Ruta Retiro: Where to experience the flavors of Spain in just one neighborhood
Outside Spain, tapas are often seen as simple finger food; small bites served on small plates to accompany a drink before or after a meal. In Spain itself, however, especially in Madrid, tapas refers not just to a type of food but also to a way of life.
On any given day or night, Madrileños go out and demonstrate tapas culture, hopping from wine bar to wine bar, restaurant to restaurant not to overindulge in food and drink but to enjoy time with friends.
This is not a see-and-be-seen activity meant solely for showing off on social media. It's more natural, spontaneous, and family-friendly, where bar owners greet their diners like family. Some customers even bring along their infants in strollers, squeezing into bars where wine, beer, and tapas mingle with deep conversation.
PhilSTAR L!fe got the opportunity to sample this vibrant Spanish tradition on a chilly Thursday night in El Retiro, a neighborhood spread across several adjacent streets known as Madrid's "golden mile" of local gastronomy, or Ruta Retiro.
Located in the heart of the capital, just around the corner from El Retiro Park, this small but dynamic residential neighborhood has impressive tapas choices showcasing different Spanish culinary styles and traditions. This new generation of restaurants, wine bars, and neo-taverns stands by the exceptionally high standards set by the owners and chefs themselves. Since these establishments are within walking distance of each other, it is easy for regulars to move from one place to the next. One or two tapas stops is never enough, after all.
Taberna y Media
When you enter Taberna y Media, a new-generation tavern, you'd think you found the world's tiniest bar for eight. It's all good, as the bar is well-stocked. But then it gets even better with the discovery that a few steps up and beyond the bar is a wider area, where the restaurant is. The whole place feels cozy and familiar, just like home, but with a bartender.
With your wine or beer, order Alejandro's creamy fried potatoes with spicy brava sauce, a contemporary play on the traditional patatas bravas. The usual dish would just have seasoned fried potato cubes with salsa brava on the side. At Taberna y Media, they serve the potatoes as smashed creamy balls served atop a tweaked salsa brava, which is a slightly spicy red sauce with a smoky aftertaste. Each bite is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like a gastronomic hug.
La Raquetista
A 30-second walk away is La Raquetista, a family-run establishment named after Spain's first professional female athletes; a group of Basque pelota players who broke gender barriers in the 1920s to 1940s. The owner's grandmother was one of them. She was the one who first taught La Raquetista's head chef—the owner's brother and her other grandson—how to cook.
Inside, the family atmosphere continues with how the bartender and the regulars greet each other. It's as if they hadn't seen each other in decades when they were probably sharing a bottle of wine just the night before.
The restaurant is famous particularly for its torreznos or crispy Spanish pork belly. Not needing any accompanying sauce, the bite-sized pieces are extremely flavorful. Diners partial to an extra crispy bite will love the bits of skin, deep-fried to perfection.
Marcano
Marcano is a three-time Michelin-recommended restaurant, landing in the Michelin Guide from 2023 to 2025. Compared to the other tapas destinations, this one has a calmer vibe, perhaps mainly because the tables are more spread out; perfectly designed for a quiet night out.
Cited in the Michelin Guide for the "culinary passion of chef David Marcano," the restaurant's menu reflects Marcano's contemporary Basque dishes influenced by international flavors. A case in point: Wonton rolls with beef, yogurt, and cheese tartare sauce, and pico de gallo.
It is a bite you will always want to have between sips of wine or beer, regardless of your intoxication level. All at once, the savory flavor of the beef mixes with the tartness of the yogurt and cheese tartare sauce. The bright and zesty pico de gallo, with its juicy tomatoes, onions, lime, and cilantro, tops it all off with a refreshing zing.
Coalla
Cheese and wine are the stars in Coalla. This is where your cheeseboard dreams come true, with its extensive selection of cheese and wine from all over Spain.
There are two ways to enjoy this destination. You may come over for lunch, dinner, or wine night with your friends, or you can grab a basket and fill it up with everything you'll need to create a wide-ranging cheese board. Aside from the usual brie, gorgonzola, and manchego, they've got more exotic choices, such as zefferina, pata de mulo, shropshire blue, and mahón maral curado.
Cheese night can't have only cheese and wine, however. Coalla also offers bread, nuts, chocolate, and tins of anchovies, and homemade jams, among many others. If you are at a loss as to which wine goes with which cheese, the staff is generally well-informed about the ideal pairings.
Triana
For Andalusian-style tapas, head over to Triana. Its shrimp fritters, made from freshly caught Andalusian shrimp, are the perfect companion to its considerable wine inventory, which is sourced from all over Spain.
Similar to how okoy is served, the shrimp fritters are presented simply: golden-fried crispy discs of shrimp piled high on a serving plate. As one of the specialty tapas of the place, the fritters bring attention to what Triana is known for: fresh ingredients, solid technique, excellent service, and beautiful, unpretentious interiors.
The two-level restaurant is roomy and reminds one of a rustic cottage on the Andalusian coast. Tables are spread out, making sure diners can eat and drink in peace without running into each other's elbows.
Hermanos Vinagre
Hermanos Vinagre celebrates Madrid's passion for pickled snacks and aperitivo hour, when people gather at a bar to whet their appetites for dinner with little treats of pickled bites between sips of vermouth. It seems the whole city loves aperitivo; the place was packed on the weekday night L!fe went. Somehow, being elbow-to-elbow with other diners made the experience better.
A dish of gildas—Basque-style skewers of olives, anchovies, and pickled peppers—is just the thing to enjoy at the steel bar with the usual beer and wine. The sight of whole peppers in the skewers may give pause to diners averse to spicy flavors. There's little need for that, however. Since the peppers are pickled, the spice level becomes milder, blending into the smooth olives and enhancing the saltiness of the anchovies.
At Hermanos Vinagre, the spotlight remains on its food and drink menu. Its quirky, modern steel and tile interiors, while entertaining to look at, have one purpose: to put all the focus on the dishes of aperitivo, which are so flavorful you catch yourself thinking about them hours after you've had them.
Salino
L!fe's last stop for the night was at Salino, a Michelin-recommended restaurant that champions Mediterranean cuisine. Its Spanish roots, though, shine through, demonstrated by its insistence on serving tapas on larger plates for sharing.
Aside from fresh oysters, a tapas favorite is croquetas or Spanish ham croquettes—fried béchamel with Iberian ham. The size of large meatballs, croquetas give off a crispy texture at first bite, then turn tender and creamy as you dig in further. Throw in the complex savory and nutty flavors of the ham, and you've got one of Salino's bestselling aperitivos.
The bar sets the tone for the contemporary restaurant—mood lighting, a fun international menu, and a large wine cellar. A long table right by the bar encourages diners to share the space. So when the wine hits the right spot, the entire place turns into one big party.
These are just seven of over 20 tapas establishments along Ruta Retiro. All of them pride themselves in not only creating excellent cuisine, but, more importantly, showing the world the different flavors and culinary traditions across the regions of Spain. You could say you've traveled through the kitchens of Spain just by walking down Ruta Retiro and enjoying all the tapas.
