El Tigre del Notre is not a pretty place. By that nature it’s also a classic place, a dive / tapas bar frequented by locals, students, tourists who hear on the grapevine of a great hang out. El Tigre was on our recommended food list without us having read much about it, and we visited it without thinking twice either, as we were exploring the hip and happening Chueca neighbourhood.

Entering, we headed straight for a vacant table and stood guard. Tables are lined up by the wall in a corridor too narrow for chairs, so customers stand around by their tables feasting. Waiters, ever busy hustling large trays stacked with way too many pints and plates to be stable, could only be gotten at opportune moments. You had to trust your instincts. It’s also my favourite kind of ordering one can possibly do without speaking any local language. I simply pointed at foods seen on display at the tapas bar. And also on passing trays and foods on other people’s tables. Unlike other tapas joints one might be familiar with, El Tigre served foods that could be best described as “grub”. But very good, filling, fried grub.

El Tigre is very, very cheap, and fun on a budget. Its location in Calle Hortaleza in the Chueca area means plenty of opportunity for bar hopping, making this one of the best pit stops for stocking up on grub and booze before heading elsewhere to really wear the night down.

El Tigre del Notre
Calle Hortaleza, 23
28004 Madrid
Neighbourhood: Chueca