They do but it is small and busy. I think we waited about 15 min ish for an early lunch
I think they do first seating reservations for dinner too which might be worth checking out.
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I’ll probably try it for lunch, maybe get my hotel to ring them up a day or 2 before.
Thanks! From this thread, I gleaned La Canibal, La Fisna, Roostiq, Ganz, and Tercio. Will keep digging…
@pirage,
I know the chow-worthy eats near the Antón Martín metro station very well. We go there often.
First and foremost, I urge you to head straight to the Antón Martín market (the real deal), head downstairs to the “mercado gastronómico” and book a table at the wonderful, tiny but mighty LALOPEZ BAR. Tell your lovely English speaking hostess, Maia (from San Sebastián) that I sent you. Her husband, Sergio, is the talent chef in this small kitchen, who trained at Viridiana. Every dish here is wonderful, but start with their famous ensaladilla rusa and also order the tomato and anything else that Maia recommends. They have a Repsol sun recommendation and should have a Repsol sun.
Also nearby you have LA CANIBAL on Argumosa for hearty Galician fare (their pulpo a feira is excellent) and 12 natural wines on tap, plus many more and craft beers. Must reserve, hugely popular!
They have weekly wine tasting events, and it´s hugely popular with local wine lovers.
Also for very nice rice dishes, you have the new-ish MARIA SARMIENTO on Calle Santa Isabel. Again, must reserve because it’s quite small.
The mercado De San Fernando is mostly a hang out for those who want to take an “aperitivo” and vermouth after the Sunday rastro. It’s not a working market anymore, just a young people’s hangout for the vermouth hour.
For further inside Lavapiés, which now is giving you a better bang for your buck, we also like very much the cute fusion Mexican, TATEMA (inexpensive and also popular with Madrid foodies) just down Argumosa street from LA CANIBAL,
for one of the best tortilla españolas, there’s LA LORENZA (and a fab selection of wines), for more wines, LA FISNA, only open on weekdays and for just terrific Vietnamese curries, there’s the hole-in-the-wall but hugely popular with only 4 tables, YECA ESTRIT FUD. The curries here are soooooo good!
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Thank you @Maribel! I picked up Tatema from a post of yours further up this thread, but the others are new to me. I looked at Eater and Time Out [Spanish] but did not glean much there.
@PedroPero
The most “famous” place for the classic broken eggs is CASA LUCIO on the Cava Baja.
@Hungryhungryhippos,
I thought of you yesterday when we did a quintuple crawl in the Retiro District but not in succession. On a Monday it’s actually not as hard as I thought it would be.
First, a stop for a lunch “aperitivo” at LA CASTELA (did you go to the new La Castela Taberna or the original one next door?), Then another pre lunch “aperitivo” across the street at La Raquetista when they opened at noon (for the very first time we were the only patrons in this super crowded little bar, owned by the chefs of Salino).
Then lunch at Salino, where we had rabo de toro al curry (my husband’s favorite dish), croquetas de jamón ibérico, his much lauded torreznos and wild mushrooms with yams. Chef Javier Aparicio´s dishes here are extremely rich, intense flavors with a heavy use of spices. My favorite dish here is his individual Shanghai meets Valencia duck rice, so creamy and so filling.
That was lunch, then back for dinner at La Montería at 8:30, with all tables taken already save two.
Here I was surprised that there weren´t more game dishes off menu, just a steak of corzo (roe deer). So off menu we had a touch of the Costa de la Luz, since we aren’t going there this spring, and we opted for 2 blue fin tuna dishes, the parpatana and the morrillo, like found at El Campero in Barbate, where they use 24 different parts of the almadraba caught blue fin.
They were both delicious but very filling for a late dinner. I was impressed by the newly decorated dining room, very stylish, the smooth service by the all female wait staff, the delicious artisan bread basket and the very reasonable prices. It’s a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
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piragde,
I funny thing when I went to look at the online menu for MARIA SARMIENTO, and the rice dishes weren´t listed. Don´t know why…It´s owned by LA BURLONA next door.
We do love Tatema…nice service, cozy place, gentle prices.
BADILA serves a very good value menú del día
LA FALDA does one of the very best versions of tortilla española, as does LA LORENZA, same ownership, I think.
Another not exactly in Lavapiés but very close, in the Barrio de las Letras, on Calle Santa Maria,
LA TABERNA DE ELISA, the little sister of the very upscale and hugely popular TRICICLO just a few steps away. It serves very classic Madrid small plates with a contemporary twist. Only a few tables, two of which are 4 tops that can be reserved. We just show up when they open.
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Yeca Estrit Fud is seriously pan-Asian. I don’t think I’ve ever seen pani puri and bánh xèo on the same menu before. Kind of an “Asia’s greatest hits” from the chef’s point of view. I don’t know why we don’t see more of this. Mixing Viet-Thai or Japan-Korea, yes, but the arc from India all the way to Japan, not so common.
What do you know of Döppelganger (also in the Antón Martín market) or El Brote (the mushroom place)?
There are no rice dishes listed on La Burlona’s online menu either. But there are mentions and photos of rice dishes at Maria Sarmiento from only a month ago. Daily specials so they can mix things up a bit and not have to promise too much?
I do know Doppelganger but it hasn’t changed since its inception. To me it’s kind of resting on its laurels (says my chef friend). I would certainly choose Lalópez Bar above it. Another nice, tiny place downstairs in the market is SINCIO.
I´ve never stopped at El Brote.
About María Sarmiento, we did have a lovely rice dish the last time that we had lunch there. Worth a call to see if they will have them on the menu for the day you wish to have lunch there.
A photo
In Spain, these rice dishes, paellas and such, are a lunch item and never a dinner item.
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Good to know! (Lunch and not dinner.) I would tend to order them at dinner otherwise. In Barcelona I would have arròs negre at lunch because I tend not to want to eat dinner at 10pm…
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piragde,
I love arròs negre!
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I have made arròs negre myself on occasion, when I could get the squid ink (at a Spanish food supplier in Berkeley). Theoretically I should be able to find it here in Lisbon, but I need to learn more of the language to be able to ask around for it…!
Sounds like you feasted well! We were at the restaurant on the left if you’re facing the the castela restaurants not sure if that is the newer one or older one.
Monteria had no off menu specials when we dined there or at least none were offered, I was hoping for some game dishes to order .
I’ll have to put costa de la luz tuna on my list for specials next time it sounds very interesting!
In Madrid, I can recommend the arroz negro version of my favorite rice restaurant, Berlanga, in the food centric Retiro district, facing Retiro Park. This needs to be ordered in advance, as it´s not on the regular printed menu, but the chef, a native of Valencia and son of famous cinema director, Luis García Berlanga. is a true rice expert! His is my very favorite rice restaurant in Madrid.
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If it was on the left as you face both of them on Doctor Castelo street, it´s the original one, the La Castela. The new La Castela Taberna is just one door down, on the right. I think it just opened.
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Ah ok great to know we walked into the right one first but they directed us next door. Glad I unknowingly booked the original!
Looks excellent, but that’s a lot of eggs for 1 person! 
That´s very true but somehow I manage but share with my husband. It´s a cholesterol bomb, however!
Los Huevos de Lucío, directly across the Cava Baja and run by his kids, is also a place to try this infarctional 
treat!
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The online English menu for Berlanga lists arroz negro but says a minimum of 4 people (we are 2). The Spanish menu does not mention that additional restriction. Both say a day in advance.
