€ Very cheap eats
Photo: Patatas Bravas
While Madrid may be known for its top-flight restaurants and 5-Michelin star chefs, you don’t have to break the bank to put a little meat on your bones. The following suggestions won’t come anywhere near putting a dent in your budget, so tie that paper napkin round your neck and dig in!
El Tigre
This is by far one of the best places in the city to get some bang for your buck. Small beers, otherwise known as cañas, are served with heaping plates of snacks, or tapas, such as fried potatoes with spicy sauce, Spanish omelet, and pinchos (small slices of bread topped with cheese, ham and everything in between). Space is a hot commodity at this bar, so push your way to inside and eat and drink yourself into oblivion for just a few euro.
Calle Infantas, 30
Metro Banco de España (L2), Chueca, Gran Vía (L5).
Pans & Company
This is Spain’s answer to fast, but arguable less greasy, food. From their wide range of hot and cold sub sandwiches to the a nice salad selection to their coffee bar, diners flock to this restaurant chain for a bargain meal. With a menu based on the ever-so-healthy Mediterranean diet, choose from a wide range of set ingredients and choose your bread. Throw in fries and a drink for a special price, grab yourself a window seat and enjoy the view… and the food!
Plaza Callao, 3
Metro Callao (L5)
Tel. 91 532 1712
Calle Goya, 5
Metro Serrano (L4)
Tel. 91 576 3740
Gran Vía, 30
Metro Gran Vía (L5)
Tel. 91 521 4818
Maoz
While there are currently few of these little bars in the city centre, they do pack the flavor in big. For the finest, freshest (and cheapest) vegetarian food in the capital, this is the place to be. Come savor the first-rate falafel, humus and alternative salad bar, and wash it all down with fresh-squeezed juice. Be daring! Pack your pita bread to the brim with Middle Eastern goodness and top it off with absolutely delicious yogurt dressing and tahini. And do it until 2 30 in the morning!
Calle Mayor, 4
Metro Sol (L1, L2, L3)
Tel. 647 408 731
Calle Hortaleza, 7
Metro Gran Vía (L5)
Tel. 647 408 731
Kebab shops (equivalent to Turkish Starbucks in that they can be found on every corner)
Mmmm, a kebab. That’s just what the doctor ordered, because hey, you really can’t go wrong with this meal option. Choose lamb or chicken, typically displayed on two giant vertical skewers spinning around in the front window. Throw that meat into a freshly-toasted pita (or try the “pizza”, where they wrap it up in a long tortilla), add some lettuce, onion, tomato and the award-winning sauces, and voilá! Perfection for four euro!
Kebab Alhambra
Calle Jacometrezo, 15
Metro Callao (L5), Metro Santo Domingo (L2)
Mundo Kebab
Hortaleza, 4
Metro Gran Via (L5)
Doner Kebab Istanbul
Calle San Mateo, 9
Metro Tribunal (L1, L10)
El Boñar de León
While this bar won’t win any awards for cleanliness, it will ensure you a full belly for a few euro. The key to it all is ordering, as you might have realized by now, is cañas. Cañas, cañas and more cañas, because those beers go nowhere without their trusty companions, also known as tapas. The waiters are practically giving away the food, so start eating and drinking. The sooner you finish your beer and order another, the sooner that grub will be coming your way.
Calle Cruz Verde 16
Metro Noviciado (L2)
Tel. 91 521 2612
Visiting European cities on a tight budget? Check out our other dirt cheap guides!
Amsterdam budget travel guide.
Barcelona budget travel guide.
Berlin budget travel guide.
Birmingham budget travel guide.
Copenhagen budget travel guide.
Istanbul budget travel guide.
London budget travel guide.
Rome budget travel guide.
Vienna budget travel guide.