Avenida General Perón does not appear in the Madrid guidebooks, and yet it is one of the streets where the city eats best during the week. The reason is simple: it has spent decades feeding the offices of Azca and the Bernabéu, and a clientele that eats there five days a week does not forgive bad service twice.
How the street works at lunchtime
General Perón has a very distinct rhythm. Between 1.30 and 2 pm it fills with office workers; after 3.30 pm the crowd changes and the volume drops. If you can choose, eating at a quarter to two or at half past three is a different experience altogether.
At weekends the street empties of offices and fills with locals and people heading to the stadium. That is when the terraces come into their own.
What kind of places you will find
- Cafes and restobars with a serious breakfast and a set lunch. The fast option.
- Regional restaurants, where the street has most character: northern, Asturian and Cantabrian cooking, with produce that comes from outside Madrid.
- Terraces, many of them open all year, because the avenue is wide and the air moves.
The Cantabrian side of the street
Northern cooking has an outsized presence in this part of Madrid, and there is a reason: this is a neighbourhood built by people who came from Cantabria, Asturias and the Basque Country, and the restaurants stayed.
At La Reinosa we cook Cantabrian food without adapting it: rabas, stews, charcoal-grilled meat, charcoal chicken and cheesecake. You can see the menu before you come.
Getting here
- Address: Avenida General Perón 13, 28020 Madrid.
- Metro: Santiago Bernabéu (L10) and Nuevos Ministerios (L6, L8, L10).
- Bookings: +34 916 671 967 or through the booking page.
How the street runs at lunchtime
- 1 to 1.45 pm. The quiet window. A table without booking, a kitchen that has just opened and service with time.
- 2 to 3 pm. The offices arrive in one block. Everything full, everything fast, the volume high.
- After 3.30 pm. The crowd changes and the noise drops. Less of the menu left, far more comfort.
Where the street starts and ends
Avenida General Peron runs from the Paseo de la Castellana to Calle de Orense, along the northern edge of Azca. It is barely eight hundred metres, but it packs in office towers, residential blocks and the flow from the stadium. That mix is what shaped the restaurants: they have to work at weekday lunchtime, with neighbours in the evening, and in a wave on match days.
Frequently asked
Is this the same area as Azca?
General Peron borders Azca to the north. In practice you are eating in the same ecosystem, with the same office crowd and the same hours.
Can you walk here from the Bernabeu?
Yes, about five minutes. That is exactly the distance worth putting between you and the stadium on match days.
How to get it right
- Book if you are coming on a weekday lunchtime. At two o’clock there is barely a free table on the whole street.
- Avoid match days if you want quiet, or come a couple of hours early.
- Ask for the dish of the day even if you order à la carte: on this street it is usually the best thing the kitchen has.
