10 Best Restaurants in Chueca, Madrid

Chueca is a colorful area in Madrid with many events, shops, and restaurants. Apart from being the gay district of Madrid, it also has incredible food. In this article, you’ll find the highlights and specialties of the top 10 restaurants in Chueca.

From hosting Madrid’s annual pride festival to having some of the greatest boutiques in the city, Chueca’s diversity and creativity is still expanding today. Visit the article on the best districts of Madrid to learn more about the details of what makes Chueca stand out from the rest. For now, let’s talk about its food.

niMÚ Barquillo

Photo sourced from @nimubarquillo on Instagram

niMÚ is the restaurant to pick if you’re looking for an all-around experience with superb food, staff, and atmosphere. Many customers claim that this is the best restaurant in Madrid.

One of the features that makes niMÚ stand out is their unconventional plates which display the creativity of the chefs. This artistic license can be seen in everything from the main courses to the selection of nigiri.

Photo sourced from @nimubarquillo on Instagram

While the restauant excels at main courses, they definitely don’t skip over dessert. You’ll find a full tray of ice cream cones and even a tiramisú served like a dirt-filled flower pot.

niMÚ is also the place to go for a relaxing brunch. They offer a set menu for only 14 euros, with the possibility of adding on a beverage or an egg dish. With so many advantages and unique offerings, this Chueca place is worth visiting more than once.

Sr. Ito

Photo sourced from @sr.ito on Instagram

Sr. Ito is named after the owner of the Japanese restaurant, Samurai. When Mr. Ito decided to leave his excellent restaurant behind to return to his family in Japan, a manager and customer decided that they had to create Sr. Ito in honor of the culinary expertise that they had acquired at Samurai.

The name, Sr. Ito, is a pun that mimics the word, señorito, but also a tribute to the owner of the original Japanese restaurant. The dining experience at Sr. Ito also involves art, as the mural at the entrance is repainted every three months.

Additional to the rich culture and environment, Sr. Ito seamlessly molds Spanish cuisine into the Japanese tradition. If you don’t believe me, taste the plate of Spanish white sausage paired with Japanese béarnaise stew.

Photo sourced from @sr.ito on Instagram

The Sr. Ito menu invites you to choose between delicious rolls, steamed bao buns, gyozas and more. You will surely find your preferred protein on the menu, as the diverse list includes salmon, beef, crab, squid, tuna, prawns, eel, scallops, shrimp, and fish.

This restaurant may be your new favorite lunch spot. From 13:30 to 15:45 on Monday through Friday, enjoy a full page of special menus. These varied selections come with a salad, soup, drink, desert, and coffee or tea, all for a good price.

Gastromaquia

Photo sourced from @gastronomiachueca on Instagram

Gastromaquia invites you to try delicacies like black risotto, ceviche and chips, and octopus with potato foam. These unique menu items will make you want to order one of everything.

The restaurant will not disappoint with regard to proteins, specializing in duck, tartare, and pork ribs. Additional highlights of the restaurant include accommodating staff and creativity in cooking.

Photo sourced from @gastronomiachueca on Instagram

If you’re as big of a fan of New York Cheesecake as I am, make sure to hit this spot. Gastromaquia offers the classic treat as one of four scrumptious dessert options, along with brownies, sorbet, and flamed pineapple with coconut ice cream.

Esplore

Photo sourced from @esplorerestaurante on Instagram

Esplore is a restaurant for gastronomical discovery. Come hungry for octopus, black squid rice, and migas with Iberic matanza (chorizo meat). These exquisite plates and the environment that they’re served in are loved by the guests of Esplore.

This restaurant values their wine and makes it a crucial part of your meal. Their selection aims to weave wine culture into the culinary experience with both local and international brands. Visit Esplore to choose from over 30 bottles.

Here, you’ll find Iberian ham all over the menu. The chefs make everything from croquetas to salads with the regional delicacy. But their passion for protein extends beyond ham and also covers salmon, squid, and ribs.

Photo sourced from @esplorerestaurante on Instagram

An exceptional quality of Esplore is their attention to detail. The restaurant is equipped with every accessibility feature that might be needed by their guests. This thorough consideration is almost unheard-of among other dining spaces around the world.

Esplore provides its customers with all necessary accessibility features, from noise cancellation to easy navigation around the premises with the use of an app. The restaurant is also wheelchair accessible, there is a braille menu, and accessible cutlery. In fact, even their staff includes people with disabilities, proving that this restaurant provides more than just a meal.

Entre Santos

Photo sourced from @entresantosmadrid on Instagram

Pictured above is one of the excellent dishes that Entre Santos prepares that is inspired by traditional Spanish cuisine. Salmorejo is a purée made of tomatoes, bread, oil, and garlic.

If these ingredients sound familiar, you’re probably one of the people who love a good slice of bread dipped in tomato soup. Salmorejo is a creative spin off of the classic comfort food. Here, it’s served with smoked codfish toast, and this is just one of the delicious Spanish culinary works that form the Entre Santos menu.

Being both a restaurant and a cocktail bar, Entre Santos cares just as much about their beverages as they do their tasty plates. Here, you’ll have the chance to order fun cocktails to enjoy along with your meal.

Photo sourced from @entresantosmadrid on Instagram

Other menu highlights include the salmon ceviche with mango and avocado, enticing truffle, which is incorporated into several dishes, and the board of four Spanish cheeses. In fact, every one of the aforementioned plates come from the appetizer menu, so this is the place to go if you’re looking to share a few things in a group.

