Madrid is a city with a cultural richness that is palpable, and it has cuisine to match! Summer is one of the best times to visit Madrid, with the city opening up to entertain citizens and tourists alike during the warmer months. The weather is intoxicatingly sultry in summer and Madrileños make sure to get the full experience with unparalleled nightlife, the city only settling down to dinner at around 10pm.
It is a common sight to see the streets covered in seas of revelers until the early hours of the morning; socializing is an integral part of the daily life of the people of Madrid, to the extent that it seems often as though the entire sum of their efforts is to afford them the best environment for them to relax, unwind and catch up with friends and family.
The food in Madrid is the perfect expression of this culture with the most popular foods, such as tapas and paella, designed to be shared amongst groups. In this Madrid food guide, I’ve shared a list of the best places to visit if you intend to eat like a local in Madrid. There’s a bit of old, a bit of new, some fancier joints and also some of the best places to eat in Madrid on a budget.