Malaspina — Restaurant in Madrid

I’ve been visiting Malaespina for over a decade — from my time living in Madrid to every trip back — and one thing has never changed: it’s easily one of the best spots in Madrid for a no-frills, delicious tapas meal and amazing sangria. The quality of the food has remained consistent for the 10 years I’ve been visiting!

Tucked away just off Sol, Malaespina is the epitome of a classic Madrid taverna. The inviting, unpretentious atmosphere, the cozy charm, the prices, the energy — it’s hard to capture it all in words. There’s a certain magic at Malaespina. The tavern has been around for hundreds of years, and I often wonder what it was like a century ago. I’m always amazed that such a gem exists in the heart of Madrid, a city center filled with tourist traps. Malaespina draws both locals and tourists — and for good reason. The food quality to price ratio is unbeatable. On our most recent visit, we had huevos estrellados, tortilla tapas, sangria, and espressos, and spent about $20 for the two of us. You really can’t beat that! Here’s hoping they stick around for many more...

I rang them up at around midnight asking, in my pidgin Spanish, if they were still serving food as I hadn’t eaten for around 8 hours and the lady who answered the phone was very friendly and said that I should come over as they serve food (delicious, massive tapas!!) till 1am. I got a taxi there, arriving 15 mins later. The waiter was very friendly when I asked to make sure that they were still serving food. I was going to order fried eggs, ham and chips as well as a Spanish omelette. The waiter said that I should just have the ham, egg and chips first before ordering a second dish. OMG!! The portion of ham, egg (3 eggs!) and chips I got was absolutely massive!! The cañas (€2.50 each) helped me wash it all down. I HIGHLY recommend the Taberna Malaspina for their excellent tapas & service as well as for the fact that you can order tapas...

Worst place I have ever walked into. Place was very empty and we walked in, we told the waiter we wanted a table for 3 and we wanted a big table because we were very hungry. He made us sit at a table that was 2x2ft or 60cmx60cm for 3 people…. We pulled the other small table closer to ours to make it bigger and he started throwing a fit about how for 3 people you only get 1 small table and you need 5 people for an extra 2x2ft table.. stupidest thing I have heard in my life. Terrible customer service, and they deserve a much lower rating for being rude. I would understand if the place was full but it was very empty so that table was not going to change anything for them. We decided to walk out and not even order food after his very...