How to read a menú del día

Every weekday, between about 13:00 and 16:00, most of working Madrid eats the same way: a fixed-price lunch chalked on a board outside.

What you get

Primero (a starter — often a salad, a soup, lentils, pasta), segundo (meat or fish with something), bread, a drink, and then either dessert or coffee. One price. Usually €12–16 in the centre.

The drink genuinely includes wine or beer if you want it. This surprises people.

How to order it

Sit down. Say "el menú, por favor". They will read you the options, fast. It is fine to ask them to repeat it — "¿me lo repite, por favor?" — and it is fine to point at the board.

Reading the board

• Del día — today's, changes daily. Good sign.
• Casero — home-made.
• Guiso / cocido / potaje — a stew. On a cold day, order it.
• A la plancha — griddled, plain, safe.
• Croquetas de la casa — the house test. If they are good, everything will be.

How to tell it will be good

Handwritten board. No photographs. No one outside inviting you in. Full of people who look like they work nearby. Noisy.

Two warnings

It is weekday lunch only. Weekends and evenings you pay à la carte, and it is a different restaurant at a different price.

And it is a lot of food. Do not plan anything demanding for the hour afterwards. That is not laziness, it is arithmetic.