This is one of those restaurants where you’ll feel the need to order one of each dessert on the menu. Entre Santos offers sweets like almond chocolate cake and passion fruit mousse with coconut cream to end your meal on the perfect note.

Restaurante Xanacuk

Photo sourced from @xanacuk on Instagram

Xanacuk serves colorful food that’s good for you and great for brunch. The name originates from a combination of the words “sano” or healthy, and “cuk”, which phonetically spells “cook” in English.

The restaurant was created to reinvent fast food in a more nutritious manner. It was developed with the saying, “you are what you eat”, in mind. Moreover, Xanacuk commits itself to fresh ingredients, reasonable prices, and excellent customer service.

Photo sourced from @xanacuk on Instagram

Xanacuk’s menu offers quiches, wraps, and other great savory plates. On the sweet side of things, they have açai bowls and healthy juices. Regardless of what you order here, you’ll leave feeling nutritious and energized.

If your mouth is watering as you read about Xanacuk, consider inviting their team to your next event. The restaurant has been catering to professionals for 12 years. For personal deliveries, the menu can be ordered on Deliveroo.

Fratelli d’Italia

Photo sourced from @fratelli_madrid on Instagram

With authentic Sardinian food brought to you by kind people, Fratelli d’Italia makes its hungry guests feel like they’ve stepped through a door in Spain and arrived in the heart of an Italian kitchen.

The menu options include pasta, paella, and of course, pizza. Specialty items range from charcuterie boards to oysters, delicacies that not all other Italian restaurants master.

Photo sourced from @xanacuk on Instagram

There are actually two Fratelli’s, the other located in Lavapiés. But since you’re dining in Chueca, you’ll have to order the scrumptious pizza named after the neighborhood, which is topped with eggplant, pumpkin, dried tomato and basil.

Angelita Madrid

Photo sourced from @madridangelita on Instagram

The Angelita dining experience offers a long list of exquisite cocktails, from spin-offs of classics like the Whiskey Sour BBQ to unexpected creations like the Don Draper.

Their dinner menu reflects the same creative license, and while the plates are of mainly Spanish influence, the restaurant incorporates foreign traditions from regions like Peru and Vietnam.

An example of this mix of domestic and international plates is the grilled Iberian pork with sweet potato and burned eggplant. There is an artistic composition to every plate that will make your mouth water as soon as it’s placed in front of you.

Photo sourced from @madridangelita on Instagram

Since it’s primarily a wine bar, you’ll find an amazing selection of wines to choose from. You can even sample some of the specialties. They have several beers, around 25 wines by the glass, and over 500 sold by the bottle. Angelita focuses on wines from small producers to ensure that you’ll have a unique drinking experience.

Another cool thing about Angelita is that the establishment is divided into two smaller spots, the lower floor being an American-style bar. In the basement, you’ll encounter comfortable armchairs and an intimate environment where you can enjoy a selection of cocktails and spirits.

Ôven Mozzarella Bar

Photo sourced from @oven_mozzarella on Instagram

Ôven prepares its guests more than a meal, and instead desires to give the experience of Italian dining through a cozy environment, friendly service, and a refined style. To this restaurant, the people that we share meals with are just as important as the food.

Here, traditional Italian cooking is combined with a touch of modern flare to evoke the utmost satisfaction from the warm experience that Ôven provides. Each ingredient is carefully chosen to draw your senses to the heart of Tuscany.

Photo sourced from @oven_mozzarella on Instagram

At this mozzarella bar, you can choose from a full menu of decorated burratas, whether you like yours topped with dried tomatoes or smoked salmon. Among the list of specialty desserts are dulce de leche, tiramisú, and panna cotta, so you’ll need to save an appetite for a sweet ending.

The chueca restaurant is only one of several locations that are spread around Madrid. The others can be found in Justicia, central Madrid, and even farther north. It’s safe to say that Ôven is liked among Madrileños.

Grama Lounge

Photo sourced from @gramabar on Instagram

Come hungry to Grama lounge; these hearty plates are sure to satisfy every craving. From salads to arepas, you might have trouble choosing just one plate for yourself.

Unique menu items include the crab burger, crispy chicken fingers with sweet chili sauce, and red velvet cake. As you can see, there’s a wide variety of food to choose from at Grama Lounge.

With the motto, “no problem!”, Grama Lounge is the place to go to relax and enjoy food and drinks with good company. Recently renovated, the new design features a terrace with beach sand and a tropical garden.

Photo sourced from @gramabar on Instagram

The restaurant’s drinks are one of its many appealing highlights. Their cocktail menu was made to mix tropical flavors with fine spirits, using natural fruits. Keeping in line with the beach vibe, the food adds Caribbean touches to Mediterranean cuisine for exquisite plates that are sure to delight.

Actually, Chueca isn’t the only place where you can find Grama Lounge in Madrid. This restaurant is just one of several of its kind. Throughout the city, you’ll find other locations called Gramaroots, Sákale, and even a Grama food truck.

Between all of these amazing culinary creations, you’ll never go hungry in Chueca. Actually, you may not even know where to start. Use this article to pick out the most tempting meals of Madrid’s hipster neighborhood.

It turns out that most of these restaurants have given just as much thought to the drink menu as they have to the food. So come thirsty and choose a cocktail or a glass of wine to pair with your food.

From pizza to sushi, the Spanish have you covered for dinner in Madrid. Enjoy creative dishes, hearty plates, and perfected traditions during your nights on the town. Even if you’re not in Chueca, it’s worth the trip.