The Foodies’ Guide to El Retiro - Saborea España

The Foodies’ Guide to El Retiro

09 Sep The Foodies’ Guide to El Retiro

Posted at 12:16h in by

Restaurants, bars and terraces make the neighbourhood of El Retiro, which surrounds the city’s famous park, one of every local’s favourite spots. What could be better than enjoying the fresh air of the city’s green lung and then making a stop for a drink and a bite to eat? Where the most traditional of pubs stand alongside modern wine bars, this family-friendly area – that encompasses the streets of Menéndez Pelayo, Doctor Castelo, Narváez, Menorca, and Lope de Rueda – has become a paradise even for those with the most exquisite of palates.

Points of interest:

Taberna Arzábal

  • Address: Avenida de Menéndez Pelayo, 13 Madrid 28009
  • Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 12:30pm to 2:00am
  • GPS: 40.420407, -3.679319
  • Phone: +34 914 095 661
  • Email: comunicacion@arzabal.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:     Accessibility
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: This taberna, founded by Álvaro Castellano and Iván Morales in 2009, quickly became a reference for food lovers from all corners of the city. Its approach was simple: combine tradition with contemporary concepts by serving modern-day dishes based on classical recipes.
  • Reasons to visit: Taberna Arzábal, on Avenida de Menéndez Pelayo, is a classic stop in the El Retiro neighbourhood, making the area without a doubt one of top spots for tapas in Madrid. Their Iberian ham croquettes, made with Latxa sheep’s milk, are simply to die for! Other highlights include their potato and tuna belly salad, roasted octopus served over paprika mashed potatoes, spicy moules marinière, and their butter beans and clams, to name but a few.
  • What’s on offer: Choose from cured meats, international cheeses and high-quality canned products, in addition to grilled fish, seafood and seasonal meat dishes. Classics from the menu include croquettes, truffled fried eggs, patatas a la importancia (battered potatoes) served with langoustines, finished off with the house special Arzábal torrija (sweet French toast). Not forgetting the seasonal specials served depending on the time of year.
  • Resident’s tip: Thanks to its outdoor seating area with views of El Retiro Park and its traditionally decorated interior, Arzábal is perfect at any time of day for a glass of champagne paired with an appetizer or an evening meal enjoyed until the early morning.
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O'Grelo

  • Address: Calle Menorca, 39, 28009 Madrid
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from midday to 4:00pm and 7:00pm to 1:00am. Sunday from midday to 4:00pm
  • GPS: 40.419431, -3.674274
  • Phone: +34 914 097 204
  • Email: info@restauranteogrelo.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:    
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: A Galician restaurant with a counter-top bar where tapas prepared with seasonal products are served.
  • Reasons to visit: For more than 30 years, O’Grelo has been preparing the best of Galician cuisine in the El Retiro neighbourhood. Using only the best quality products and with friendly, welcoming and detail-oriented service, this corner of Galicia in Madrid serves fish, shellfish, meat and rice dishes prepared in the most traditional of ways, all with a dash of modernity.
  • What’s on offer: In addition to grilled shellfish platters, choose from octopus with cachelos (boiled potatoes), oven-baked scallop pastry, rice with lobster, pork tenderloin with cep mushrooms, and Galician-style hake, among others. The restaurant also has an extensive wine menu.
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter

