Ambitious food in modest surroundings

Talk of the town: La Tasquita de Enfrente is actually run by a former insurance company director, who left corporate life to take over his father's old restaurant.

This small, humble-looking restaurant looks like such a locals-only dining spot that opening its menu can come as a surprise. Instead of the usual tapas, there are ambitious, occasionally Asian-influenced small plates, with octopus ceviche, conger eel in soy sauce and hamburger with foie gras all turning up at times on the ever-changing, seasonally adjusted menu.

The kitchen's offerings are both inventive and far from cheap, and the restaurant has become very popular with monied Madrid gourmets who value food over people-watching.