The Best Date Night Restaurants in Madrid

StreetXO in Madrid is a high-energy spot where you can watch the chefs at work in the center of the dining area. The music is loud, the lights are bright, and the playful atmosphere draws a lively crowd ready for something different.

Recommended by

Maisie Wilhelm

Global Culinary Concierge

Completely bonkers dining experience. Highly entertaining and delicious. Like going to a diner, in Spain, in the future, in a circus tent, with insane cocktails. Expect to see and be seen as everyone sits at a round counter looking at each other and the chefs in the middle. Noisy, bright, and adventurous.

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Restaurante Desde 1911 in Madrid has grown from a family of fish merchants, offering fresh catches that arrive daily from local coasts. Its bright, Nordic-inspired space features a central patio for a relaxed dining experience. The menu changes regularly, reflecting whatever the sea provides that day, ensuring a focus on quality and simplicity.

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Tristin Farmer

Chef

Incredible seafood & sharp service Dined as a large group of chef friends and had an excellent lunch. Chef Diego cooked for us, the best possible fish and shellfish, with simple yet complex flavour profiles. Very sharp service, tableside interaction & very hospitable. Great history of the restaurant and fishmongers.

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Bascoat is a newly opened spot in Madrid that embraces Basque heritage through refined cooking with a modern twist. Owned by Nagore and Rodrigo, it has a stylish yet relaxed atmosphere that reflects their background in Basque cuisine. Blending tradition with fresh ideas, it’s a comfortable place to enjoy a balanced take on local flavors.

Recommended by

Stefania Giordano

Maître-Kensei Restaurant

Newly opened, but with background of the owners Nagore & Rodrigo. Spectacular place that goes back to the Basque origins of cuisine, elegant and with personality. tasty elegant delicate beautiful cuisine. very good service. A great enjoyment.

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Del Diego Cocktail Bar is a welcoming spot near Gran Vía in Madrid, with a classic, art deco–inspired interior and notably attentive service. It offers well-crafted cocktails and a relaxed vibe early in the evening, which becomes livelier around midnight.

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Paula Móvil

Journalist & PR

Cocktails are classic and perfectly executed, service is certainly one you will never receive in other bars in the city Hands down one of my favorite cocktail bars in Madrid. The Del Diego brothers keep the legacy of their father, Fernando, responsible for giving life to this beautiful art deco inspired spot. Cocktails are classic and perfectly executed, while the service is certainly one you will never receive in other cocktail bars in the city: elegant, attentive... and perfect. Located right next to Gran Vía, it becomes a lovely place to have a pre-dinner drink, although it is around midnight when it gets more crowded and lively.

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Doppelgänger Bar is a small spot in Madrid’s Mercado Antón Martin that offers fusion cooking with Latin American influences and a selection of natural wines. It has a laid-back vibe in a fun market setting, and the prices are notably easy on the wallet. This relaxed atmosphere makes it a good choice for anyone looking to enjoy creative flavors without the fuss.

Recommended by

David P. Leja

@thegastrojourney

This small restaurant is located in the market of Antón Martin in Madrid and offers nice fusion cuisine with lots of influences from Latin America and also a nice variety of natural wines. We pretty much left everything in their hands and let them choose what we would eat that day, and we had the following: * Crunchy taco with prawn. * “Colihuevo de ñora” * “Laura” style Tamal. * Bitter sweet pork. * Banana karé. * Berliner doughnut. The dish that surprised us the most was the “colihuevo de ñora”, the broth had lots of flavor and was super tasty. In general we had a nice meal, in a fun location and unbeatable prices where the most expensive dish was 8€!

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Ebisu by Kobos in Madrid offers an intimate omakase experience rooted in Edo-style sushi. The chef draws on his time in Japan to showcase fresh ingredients and careful technique. Their approach combines Japanese tradition with local produce for a simple yet refined meal.

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David P. Leja

@thegastrojourney

This was our second visit here and we keep our personal opinion that this is the best sushi we know of in Spain. Since our last visit, we’ve had some new stuff, and missed some dishes from our last visit, being the most important one, the ankimo, which was one of the stars of our last visit. The shari has in our opinion improved since the last time, and overall we had another fantastic night here, with great nigiris and another great wine pairing. So, some of the favorites of the night were: * Aji & shyoga nigiri (mackerel & ginger). * Tako (octopus). * Chawanmushi with katsuobushi, dashi and eggs. * Sea bream nigiri with hiroshima salt. * Akaza ebi nigiri (scampi). * Kaziki maguro nigiri. * Mama’s sandwich 2.0 with Oscietra Caviar. * Chu toro (semi-fatty tuna) nigiri. * O-toro and uni (fatty tuna and sea urchin) nigiri. * Unagi (fresh water eel)nigiri. The one thing we liked a little better on our last visit was to end with the Futomaki Endo, as a kind of a dessert, but again, we liked every single dish of this visit. And, this remains our favorite unagi on earth! To end this post, our opinion is that the itamae José, will improve more and more on each visit and has the potential to become one of the best sushiyas in Europe over the years, but let the time talk and just observe over the years.

