Some addresses are never forgotten. Among them are the best Italian restaurants in Madrid. And is that the most recognized gastronomy in the world, the Italian, occupies an important sector of life ‘foodie’ here in the capital. Therefore, those who flee from clichés and want to find the best Italian restaurants in Madrid. This article promises to become the amulet and lifesaver of those who can not resist the temptation to visit the temples of Italian haute cuisine without leaving the capital.
Numa Pompilio
Discover the great classics of Italian cuisine and its fusion with international cuisine in an atmosphere that will transport you to the most romantic past. Inspired by the great European bourgeois restaurants, Numa Pompilio opens its doors in Madrid’s Salamanca neighborhood at 18 Velázquez Street. The restaurant, created by Sandro Silva and Marta Seco, is committed to refined Italian cuisine with dishes inspired by the Italian nomadic spirit. Despite what has been said, it should be noted that Numa is not a purist restaurant; here, they propose a menu that has traveled the length and breadth of the globe. Its philosophy is to surprise the diner through different sensations and a unique overall experience.
At Numa, an open kitchen and a large pasta table welcome guests as they enter the dining rooms until they reach the main dining room, dominated by large windows with direct views of the back garden. Undoubtedly, one of the unmistakable jewels of the restaurant. The carefully chosen decoration, romantic and evocative, transports us to another time with kitchen utensils and elements brought directly from Italy, New York, or London. Its wine cellar is another of its strong points. This brings together a wine offer that is a real journey into the Italian wine world with more than one hundred and fifty references from the Alpine country. One of the best Italian restaurants in Madrid that leaves no one indifferent.
Fellina
An Italian welcome from Chamberí: ciao! Fellina is one of the best Italian restaurants in Madrid, owned by the Le Cocó group. At the table, you will discover a menu full of authentic Cucina de la nonna, original flavors, and hearty portions that invite you to a gastronomic journey without leaving the city. But this space has much more to offer. Get ready to enjoy a one hundred percent Italian feast on its casual terrace or dining room, decorated by the Madrid in Love studio.
At Fellina, we invite you to share from start to finish because, for sure, you will want to try everything. Its menu, prepared with care and attention, offers vegetarian and vegan options, adapting to all types of diners. If you like burrata, don’t sacrifice it because it is a delicacy. But don’t forget the Vitello Tonnato or the Melanzane Alla Parmigiana, eggplants that melt in your mouth. When it’s time for the main courses, share their pizza (try their stuffed fried dough recipes, house specialty) and their carbonara pasta (prepared at the table with the authentic recipe: no cream and the perfect touch of black pepper). You won’t regret it!
Ozio Gastronómico
Palermo sits at the table in the capital thanks to Ozio Gastronómico, the bet of the great pizza master Dario Génova and Alberto Andolina. This restaurant opens its doors in the Azca area with an obvious purpose: to please. Here the objective is that the diner has fun tasting dishes that are thought of and tasted among friends. You have to let yourself go to enjoy the authentic ‘Ozio.’ When it comes to spreading the culture and the natural flavors of Sicily, it is the Italian where the Italians with homesickness will want to go and where the Spaniards will want to go with the desire to discover its history through a delicious menu.
Southern Italian Cuisine
Ozio Gastronomic anchors its roots in the Sicilian and southern Italian cuisine with which they have grown up. That is why they are based on tradition and emphasize the product since their most characteristic raw materials are brought directly from there. This is the case, for example, with the flours with which they knead their pizzas, of soft and hard Sicilian wheat; the bottarga, which are salted tuna roe, present in their Linguine with bottarga from Favignana; or the zizzona, a giant 5 kg mozzarella made in Battipaglia and which is the star of one of their starters, a traditional Caprese worthy of Olympus.
NOI
NOI is a new space of contemporary Italian cuisine created by the group El Pradal. It is the Italian ristorante in Madrid that everyone is talking about and where reservations are going up in smoke. NOI is committed to the concept of an Italian restaurant open to new flavors but always faithful to what is ‘Made in Italy.’ In addition, NOI is characterized by a deep respect for the raw material, simplicity, and exquisite customer service. These three pillars are based on all the restaurant projects of the El Pradal group (Dogma, El Clásico, El Pradal, and La Casita de El Pradal).
