It’s lunchtime and you are in the mood for something besides the standard fare. If it’s sushi your after, head over to SushiOlé. Their menu is extensive, offering a number of appetizers and tempuras, as well as standard teriyaki chicken and steak entrees. But their specialty is the sushi. You can create your own rolls with ingredients like squid, avocado, and teriyaki chicken, or you can pick one of their “sushi fusion” rolls – such as the Manzanita made of eel, green apple, crab’s eggs, and cream cheese. The prices for the ala carte offerings are on the expensive side, but the menu del día can more than adequately quiet that midday sushi craving.

For just 9.90€ you get an appetizer, sushi roll, dessert or coffee, and a drink. Among the appetizers, the delicias niponas – mini spring rolls filled with chicken, vegetables, red curry, and coconut milk – are an outstanding, and nicely spicy, choice. All four of the sushi roll options are excellent, although admittedly some have a more Spanish flavor, with ingredients such as fried pork. Dessert options are limited; choose the green tea instead.

The dining room is small and can fill up at lunch time as the menu del día is only good until 3:30. Service is attentive and cordial and they offer a decent take-away service. You can place your order at the bar while you have a drink and watch the master sushi chef at work. And perhaps you’ll get inspired to make your own sushi – plans are in the work for a well-stocked Japanese market.

You’ll find SushiOlé at the corner of General Oraa and Francisco Silvela, Metro Diego de Leon. See map below:

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Luis envisioned his local differently than many neighborhood spots in Madrid. There’s a large flat-screen television perched high in one corner of his small bar, but it’s always tuned to a music channel playing jazz. The clientèle is markedly younger than any of the bars in the vicinity, and it’s definitely not because he calls them jóven.

But maybe the best part about the Taberna is that Luis offers a grand menú del dia (set lunch menu), and a welcome variation on the tried-and-true primero and segundo (first and second courses) found in so many neighborhood spots. For only 6.90 Euros, this menú includes a green salad, and choice of two tostas (toast with someting lovely on top) from a menu of 85 different kinds, plus the requisite drink and coffee. The tostas range from the typical jamón con tomate (ham and tomato) and many varieties of tortilla-topped bread, to more inventive ones like bacon with dates and solomillo (sirloin) with Brie and mustard. It’s one of the best bargains in the city.

Open Tues.-Sun. from early to late. Closed Mondays.
Metro: Moncloa. Calle Andrés Mellado, 45 (corner of C/ Fernández del los Ríos). See map below:

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In bygone centuries I would have been sainted for my altruism, because I’m going to let you into one of Madrid’s best culinary secrets: the menu del día at Ojalá. The restaurant itself (along with its sisters in La Latina and upper Malasaña) is well known for its innovative tapas; but the lunch menu is in a different league.

Starters tend to take the form of a soup or salad. Among the latter, I’ve been most impressed by pistachio with goat’s cheese, and smoked duck with orange. They also vary their leaves (rocket, fennel – even cactus) – a rare thing in this city.

Main dishes are equally exotic. The fish is usually an excellent choice – the other day I was more than satisfied with my mackerel with yellow curry sauce. But I’ve also had fantastic buey (ox) steak – and if you should ever catch the magret de canard, don’t even look at the other option.

Puddings are a bit more of a gamble. Luminous minty pears might be straining the boundaries of creative cooking – and whoever deemed a ‘prepared orange’ to be on a par with cheesecake? If in doubt, go for the profiteroles.

Menu available Mon – Fri, 1:30 – 4pm.
Metro: Tribunal/Noviciado. Tel: 91 523 2747. Calle San Andrés, 1. See map below:

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Everyone who decides to have lunch in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor soon discovers that they have made a huge mistake. The Menu del Dia (lunchtime set menu) is far too expensive and usually not all that good. Walk a few minutes in any direction however, and you are likely to be far better off. My personal favourite for a Menu del Dia near the Plaza Mayor is Refra, at Calle Santiago 4 (just across the Calle Mayor – Map).

For 8.50 inside and 10.50 on the terrace, you get around 5 starters, 5 main courses and 5 deserts to choose from, in what is basically a top quality working man’s lunchtime menu served in a friendly, family-run establishment. You will be eating with the locals, you won’t get ripped off, and you will leave more than satisfied. I ate here almost every day for three months whilst living in the Hostal Santiago opposite (see book for details!), so I know what I’m talking about!

Will places like this still exist in 10, 20 or 30 years time? Family run, a little rough round the edges, good old-fashioned food – already these ‘typical’ mesones are increasingly rare in Madrid, and you’ll have to get here early (pre-2pm) or late (post-3pm) to get a seat on a weekday lunchtime. The 10 Euro menu del dia is so Castillian that you know what the deserts are even before they run through them at the end of the meal – Arroz con Leche, Flan, Natillas, Cuajada – mostly homemade, all delicious. Before that you’ll get the staple platos de cucharra (first courses you eat with a spoon – lentils, sopa castellana, potaje), followed by big slabs of meat and fish, all washed down with good, cheap red wine.

If you know of any other ‘typically Spanish’ places to get a good old fashioned menu del dia in Madrid, please let us know. Places as good as this are a dying breed, and they need all the support they can get. Trendy new eateries and franchises are already sweeping through the city like wildfire, and it may not be long until the only place you can get good home cooked food is, god forbid, at home!

Restaurante Marsot is (hopefully still!) in Chueca at Calle Pelayo, 6 (map)

Momo solves both these problems in style. Plenty of chips with every dish, and great sauces, while managing to stay perfectly Spanish at the same time. Try the Turkey with Almond and Onion Sauce, Fillet of Pork with Roquefort and Celery Sauce, or Chicken with Curry Sauce. Hmmmmm. Each comes as part of a 3 course menu del dia for 9.90 Euros, which includes bread, wine, good looking waiters, cool décor, and sumptuous deserts like the Moco de chocolate anti-depresivo – “anti-depressive chocolate bogey” (it really is called that…)

Momo can be found at Calle de la Libertad, 8. Tel: 91 532 7348 (map) It’s right in the middle of Chueca, a lovely part of the city for an after meal stroll.