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Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid is set in a beautifully restored Belle Époque palace in the city’s Golden Triangle of Art. The inviting setting includes a tranquil outdoor garden, offering a calm escape from the city’s pace. Blending historic elegance with a relaxed atmosphere, it’s an appealing spot for those looking for a refined yet comfortable place to dine.

Recommended by

Dom Carella

Food and Beverage Expert

Among the outlets of the hotel Jardin is an absolutely stunning outdoor space that makes you live a real relaxing experience, the menu is full of different proposal a la carte, exceptional ceviches, and unmissable paellas…

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OSA is set in a converted villa by the river in Madrid, offering a minimalist setting and an ever-evolving menu that blends classic and modern techniques. The atmosphere is calm and welcoming, with a patio for enjoying a pre-meal drink and an extensive selection of wines. It’s a place where thoughtful details come together for a memorable dining experience.

Recommended by

David P. Leja

@thegastrojourney

This restaurant has been the opening of the year in Madrid, and likely in all of Spain. For us personally, this is one the best meals we’ve had this year, and goes straight to our list of favorite restaurant in Spain. We already had a mind blowing meal at Picones de Maria back when Jorge Muñoz was working there before opening OSA, so we knew we were probably going to have an even better experience this time, and even more so with Sara Peral (who also worked at Mugaritz like Jorge), but it surpassed any expectations we had. First of all, the place is spectacular, it’s actually a villa converted into a restaurant, where the interior and deco is absolutely stunning, with a little patio to have a welcome drink, and also upstairs, next to the impressive cellar you will find an area to enjoy a glass of champagne before getting seated. Once seated, the service is perfect, good timings, not too serious and not too casual either, making the whole experience just super enjoyable. The wine list is impressive, with a good mix of natural wines and conventional wines to satisfy all types of palates. And the food is just out of this world, super well executed dishes, generally very minimalistic but still innovative and with high cooking techniques, and overall really our kind of style. Some of the dishes we had were the following: * Chocolate, red peppers & cod pil pil. * Red mullet and amazake in tempura. * Anago cooked on its skin. * Wagyu tongue cooked three ways. * Wild boar sando. * Grouper with its pil pil. * Quail in grape leaf “a la royal”. * Blood orange kakigori. * “Cabello de ángel” (pumpkin strands in syrup) and raib yogurt. This were just some dishes of the 21-course long tasting menu, and honestly every single one of them was fantastic, such great flavors and textures. A fantastic experience which we look forward to repeat at least once a year from now on.

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Restaurante La Buena Vida in Madrid highlights quality seasonal ingredients treated with simplicity and care. It’s known for its welcoming atmosphere and a thoughtfully selected wine list that keeps prices reasonable. The cozy space has earned praise for its honest approach to good food without unnecessary fuss.

Recommended by

Pedro Espinosa

Food writer

The deft hands of Carlos Torres treat, with apparent simplicity and always sensibly, the great ingredients the season offers. An intelligent and fair priced wine list makes this place one of my favorite haunts.

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Sala de Despiece 2 in Madrid has a butcher-inspired look with a polished metal bar and a lively, industrial-chic atmosphere. The staff often finishes each meal right in front of you, adding a hands-on element to the experience. It’s a popular spot, so reservations are a good idea.

Recommended by

Oliver Jansson

Food Enthusiast

Unconventional dining experience at a butcher-themed venue with kitchen interaction and lively vibes. SDD2, or Sala de Despiece 2, challenges the norm with its unconventional restaurant setup. Designed to resemble a butcher’s room, the restaurant boasts a long and narrow space with a polished stainless-steel bar. The industrial-chic setting and lively music offer a perfect prelude to a night on the town. The menu details the origin and weight of the produce used in each dish, adding an enriching layer and transparency to the dining experience. They strongly emphasize interaction, so expect the staff to either complete your next dish in front of you or leave it prepared for your assembly and enjoyment. It’s creative, tasty and fun. It’s a popular spot, so prior reservations are recommended.

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