Local Businesses

No Frills

Restaurante La Polonesa: nostalgic Polish food in an olde worlde setting

3 August 2017

Austere expressionist paintings, an antique mahogany piano, dark red walls and white doily tablecloths. Restaurante La Polonesa’s old-world style is like a time traveller’s collection, and the nostalgic food fits in perfectly.

Culture

The last toy hospital in Spain

24 July 2017

Once upon a time in Madrid, in a neighbourhood named after the Pacific Ocean, there was a man named Antonio, who kept the child inside all of us alive. The Toy Hospital’s customers aren’t typically children. Antonio’s customers are adults – some are toy collectors or savvy antiques dealers, but many of them are nostalgic souls whose childhood is preserved in the peculiar object clutched in Antonio’s paint-stained hands.

Bar El Doblete, now closed a about to be demolished

History

Adiós to Atlético’s El Calderón and the barrio’s no-frills bars

19 July 2017

Estadio Vicente Calderón, a colossal oval fortress that has dominated Madrid’s riverside skyline since 1966, is about to be demolished. One month since its closure, local bars which once thrived from the custom of football fans are now eerily quiet.

No Frills

Yunie Kebab: authentic Lebanese food in a charming retro diner

3 July 2017

Yunie Kebab is run by a Lebanese husband-and-wife team who took over a charming seventies diner and changed nothing about it but the menu. They now serve up incredible Lebanese food, and quite possibly the best hummus in Madrid.

The death of the Spanish bar and the invasion of the square plate

11 June 2017

Why are so many iconic no-frills Spanish bars closing, and what does this mean for the future of Spain?

No Frills

Cervecería Azul y Blanco: a no-frills bar that’s accidentally become retro

13 May 2017

Cervecería Azul y Blanco takes its name from everyone's favourite Mediterranean colour combination, but as its bold colours fade to dark grey and dusty pink, this little corner bar slips into a bygone era and has become totally kitsch.

No Frills

Madrid’s no-frills station bar

7 February 2017

Since 1961, El Brillante has been the first and last port of call for millions of Atocha's passengers. A first caña stood at the bar sets the tone for the rest of your stay, and that final bocadillo de calamares leaves you with a belly full of fondness for Madrid.

History

The thriving scrap metal collectors

25 January 2017

Mayorista de Chatarra is a local scrap metal dealer in Lavapiés that’s been going strong for over 100 years, and especially for the last ten.

No Frills

Pastelería Salamat: the little Syrian bakery in Lavapiés

20 December 2016

Owned by a Syrian baker called Jihad, Pastelería Salamat has the best selection of baklava I've found in Madrid – and some amazing Syrian flatbread too.

Pescadería Eduardo Pastor, a family business spanning two generations, has seen a lot of change during its 52 years here.

No Frills

Mercado de la Cebada: the 138-year-old Madrid market that stays true to its roots

21 November 2016

Mercado de la Cebada has been through some ups and downs over the last couple of centuries, but what didn’t kill it made it adapt.

Culture

The 123-year-old ‘museum’ of springs

18 September 2016

Muelles Ros - selling exclusively springs - has been run by the same family for three generations, since 1894.