Best Restaurants in Madrid: Nina

Nina
Calle Manuela Malasana, 10
Brunch Saturday and Sunday 12 – 6pm
Open everyday
Telephone: 91 591 00 46
Metro: Bilbao, San Bernardo

This Italian restaurant in Madrid is chic, sophisticated, and (unusual for Spain) offers a non-smoking section. Nina is a wonderful place for a romantic dinner or a night out with friends. The restaurant offers plenty of pastas, salads, meat and fish. Good portions, though a bit pricey, the food is worth it. The menu del dia is 12 euros. Make a reservation -  the place is always packed.

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Best Restaurants in Madrid: La Gata Flora

La Gata Flora
Calle San Vicente Ferrer, 33
Telephone: 915 21 27 92
Metro: Tribuna

This Italian restaurant in Madrid  is a favorite of the locals. From the name, you may have guessed that La Gata Flora restaurant has something to do with cats – and indeed it does:  The place is decorated with photographs of cats, hanging cat lights, and pillows with embroidered cats. Although there are no windows in the restaurant, the interior colors are bright and the decor upbeat. Check out their menu del dia for 10 euros . Try the tasty berengena or eggplant dish.

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Best Restaurants in Madrid: Luna Rossa

LUNA ROSSA
Calle San Bernardo, 24 (entrance on C/Luna)
Telephone: 91 532 14 54
Metro: Plaza España or Noviciado

As with any large metropolitan city one can find an overwhelming amount of options when it comes to places to eat pizza in Madrid.  The trick, however is to search out one place and make it your go to spot. If you’re a fan of thin crusted, traditional oven-fired Neapolitan style pizza Luna Rossa just might be the place for you.

Warning, if you´re looking for cheap slices or a delivery number you should stop reading this review now.  Luna Rossa has all of the décor and over-the-top charm you would expect from an Italian Restaurant, but here the most beautiful piece of decoration is the big pizza oven located in the kitchen.  The starter menu is a “whose who” of Italian specialties; meat and cheese plates (Italian meats and cheeses of course), bruschetta, foccacia, carpaccio, and a nice selection of salads, all perfect for staving off hunger while enduring the painful wait for your beautiful pizza to arrive.  The wine list is a nice tour of the Italian wine regions but the house will do fine if you´re looking to keep the bill down.  But of course we’re talking about pizza here; so I’ll get to the point.  The menu fills a whole page and you’d be hard pressed not to encounter something to suit your palette.  The usual suspects are all there; the Margarita, the Quattro Stagioni, the Diavola, along with a wide array of other creations.  This time we went with the Speciale and the D.O.C., the former comes out topped with “fior di latte” mozzarella and roasted eggplant and peppers, the latter is basically a margarita but topped with Mozzarella di Buffala.  The pizzas are delivered straight from the oven still steaming hot and un-cut, looking every bit the part of the platonic form of the pizza.  After giving it a minute to cool the taste flirts with perfection as well; a nice thin crust, a sweet tomato sauce painted on, and big fat circles of chewy, fresh mozzarella.  The quality in the other ingredients shines through as well, the basil on the D.O.C. was super fresh and the eggplant and peppers on the Speciale were roasted to perfection.  The pizzas are plenty big for sharing and are all in the 10-15 euro range.  Luna Rossa also has a full Italian menu of pastas and second courses, if the quality of the pizza is any indication I’m sure these won’t disappoint either.

If you’ve been to Italy recently, a long time ago or even never you’ll find that Madrid’s Luna Rossa is about as close as you will get without leaving the city.

By Coleman File

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