Couzapín

  • Address: Calle Menorca, 33, 28009 Madrid.
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from midday to midnight. Sunday from midday to 5:00pm.
  • GPS: 40.419553, -3.675208
  • Phone: +34 914 009 355
  • Email: info@restaurantecouzapin.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:    
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: Serving seasonal dishes from Asturian cuisine with contemporary touches.
  • Reasons to visit: Within walking distance of El Retiro Park, this Asturian cider house serves avant-garde dishes made using locally sourced market produce and a wide selection of traditional tapas. Featuring a sprawling countertop bar – perfect for casual tapas with friends – the restaurant also boasts a cosy rustic dining room for seasonal dishes including octopus and cachelos (boiled potatoes), roasted monkfish fillet with sautéed vegetables and tenderloin pork millefeuille filled with cep mushrooms and foie gras.
  • What’s on offer: Couzapín is committed to using quality fresh products, opting for seasonal produce at all times and treating all of its ingredients with the utmost care: the result on the plate is one of exceptional gastronomy.
  • Insider tip: Try the best fish from Cantabrian fish markets – including wild turbot, monkfish, line-caught sea bass, and rockfish – or the house’s exquisite sustainably grown butter beans and meat from the happiest cows in the world that graze on the Picos de Europa mountain range.
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook – Instagram 

Carlos Tartiere

  • Address: Calle Menorca, 35, 28009 Madrid.
  • Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 11:00am to 1:00am.
  • GPS: 40.419553, -3.675208
  • Phone: +34 915 745 761
  • Email: carlos.tartiere.restaurante@gmail.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:   
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: A restaurant-cum-cider house specialised in Asturian cuisine by El Retiro Park, serving the most famous dishes of the region, including fabada asturiana (Asturian bean stew), butter beans with clams, rice with lobster, breaded beef steak with Iberian ham and cheese filling, and breaded beef fillets with Cabrales cheese sauce.
  • Reasons to visit: From markets in Burela, Cudillero and Avilés, fresh fish – that includes turbot, hake and monkfish – is delivered to the restaurant on a daily basis. The highlights in the way of starters include home-baked savoury pastries, chorizo sausage cooked in cider and red peppers filled with cod. On the dessert menu don’t miss the famous baked rice pudding, Asturian crepes filled with apple cream and apple pie, among other delights.
  • What’s on offer: In the bar area choose from sharing platters of fried potatoes in Cabrales cheese sauce, Spanish omelette with vegetables, red scorpion fish terrine, and chorizo sausage cooked in cider, washed down with natural cider produced in Asturian Denominations of Origin. What’s more, the restaurant also has private dining rooms for special occasions, perfect for work meals, family celebrations or evenings with friends.
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Kulto Espacio Gastronómico

  • Address: Calle de Ibiza, 4, 28009 Madrid.
  • Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday from 1:00pm to midnight. Thursday to Saturday from 1:00pm to 2:00am.
  • GPS: 40.418244, -3.678093
  • Phone: +34 911 733 053
  • Email: reservas@kulto.es
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:   
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • About: A place serving the best selection of Andalusian fusion tapas, such as the Vietnamese “Sam”-style Barbate prawn fritters.
  • What’s on offer: This tapas restaurant prides itself on its ceviches, aguachiles, red tuna, seaweed and borriquetes (grunt fish). Upstairs it boasts a small dining area for à-la-carte dishes. Chefs José Fuentes and Laura López’s innovative spirit in the kitchen translates into dishes such as octopus in Cuban marinade, cassava, purple potato and deep-fried pig’s ears, red tuna satay, baby cuttlefish and giant scarlet prawn fideuá, and the traditional Antequera roll filled with assorted slow-cooked meats.
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter

Ibiza Market

  • Address: Calle de Ibiza, 8, 28009 Madrid
  • Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 11:00am to 4:30pm and 8:00pm to 1:30am.
  • GPS: 40.418182, -3.677404
  • Phone: +34 917 524 490
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:   
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • About: Restaurant serving the creamiest of croquettes alongside other signature tapas. Head upstairs to the first floor for lunches and dinners in a cosy atmosphere. 
  • Reasons to visit: A food lover’s paradise where nouvelle cuisine meets traditional recipes, with a touch of elegance and personality added to each unique dish. A philosophy based on the use of the best, freshest ingredients lends optimum quality to each and every one of the dishes and cocktails served at the Ibiza Market.
  • What’s on offer: The secret behind serving only dishes of the highest quality is in selecting only the best fresh ingredients from local suppliers. In addition to enhancing the quality on the plate, this also promotes and supports the growth of local businesses in Madrid. 
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook – Instagram – Tripadvisor

