Tienda de Vinos (El Comunista)

This restaurant's popular name comes from its role as a lefty meeting point years ago, under Franco (but Tienda de Vinos is all you'll see above the door). It's one of the city's real classics so a visit is essential, and no one makes any grand claims about its unchanging and unchallenging menu. To start, there are soups: gazpacho, lentil or house-made broth, followed by liver and onions, lamb cutlets, kidneys in sherry and plenty of fish. Service is known for being deadpan, but if you're lucky, you'll get one of the two charming great-grandsons of the original owner.