cheap restaurant
Cheap, fast and practically identical to La Finca de Susana (11870.com/pro/la-finca-susana) and Bazaar (11870.com/pro/bazaar).
The menu is quite extensive and varied: salads, soups, grilled vegetables, tempuras, lots of meat and fish dishes. It's good in a pinch, but bland... kind of like the décor.
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Viva la Vida
+34 913 697 254
healthy + delicious
Superb vegetarian take-out buffet & organic food shop. The only thing I dislike about it is the size: it's too small!
Pay by weight: 2,10€ for every 100 grams of food on your plate.
Try the Indian tortilla.
There's another one in La Latina now.
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for the love of art
The best little art gallery slash comic books store slash publishing house in town. A must if you love illustration, graphic novels, cartoons, children's books... but don't get super-heroes. Knowledgeable staff.
The exhibitions are usually of original art from top illustrators, and most of it's for sale.
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sunny side up
They boast of serving the best OJ in town. And it's pretty darn good, actually. Plus the glass comes decorated with a large chunk of pineapple. Gotta love that!
It would be the perfect place for a late Sunday morning breakfast if it were a little quieter and tasteful (it's a bit cheesy looking). The big windows allow for a lot of light, which makes up for the horrible decor.
The locale is right next to the Acacias subway exit.
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El Granero de Lavapiés
+34 914 677 611
My favorite vegetarian restaurant in Madrid. Usually busy in on a weekend, but the trick is to sign up for a table and come back in a while.
I love "potaje del druida" and their banana dessert.
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Bacchus
+34 915 447 378
Free WiFi, language exchange (intercambio) nights, used books (buy & sell) and a friendly international atmosphere make great excuses to stop by for drinks on a schoolnight.
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Asador Don Lay
+34 914 634 546
Slightly more refined Chinese food
I discovered this place by accident, during a brief stint of living in the area. It's not your typical Chinese restaurant, and it's also a bit more expensive. But the food is absolutely delicious and the service is good too. I actually heard people in the next table complain that there wasn't anything 'normal' on the menu (e.g. sweet & sour pork, rice 'three delicious'...).