Hotel Miguel Angel | chef | Ferran Adria

Hotel Miguel Angel, Miguel Angel 29; 011-34-91-399-3778
$55
When the Hotel Miguel Angel, well located in the city’s financial and best shopping district, seduced chef Sergi Arola to come aboard, La Broche became the darling of Madrid’s gourmet crowd. Catalan Arola shows the modernistic, even iconoclastic, impulses of revolutionary chef Ferran Adria, with seven-course menus that constantly change. Look for sardines with apple and cider dressing, gazpacho gratinée with a yogurt foam, and — for the adventurous — mozzarella ice cream. Having only 50 seats guarantees a full house every night, which also makes it worth booking in advance for the gustatory experience here.

Cerveceria Alemana
Plaza Santa Ana 6; 011-34-91-429-7033
$20
If you’ve read Hemingway on bullfighting, you’ll find this beer hall as evocative as anything in his report, That Dangerous Summer. The svelte young bullfighters have long congregated here to gossip, flirt with senioritas, and order big platters of Serrano ham, boiled shrimp with mayonnaise, crisply fried squid, tapas, and big mugs of Mahon beer. There are pictures of Papa Hemingway around, and you won’t get a better feel for Madrileños’ passion for the bullfight than at this unique spot.