La Taberna de Buendi

  • Address: Calle del Dr. Castelo, 15, 28009 Madrid
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 12:30pm to midnight. Sundays from 12:30pm to 4:30pm.
  • GPS: 40.420519, -3.677919
  • Phone: +34 915 782 737
  • Email: contacto@tabernabuendi.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:    
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: A warm and welcoming space serving raciones (dishes to share), the perfect place for a casual glass of wine with friends at the bar or around a table. A local spot with great value for money, we recommend avoiding peak times of the day. Highlights include the lamb’s lettuce and cockle salad.
  • Resident’s tip: Don’t leave without trying the spectacular Huelva deep-water rose prawns.
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook

La Raquetista

  • Address: Calle del Doctor Castelo, 19, Madrid 28009
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from midday to 4:00pm and 8:00pm to 12:45am. Sunday from midday to 4:00pm.
  • GPS: 40.420495, -3.677145
  • Phone: +34 918 311 842
  • Email: info@laraquetista.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:    
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: This quaint taberna is located in the vicinity of El Retiro Park, for many the capital’s Golden Mile for food lovers.
  • Reasons to visit: Serving a range of national and international dishes, with great emphasis on seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, fish, and game.
  • What’s on offer: The menu at La Raquetista is updated regularly in line with market produce and the season. The signature of its chef, Javier Aparicio, is his honest, ingredient-oriented portfolio of his very own recipes. Highlights include his five-spice medium rare Norwegian salmon, chickpeas with black butifarra sausage, mushrooms and foie gras, and beef cheek lasagne. The wine list features a diverse range of grapes and personalities mainly from around Spain, giving diners a wide array of options to accompany their meal, in addition to a selection of champagnes. 
  • Resident’s tip: Don’t miss the house’s original tapas, from red tuna parpatana (cut from around the fish’s mouth and jaw) pastrami and spider crab dim sum to fried cod parcels with Biscay sauce.
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook – Twitter

Taberna Laredo

  • Address: Calle Doctor Castelo, 30 Madrid 28009.
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from midday to midnight.
  • GPS: 40.420261, -3.675111
  • Phone: +34 915 733 061
  • Email: info@tabernalaredo.com
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:    
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: A family-run business with the Laredo brothers at the helm, serving the very best products. This quality is worth paying for: choose from select shellfish like the Santa Pola red and white prawns, delicious rice dishes and an impressive wine list with a selection of wine, cava, and champagne from Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Portugal.
  • Reasons to visit: The large bar serves exclusive canned products and raciones (dishes to share), including Iberian ham, croquettes and salmorejo (cold soup made with blended tomatoes and breadcrumbs). It’s recommended that you book a table in advance for the restaurant’s dining room, where the very popular seasonal wild mushroom and foie gras risotto, grilled shellfish, tempura vegetables, pil pil cod cheeks, and Iberian pork knuckle are served, alongside the chef’s recommendations that are changed daily.
  • What’s on offer: The restaurant’s product-based cuisine, in which only the freshest ingredients are used, boasts Cantabrian influences.
  • Resident’s tip: If there’s anything that takes Taberna Laredo a notch above the rest it’s the restaurant’s impressive wine cellar, with a selection of over 250 of the best signature, classic, contemporary, and rare wines from every Denomination of Origin. What’s more, they also serve twenty different wines by the glass, a selection that is regularly updated.
  • Follow our main social media: Facebook

