With inspiration from Guy Fieri, this is my attempt to make a comprehensive list of everywhere we ate in Spain. The food was overall so delectable and very unique, but it did make me miss American fast food (just a little)!
Iberostar Las Letras Gran Via
This was our very first dinner, and it was very fancy! Located inside a hotel, this meal was served in several courses. We started off with a few plates of tapas, then a fish plate, and finally steak and fried potatoes. The tapas were tasty, the fish was.. interesting, and the steak was fantastic, albeit tiny.
Los Arcos
On our very first day in Madrid we were given the afternoon to peruse Plaza Mayor, a square near our hotel. In this square we found a little cafe with outdoor seating, and as it was a little chilly that day, we took the opportunity to sit in the sunshine. Here, being very American, the three of us all ordered patatas fritas – aka French fries! They weren’t salted but with a little ketchup they weren’t half bad!
Sanabria
After visiting the Reina Sofia Museum, we ate at Sanabria right across the square. This was the cutest little restaurant and the food was pretty good! I had seafood paella for my first course and sirloin for my second. The paella wasn’t bad, but the king prawn staring at me was a little off-putting! The sirloin was of course delicious. For dessert, I had fresas con nata, or strawberries with cream, which was very yummy!
El Viajero (first time)
Probably my favorite place we ate at! Our server, Michael, was the best ever and kept us laughing all night. I had the McTraveller, which was a huge hamburger, with fries and rosé. The burger was incredible – it had onion confit, pickles, cheese, chipotle mayo, and bacon on brioche… it’s making my mouth water just to type this!
Decadente
I don’t remember a lot about this meal because I was having so much back pain from the 4 hours of walking we had done at this point in the day, but I do remember it was soooooo good! From what I remember, I had a burrata cheese salad and a steak (again! Very predictable). The burrata cheese legitimately melted in my mouth it was so tasty! Also, the restaurant itself was so trendy and cool!
Mercado de San Miguel
This place was insane! It was essentially a huge tapas market with tons of vendors serving food. We visited the market several times, but my favorite thing was probably the mini taco bowls or the cafe con helado (coffee with ice cream). If you go to Madrid, you have to try this place!!
Manjares
We ate here during our day trip to Toledo (which is a GORGEOUS city). Our table was downstairs in a room that almost resembled a cave, in a way – it was so cool! My first plate was ratatouille, which I had never had before but I enjoyed it! Next was steak (again) and fried potatoes with a sauce that was a little spicy but very tasty. Finally, for dessert I had lemon mousse, which was ah-mazing!! One of my favorite restaurants for sure!
The Good Burger
Okay yes, it was a chain restaurant and not very Spanish at all but it was a very yummy burger! I think I got the Blue Mountain burger which had bacon, onions, arugula, and cheese. We were so tired we couldn’t stand to go to a full sit-down dinner!!
Restaurante Mi Mexico
This was honestly probably the best Mexican food I’ve ever had. A few of us ordered the Alambre Tradicional, which was steak, cheese, and peppers with tortillas – sounds simple, but was incredibly delicious! It was so good we ate here twice during our four-night stay in Granada!
Jardines Alberto
This restaurant was right across from the entrance to the Alhambra. It’s a tiny little place, but the food was delicious. I had minestrone soup to start with, and then the BEST chicken I’ve ever had! It was so juicy and flavorful. This place had a little fish pond out back which I thought was so cool!
Yamato
I don’t really love sushi but this place made a mean California roll! I felt so bad that we had 15 people in this tiny restaurant but the host was so nice and served us well. We had a great time here!!
El Viso
We ate here after our visit at the olive farm. The food was alright (I wasn’t a huge fan of the pasta), but the view was insane! It looked over the countryside and the room we were in had basically a panoramic view. The chocolate cake I had for dessert definitely made up for the lackluster spaghetti!
Alarique
One of, if not the, best dinners we had! We were seated on the rooftop with a beautiful view of Granada at sunset. We could even see the Alhambra up on the hillside! I had chicken tenders (there was a language barrier and I thought the burger I wanted was going to be spicy), but they were honestly incredible for such a simple meal. Our waiter was amazing and joked about the unexpected rain, saying “It’s free water!” He even brought out free drinks for us before we left!!
Nickel Burger
There were definitely more burgers on this trip than I was expecting! I had the Benedict burger, which was HUGE and came with a fried egg. It was delicious, but was a little overpriced so I probably wouldn’t get it on my own! The restaurant itself had great vibes and our waitress was so cool!
Burger King
No comment!
Cantina Canalla
This place was such a vibe! Cute neon lights and a retro checkered floor and some mouth-watering fajitas… take me back!
Banagher Tapas
I didn’t think you could mess up nachos, but Banagher proved me wrong. Fun atmosphere though!
Terra Mia 2.0
Three of the boys and I had to get our pizza fix, and this was such a great spot! I had the Sicilian, which had eggplant on it and was super tasty. Cute little restaurant in Plaza de la Constitucion!
Tasca Laska
This was the cutest little tapas bar in Malaga, where we ate king prawn, patatas bravas, paella, ham, and cheese! It had a tropical aesthetic going on and our waitress was so nice! Definitely a place to try if you’re ever in the area!
El Ombu Empanadas Argentinas
SOOOO GOOD! AND SO CHEAP! You could get three empanadas and a drink for like 8 euros! I got veal, spinach, and Caprese empanadas. Dr. Turner recommended this joint to us and I am so thankful she did!
Restaurante La Romana
Once again I was so tired here I’m not sure what I even ate, but I think it was some version of macaroni and cheese and then steak (last time I promise). It was alright but I probably wouldn’t go back just because it wasn’t as memorable!
La Fabrica
La Fabrica was super cool. I think it was a brewery/restaurant duo with an open atmosphere, good music, and great food! I had pork flank with baby potatoes. The pork was a little tough but the flavor was fantastic. We had such a good time here on our last night in Malaga!
El Viajero (again!)
This was the most eventful dinner! Drs. Turner and Gonzalez joined us for dinner on our very last night, so we went back to old reliable! I was hoping for another outside table, but they offered a table on the second floor of the restaurant to us. The second floor was more of a bar area, and the music was very loud, so we asked for a different one. We were then sent up to the rooftop, which was a better location.. until it started raining! Our table was also one of the only ones without an umbrella, so we got a little soaked. Our server was incredible, however, and rushed to get us an umbrella and ended up seating us at a dry table that already had an umbrella. The food was amazing as we were expecting, and I was so happy to end the trip with a bang!
