Restaurante Badila is my number one. My favourite place to eat in Madrid. I’ve flirted with other restaurants during the years I’ve lived here but I keep coming back to this one, it’s just SO good. I’ve dragged pretty much all of my visitors here (some of them multiple times) and Badila never fails to disappoint. It’s really only taken me so long to write a post about it because I was wrestling with the idea of whether to share Madrid’s best-kept secret, but here we go. The secret is out.

This gem of a restaurant is tucked away behind Plaza Tirso de Molina, on the corner of Calle Cabeza with Calle San Pedro Mártir. Its interior is light and airy, with simple decor and a host of delicious wines on display. There’s only room to squeeze in about ten tables, so the atmosphere is informal and unpretentious, with lovely owner Miguel waiting on tables himself. But the real star of the show here is, of course, the food. Oh, the food.

The menu consists of updated versions of Spanish classics, with a smattering of international dishes, all based on the tried-and-tested formula: simple, home-cooked fare prepared with the freshest ingredients. Miguel shops around for the best stuff on offer each morning, so the menu changes from day to day and from season to season. It’s a menú del día format for both lunch and dinner, with around six or seven options for primeros and the same for segundos – far too much choice for someone as indecisive as me!

On our most recent visit, my boyfriend ordered the ensalada mixta con frambuesas y queso de cabra (mixed salad with goat’s cheese and raspberries) to start, whereas I opted for the salteado de espárragos con carabinero y crema de lechuga (a divine concoction of asparagus, red shrimp and lettuce – it needs to be tasted to be believed!).

For my second course, I went with my old favourite: escalopines al cabrales (pork fillet with cabrales cheese sauce). I must have ordered this dish over a dozen times at Badila but I can’t help myself, it’s just so damn tasty.

My boyfriend chose the redondo de ternera a la austriaca (stumped on how to translate this one, very tender veal in a delicious sauce?!) which he hadn’t tried before. Initially I told him off for ordering something fairly unphotogenic but quickly forgave him because it tasted absolutely amazing and I ended up stealing half of it.

Naturally, we managed to squeeze in dessert. I had a slice of wonderfully gooey chocolate cake and my boyfriend went for his favourite cuajada de queso (describing this as milk curd just doesn’t do it justice) which I didn’t even manage to get a photo of because he ate it so quickly.

The menú del día costs just under 14 euros per person and is worth every penny. The portions are very generous and everything is well thought-out and unbelievably tasty. Even the bread here is delicious, unlike in many Spanish restaurants. The price of the lunchtime menu goes up to just under 18 euros at weekends and the evening menu is slightly more expensive at around 20 euros.

Badila is open every day for lunch from 14:00 – 16:30 and on Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner from 21:00 – 00:00. They only take reservations for dinner, so if you go at lunchtime I’d recommend either going early or going late otherwise you might have to wait for a table. As you’d expect, a place this good does get pretty busy!

Info

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• Address: Calle de la Cabeza 7
• Metro: Tirso de Molina
• Telephone: 914 29 76 51

I think it was first on Instagram when I saw something from Cup of Couple. It was a fantastic breakfast setup with an exquisite-looking cup of coffee. Then Lovely Pepa posted another. Ever-curious, I clicked on top of the pin and found the address. What luck! It was only five minutes from my apartment. So one Sunday afternoon, I entered The Little Big Café for the first time. It’s now one of my favorite spots to write, read The New York Times, or to just clear my head. In fact, it was here where I wrote my Helena Rohner article.

Opened last year by Max and Cris (both with experience living and working abroad), the area of Chamberí between Moncloa and Argüelles now has a perfect oasis.

Now, you’ve already heard about Little Big as a place for the best brunch on a budget in Madrid, and let me tell you, it is absolutely heavenly (my go-to is the tosta de huevos a la plancha al estilo árabe on whole-wheat bread). But this cozy café great for more than brunch. Open from 9 am to 8 pm during the week, you can go to Little Big at almost any hour.

And with that there are several menú options (and let’s face it, a menú del día is one of Spain’s greatest little pleasures). In the morning until 1 pm, you can enjoy the breakfast menu (menú de desayuno). This includes one breakfast plate (I love the bocatín de jamón on whole-wheat…) and a coffee or tea. To round out my special breakfast, I always get one of the make-your-own smoothies. While you can put in yogurt or milk, I prefer to get mine with water so it’s more like a juice.

There are two lunch-time menus, the TLBC (which has a sandwich, salad, and drink for €11), or the menú del día (with two courses, a side dish, drink, and dessert for €10.50). And then on the weekends, the brunch menu is also an amazing meal (you’re way full afterwards).

If you’re just craving something sweet for your afternoon snack, then the baked goods at the counter and window are calling your name. The banana bizcocho is gluten and sugar-free, but everything else,  in spite of the fact that I can’t eat them, looks fabulous. One of my roommates had the cake made with beer and loved it.

Then, of course, let’s not forget what first my caught my eye in the first place on Instagram: the coffee. With a plethora of variations…

you’ll see why their slogan is: “a little café with a big heart.” With to-go cups and a VIP program where you can put your Polaroid on the wall, this is also a place that coffee lovers can love. With the VIP program, you can make The Little Big Café part of your heart the way the owners have seemed to have conceptualize it.

As evidenced by my presence on the wall, the little café with a big heart has become an extension of my home and my little big pick-me-up.

Info: 

Where: Calle Fernández de los Ríos, 61
Metro: Moncloa (also easily accessible from Argüelles)
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