La Castela

  • Address: Calle Doctor Castelo, 22 Madrid 28009.
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from midday to 5:00pm and 8:00pm to 12:30am. Sunday from midday to 5:00pm.
  • GPS: 40.420314, -3.676619
  • Phone: +34 915 735 590
  • Web: ir a la web
  • Access:    
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: This space, with its brass counter serving salt-cured tuna with almonds, stucco shelves stocked with bottles, antique mirrors and marble décor, maintains the spirit of by-gone times.
  • Reasons to visit: Together with traditionally prepared beer and vermouth, don’t miss the traditional salt-cured tuna with almonds, cecina (salted dried meat) from León, a selection of cheeses, salted anchovies, and the Huelva deep-water rose prawns. What’s more, cooked always with the highest quality local ingredients, try the starter of croquettes filled with seafood, cep mushrooms and ham or egg and scallops, fish dishes such as salted gilt-head bream and Bilbao-style hake, and meat dishes such as steak cooked in sherry with foie gras, and oxtail.
  • What’s on offer: With the utmost respect for the city’s most loved recipes, and serving generously sized tapas, this restaurant is a true homage to traditionalism itself. Its dining room, located towards the back of the bar, serves seasonal and locally sourced cuisine typical to the city of Madrid, with a good dose of originality. To sum up, at the heart of La Castela is its mission to be the noble intersection where tradition and modernity meet.
  • Resident’s tip: The likes of Michelle Obama and Harrison Ford have eaten here… what are you waiting for?
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El Parque del Retiro

  • Address: Av. de Menéndez Pelayo, 28009 Madrid
  • Opening hours: April – September from 6:00am to midnight, and October – March from 6:00am to 10:00pm.
  • GPS: 40.418312, -3.678855
  • Phone: +34 915 300 041
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:     Accessibility
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: Spanning 125 hectares and with an array of over 15,000 trees, El Retiro Park is a green oasis in the heart of Madrid.
  • Reasons to visit: El Retiro Park is not only Madrid’s green lung, it is also a space where locals and tourists alike can find culture, leisure and sport. What’s more, with great works of architecture and historical monuments, be sure not to miss the park’s large lake, with a range of activities from rowing boats, a solar boat and classroom, and the District Kayak School for children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 17. In addition, the park is home to the Velázquez Palace and the Glass Palace, both of which are currently used as exhibition halls. Other highlights include the statue of the Fallen Angel – the only statue in the world of the Devil himself –, the Galápagos fountain built to commemorate the birth of Isabella II of Spain, and the surprising ruins of the San Pelayo and San Isidoro Church, among many other things to see and do in this marvellous park.
  • Resident’s tip: On the website for the park’s Centre for Environmental Education (915 300 041) you will find a walking route divided into seven parts, where you can discover the botanical wonder that are these ancient gardens of the former Recreo palace of the kings and queens of Spain. Enjoy!

Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez

  • Address: Av. de Menéndez Pelayo, 16, 28009 Madrid.
  • Opening hours: April – September from 6:00am to midnight, and October – March from 6:00am to 10:00pm.
  • GPS: 40.414708, -3.677508
  • Web: go to main web
  • Access:  
  • Languages: Spanish and English
  • Description: One of the most beautiful areas of El Retiro Park, find arches, ponds and pergolas decorated in branches, where the very best gardeners tend to a wide variety of flora. Opened in 1972, these gardens are dedicated to Cecilio Rodríguez, Head Gardener of the park.
  • Reasons to visit: On the other side of El Retiro Park’s Paseo de Coches are the Cecilio Rodríguez Gardens with pergolas, narrow walkways, fountains, benches, and perfectly arranged hedgerows in true Italian style. This peaceful haven is where the park’s peacocks choose to roam and where the silver maple stretches its branches, with this extraordinary tree forming part of the Community of Madrid’s catalogue of rare trees. Keep an eye out for its large, open star-shaped leaves that fall every winter.
  • What’s on offer: Few people venture into this enclosed area inside El Retiro Park. In fact, when visiting these gardens you may come across only a dozen other visitors basking in the silence of this natural setting. Discover an array of curious delights, from small ponds, sprinklers, sculptures, beautiful climber plants that decorate columns and pergolas, shaded branches, trimmed hedgerows, and many a hidden corner. Not forgetting the peacocks with their tails of many colours.
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