NOI is an emotional journey from the north to the south of Italy. The customer will live an experience of contrast and pairing that will awaken memories and accompany him on a sensitive and contemporary gastronomic journey. Grupo Pradal understands cooking as a fun, easy, and direct experience, but without forgetting the aesthetic and technical side. “Dishes are eaten first with the eyes, then with the head, and, finally, with the other senses.” Something that has undoubtedly been extrapolated to NOI, making it the trendiest Italian restaurant in Madrid.
Sottosopra
One of the best Italian restaurants in Madrid where to venerate Roman cuisine. The Sottosopra Restaurant is synonymous with tradition; here, the Italian essence is breathed and tasted in equal parts. This is one of the places of pilgrimage for lovers of Italian food in Madrid indisputable. And is that their dishes are artisanal and cooked at the time with natural, fresh, and top-quality products. In this way, the quality is appreciated with the senses, enveloping aroma, beauty in the finish of the dishes, and an unmistakable flavor that exudes Roman tradition in all its recipes.
All his recipes preserve those “100% Italian roots and, more specifically, the Roman gastronomy that makes us unique and is heir to long traditions”. Its continuous innovation, the best selection of Italian ingredients, the high quality of its raw material, and the desire to create make its cuisine an authentic gastronomic experience. Sotto Sopra has two premises: to surprise its customers and to make them fall in love with traditional Roman cuisine. At this point, we can say that they have succeeded.
Don Giovanni
Based on the precept of offering authentic Italian cuisine prepared with products denomination ‘made in Italy’ giving absolute prominence to the flavor. Don Giovanni, Andrea Tumbarello’s restaurant, which since 2005 has been the true temple of Italian gastronomy in Madrid, gives us the best of its gastronomy with an extra dose of love. Its prestige, backed by years of experience behind the stove, has been endorsed on numerous occasions by the most select critics and by every one of the diners who sit at the table here in this little piece of Italy in the Spanish capital. In Don Giovanni, pretensions are left at the door’s threshold, and excellence is served with each dish with no other pretensions than to offer the best Italian food in Madrid.
The raw material
In addition to the passion for transalpine cuisine, one of Tumbarello’s maxims is the authentic and quality product so that they speak for themselves because if the raw material is good, there is no need for artifices to disguise it. He works with many products that he brings directly from Sicily, granting a guarantee of authenticity. When it is time to sit at the table, the best option is to start with dishes to whet your appetite and share. In this section, we recommend the burrata plugins and the Wagyu Tonnato, two essential items on the menu. We recommend the spaghetti carbonara, the star dish, and the pesto Genovese for pasta lovers.
However, Andrea is known for being the king of truffles. Don Giovanni is a temple for lovers of this fragrant tuber, and in many of its dishes, you will find this culinary treasure in season. We recommend the tagliatelle with black truffle or the risotto with champagne. The wine cellar of Don Giovanni, elaborated by Juancho Asenjo, the most excellent expert on Italian wines in Spain, is an absolute delight. Discover the best pairing for your dish and surprise yourself in one of the best Italian restaurants in Madrid.
Gioia
Gioia has two meanings in Italian, “joy” and “jewel.” Perhaps, for this reason, this gift from Italy enshrined in Madrid’s Chueca neighborhood responds to a refined hilarity, innovative and lively elegance. Located in the heart of the Justicia neighborhood, they invite you to drink good wine, laugh, close your eyes and savor the Italian cuisine reinterpreted by chef Davide Bonato. His philosophy emphasizes the creative union between typical and traditional flavors of Italian cuisine with a taste for aesthetics, reinterpreting the essence of yesteryear with innovative shapes, colors, and textures—creativity and avant-garde on the one hand, tradition and essential values on the other.
At Gioia, everything that comes out of his atelier is handmade. Its pasta, made in the Italian tradition, its breads, its desserts. Everything is made by ingenious and meticulous craftsmen who work with premium quality raw materials to give life to unique creations, defying the rules of this time where fast everything imposes its anonymous stamp. Like tiny jewels, their dishes are made with the best product and a high-quality technique. Rice, the glory of Piedmont, is the protagonist of his menu and the guiding thread of his cuisine. Embark on this gastronomic journey to its ‘tagliolini al tartufo’, ‘l’uovo morbido’ and the incredible ‘panna cotta’. If you cannot decide between the dishes on their menu, we invite you to let yourself be seduced by their tasting menu; you’ll love it!
