca (Madrid)

Alquimia

You can come here for a drink or dinner and enjoy the live baroque music performances every night at 9p and 10p. The decor is the most unique feature, and you will see various works of art of very different styles on display. It is a large place spread over two floors. Upstairs is the library with comfortable sofas where you can sit and chat the night away by the fireside, and downstairs is a dance floor. The clientele are mainly in their 30s.

El Rocío

A spacious and busy restaurant that serves tasty tapas with your drinks at the bar. It specializes in Pescaíto Frito (fried Mediterranean fish), although the rice dishes and the cured ham from Jabugo are worth trying too. The set meal of the day is a good value, offering a choice of starters like gazpacho or fresh asparagus followed by squid or steak, and then dessert. The interior is decorated in traditional Andalusian style, with whitewashed walls, green-painted tables and chairs, and tiled floors. It's popular with business people at lunchtime. Large parties are well catered for and there is a car-parking service available.

Embassy Cafeteria y Tienda

A well-known resting place for the wealthy upper-middle classes when out shopping. You can choose to refresh yourself in the elegant tearoom or the more functional cafeteria before or after buying your luxury groceries in the delicatessen and some household goods in the shop. The opening hours are long, so you never need to rush. The cafeteria serves all sorts of hot and cold snacks as well as more substantial hot dishes, breakfasts, ice-creams and refreshing drinks. Prices are reasonable. The shop sells home decor and practical goods like trays, glasses, fruit bowls, teapots and magazine racks.

Taberna de la Daniela

This is a noisy, lively tavern, which specializes in cocido madrileño (a two-course meal in itself, consisting of soup, chickpeas, vegetables and meat). Its other homemade specials are excellent as well, including the Empanada de Bacalao Con Pasas (cod pasty with raisins), Berberechos (steamed cockles), pork loin, cured cheeses and fresh red bream (Besugo). There's not much space, so book ahead if you want a seat. All the tapas and specials of the day are written up on blackboards placed around the bar, which is normally crowded with locals.

El Tulipán

Not at all! This is a family run business, with just 16 tables. It was created in 1940 and it still keeps all the quality and flavor of the typical dishes from Asturias. Seafood, fabes (beans) with clams and much more, with an excellent white wine. Don t get frustrated when you get there, as the feel of the restaurant is a little bit old-fashioned; just make yourself comfortable and ask Angel for dinner. And he will serve you… Surprise! But be careful, as you will need two stomachs to eat everything s on the table! Don t forget to make a reservation first. -Angeles Fernandez

Casa de Vacas

This is a spacious place that can cater for almost all your refreshment needs: you can come for a beer and tapas, a sit-down meal, a hot chocolate, or tea and cakes. You can come with friends, or feel equally comfortable on your own reading the newspapers by the big front windows.Choose from the snacks of cured ham, sausage, or cheese or a more substantial racion of squid, prawns, or potato omelette. You will find the restaurant located in an attractive upmarket area of the city. Its desserts and meat dishes are especially recommended.

Suntory

Madrid's most luxurious and expensive Japanese restaurant is huge and often full of large tour groups. However, it still retains an air of Oriental calm, even when busy. The interior is elegantly decorated in pure Japanese minimalist style. There's a sushi bar for those on a tighter budget. Portions in the main dining room are meagre compared to other places and the prices are high. You can reserve one of the private dining rooms and there is valet parking available too. They offer a sampler menu for EUR36.06.

The Geographic Club

The space of the Geographic Club looks more like a library or cartographic tomb than a bar, but this happens to be one of the liveliest places to catch a sporting event in Salamanca. A short walk from Retiro park and steps from El Corte Ingles, this tri-level space provides plenty of opportunity to seclude yourself from the noise and have a liquor-infused conversation. If you happen to be the more social sort, this is a haven for sports fans and anglophiles as well. The menu is not complex and neither are the alcoholic offerings, but they do a very basic service very well. In the miasma of pubs and cafes that Madrid can offer, this is by far the most welcoming to travelers and explorers looking for a bit of English familiarity. - Nicholas Weber