The pastry shop in Madrid has been on my list forever 
Thanks for the tip about the location, an easy walk from my hotel.
@erica1
Cuca is a good brand, from A Coruña.
@erica1
The next time you find yourself in the Basque Country to return to the reborn Ibai and stay at the gorgeous Iturregui, go down to Getaria’s pier and sample the anchovies of Maisor. It’s underneath the fish house, Astillero.
The Maisor anchovies are superb and were served at the dinner marking the beginning of SS Gastronomika.
And while in that neighborhood, the anchovies from Nardín in Zumaia are also excellent.
Doña Tomasa | Madrid - Don Ramón de la Cruz 46
This location is an easy 20 minute walk from my hotel, might have to check it out.
You´re right! Don Ramón de la Cruz 46 and you could combine el Mercado de la Paz with it. I think it´s about 7 blocks east of La Paz market.
I failed to scroll to the right, and erica2 has one close to her little hotel at Zurbarán 19 in Chamberí.
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Yes! Casa Dani then Dona Tomasa, sounds like a plan!
Where are you planning to eat lunch that day? At Casa Dani?
If the line is too long to get into the dining room annex of the bar inside the market, there’s also the Casa Dani Restaurant at Lagasca 49, before reaching the Lagasca entrance to the market, where you might have better luck.
Last week the Casa Dani d.r. inside the market was jammed at lunch time.
Or maybe you’re just planning on Casa Dani for its tortilla.
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I’ll go for breakfast like I did last time, around 8am-ish. A seat at the bar is perfect for a slice of tortilla and a coffee.
Do you have a restaurant reservation for that day?
Just wondering, because we’ve discovered a new and charming little Andalusian spot not far from Doña Tomasa that you might want to try. And the gourmet critics like it as well…
No actual days planned out yet, lots of options though 
What is the place?
Menudeo, the little sister to Colósimo across the street, which serves one of the best tortillas in town and one of the best croquettes.
It’s cuisine from Cádiz. Our favorite dishes: homemade chicharrones, ensaladilla rusa de gambas con mayonesa de manzanilla, albóndigas de conejo (my husband still raves about these), langostinos al ajillo…
And they serve vinos generosos de Cádiz.
The two gentlemen in charge are charming. Really nice, informal and reasonably priced place.
My 2 favorite professional critics also like it a lot.
At Ortega y Gassett 68.
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“Fismuler make reservations
La Canibal reservations?
Tatema?
La Llorearia make reservations
Casa Orellana make reservations
Bodega de la Ardosa -tapas? Week day only
Casa Dani Breakfast
Casa Mortero? Lunch?
La Casa del Abuelo garlic shrimp
Asturianos get hotel to reserve for Sunday September 29th
Casa Macareno lunch- menu del Dia- Monday-Thursday only €15
AGARIMO
Casa Revuleta for cod snacks
Flamenco show- Sara Baras Teatro edp Gran Via 66 Friday September 20th at 8pm. Late lunch- snacks after?”
This is my early list of places and things to do in Madrid. I’ve been slowly whittling away at restaurants that I might find “too fancy “ as I’m looking for a more casual and “local “ vibe. I also don’t want to make reservations at every restaurant I plan on visiting, even though it’s a must for some of them. I’ll probably scrap La Canibal from the list, maybe too much offal for me 
Keeping in mind that I only have 7 full days in Madrid, I know this list is far too long.
I’d also like to try and sneak into StreetXO to see what all the fuss is about, 45 mins to and hour is as long as I’m willing to wait tho.
Looks great, will definitely add to the list.
Is Casa del Abuelo among THE best in Madrid for gambas al ajillo? I think they have a few locations and I know it’s very famous, but where would one go in Madrid for one of the best versions of this classic dish? The one I had at SAN LORENZO in Cordoba had good-sized shrimp, some with heads on (terrific!!) while the pics I’ve seen of Casa del Abuelo have small shrimp, without heads…
Is that the traditional dish…all heads off???
I need to include this dish on my next visit to the capital!!
It was certainly the best I’ve ever had, but I’m no expert on gambas al ajillo. When I go back, I’ll just order the gambas, beer and bread, nothing else.
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No expert here but I know enough to know that those look sublime!!! Thank you for the photo!!! I will be back next March…so many places to try out…as you already know!!
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The traditional dish is heads off. The ones we both had at LA CUCHARA DE SAN LORENZO did have some with heads on, which for me gave the dish more flavor.
Casa del Abuelo is the classic, old time bar in Madrid to try it. There are 3 branches. The one on Goya won’t be as tourist-filled as the ones in La Latina, the original one having been mentioned in every travel guidebook for many years. I’m not a fan of Casa del Abuelo’s sweet wine, but that’s just me.
At Taberna Elisa, a re-invented classic tavern that we like, belonging to the Triciclo group, they leave the heads on. This dish, with a glass of vermouth on tap, makes a great pre-lunch snack.
It’s in the Barrio de las Letras, calle Santa Maria 42.
@PedroPero,
You’re like me. I have a list of far more restaurants than I have days to try them! 
And nothing on your list is too fancy at all.
You have Asturian, Galician, Andalusian, Madrileño and a bit of fusion here.
Fismuler–the tortilla, the runny cheesecake and the famous Escalope Armando, a huge, breaded veal scallop, are the classic dishes here. But the Armando must be shared because it’s just too large. However, many patrons order the Armando to go, so if you want to give it a try…At the Redruello family restaurants, we often see patrons leave with an Armando to go bag.
La Llorería–yes, reservations are essential, as it’s small and as well, getting lots of buzz from the gourmet press since wining its first Repsol sun. It’s totally informal.
Tatema–if you go early, when it opens at 1 pm, you should be able to snag a table
La Caníbal—very funny! Since Tatema and La Caníbal are so close, you may want to chose one over the other; the former for hearty Galician fare like their wonderful pulpo and the latter for a Spanish-Mexican creative mix.
Casa Mortero–for lunch near the Thyssen; shouldn’t need reservations on a weekday. Outstanding croquettes.
Asturianos—must reserve for Sunday night
Agarimo—again, a Galician, and even more impressive than the rustic and bustling La Caníbal, but…reservations are absolutely necessary since it´s so small. We reserved at the last minute for the 2 remaining seats at the bar.
Casa Orellana—for the 15 euro lunch weekday menú del día, yes, reservations are necessary. At night, we’ve arrived w/o reservations but had to be seated at the bar. At night we choose from among the many Andalusian specialties.
Menudeo—although the word is out, we did drop in for an early lunch, arriving at 1 pm. For Andalusian, you may just want to choose between Menudo & Casa Orellana rather than do both.
Drop in places: Casa Dani, Casa del Abuelo, Casa Revuelta, Bodega de la Ardosa (the one at Calle Colón is more atmospheric)
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Thanks for this breakdown on my very overcrowded list. I’d much rather just arrive at my destination and wander the streets, hoping to find great restaurants and taverns by chance without reservations, but unfortunately those days are pretty much gone. I do tend to overthink and make these impossibly large lists, but I’ve learned to whittle down my selections the closer I get to my travel date.
I’ll make whatever reservations I need in advance online, and the ones I can’t, I’ll let my hotel’s concierge handle the phone calls.
Also, should I even bother with StreetXO? Is it still worth the hype(or was it ever)?
Cheers
So so many places to try and not enough hours in the day. Luckily we have Maribel, and others like yourself, to help guide us through this maze of choices
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