Cervecería 100 Montaditos serves cheap sandwiches. Photo by Infollatus.

By Cynthia Kane in Madrid—

Although Madrid is a pricey city, there are still many restaurants that offer up great food at a low, low, price! From €1 sandwiches to prix fixe Argentinean dinners under €20, Madrid has your tastes (and your wallet) covered. Below you’ll find five of our favorite cheap Madrid restaurants.

Glorieta de Montera
Caballero de Gracia, 10
1- 3:45 PM & 8:30 - 11:45 PM
Telephone: 91 523 44 07
Metro: Gran Via

Glorieta de Montera, along with its sister restaurants La Finca de Susana, Bazaar, and Ginger, strikes an ingenious balance between fine dining and cheap eats. All three Mediterranean restaurants have classic, white, minimalist décor injected with just enough creativity to keep them from teetering into the banal.

Polite staff and an ample, interesting menu may lead you to believe you’re going to get whopped by the bill, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised: fettuccini with chicken and dried tomatoes costs just €5.99, and risotto with asparagus and artichokes or rice with squid costs €5.98.

The portions are generous, as is the half carafe of wine that comes with the meal. Since everyone loves a bargain, the crowd is understandably eclectic: from the dread-locked malasaña types to ladies who look like your sweet old Aunt Ethel and, of course, lots of fashionable thirty-somethings mixed in.

Cervecería 100 Montaditos

If you need to refuel after, say, spending hours at the Museo del Prado, why not head over to one of the best sandwich places in the city of Madrid? The Cervecería 100 Montaditos is a well-known chain throughout Spain, and it’s a perfect place for a cheap, filling snack. The sandwiches are small but filled with yummy goodness. There’s anything and everything on this menu: salmon, ham, solomillo, tuna, and more. All sandwiches come with a free side of chips! They also offer salads for around €6.

Make sure to check the Cervecería out on a Wednesday, because that’s when all sandwiches cost only €1. (If you don’t get there early, be prepared to wait in line!)

There are multiple Montaditos in Madrid: visit the chain’s site to find the one closest to you.

La Gata Flora
Calle San Vicente Ferrer, 33
Telephone: 915 21 27 92
Metro: Tribunal

La Gata Flora is a popular Italian restaurant in Madrid’s Malasaña neighborhood. From the name you may have guessed that the restaurant has something to do with cats, and it does! The entire restaurant is decorated with photographs of cats, hanging cat lights, and pillows with embroidered cats.

Check out their menu del día for €10, which comes with an appetizer, main meal, dessert and wine! Try the berengena (eggplant)—it’s super tasty.

A Dos Velas
Calle de San Vicente Ferrer, 16
1-5 PM & 8 PM - 12 AM, Mon - Sat
Telephone: 91 446 18 63
Metro: Tribunal

Creative dishes with a fusion flare are what you’ll find at A Dos Velas. There are many different flavors, from Indian to Argentinian and Mediterranean. The service here is quite good and the dining area, decorated with dark tiles and exposed brick, is a wonderful place to relax.

A Dos Velas offers three prix fixe menus: lunch, dinner and group dining. The friendly feel of the place will have you coming back again and again.

Con Dos Fogones
Calle de San Bernardino, 9
1-5 PM & 8 PM-1 AM
Telephone: 91 559 63 26
Metro: Plaza de Espana

Salads, hamburgers, and Argentinian beef are only some of the tasty dishes you’ll find on the menu at Con Dos Fogones. The atmosphere is classy, and bursting with colors and stylish décor.

They offer a menu del Mediodía for €10, Monday-Friday, and a Menu Nocturno for €17.50, which includes an appetizer, main course, and dessert. And their prix fixe menus don’t stop there: they also have a group menu for €35.

About the author: Cynthia Kane is the editor of MAPMagazine.com, a Madrid travel e-zine, written by native English-speaking Madrid experts.

Popularity: 7% [?]

By Bill Sinclair in Barcelona—

Barcelona can be an à la carte aficionado’s dream. All those lovely bites stacked up on the bar… Hams, cheeses, mushrooms, omelets, seafood, salads, sausages. Sure, they’re all very tempting, and seemingly cheap, but for the price of two tapas and one beer (about €6), you could enjoy a three-course lunch with bread and wine!

Read the "Menu del Dia" carefully! Photo by Papalars.

Here’s a quick overview of tricks and tips to help you dine a la Cheapo in Barcelona. (Also read our recommended outdoor eateries and our cheap restaurant picks for Barcelona.)

1. Look for “Menú del Dia”

Often chalked up on a board on the sidewalk, the “menú del dia” is a national institution. For a fixed price you’ll be offered a choice of, say, six starters and six main courses.

Although some restaurants offer more adventuresome menus, the first course choices will typically feature a paella or pasta dish, or a salad or a soup. The second course will often feature chicken or a small steak, or fish, served with fries or potatoes and vegetables of the day. And for dessert you’ll likely be offered yogurt or flan (creme caramel), pudding (sponge cream cake), ice-cream, or a piece of fruit. Expect to pay a little more at weekends and on public holidays.

You’ll even find some restaurants offering a “menú del noche” (evening menu) – again, with three or four courses (although often not including wine) for about €13.50 - €17.50.

2. Check before you get the check.

There are often lots of hidden costs that arrive with the bill in Barcelona.  Here’s a checklist for avoiding them:

* Tax: Check whether the price includes tax (”IVA”) or not. This will add 7% to the check. (Note, in the photo above, that the tax–”+ 7% IVA”– is not included in the price.)

* Terrace: Check how much the “suplemento“ for eating on the terrace is. (This is sometimes a fixed charge, between €1 and €3 per person, and can add as much as 20% to the check).

* Bread: Check whether the price includes “pan” (bread). (For example, a well-known restaurant on the Passeig de Gràcia once tried to charge me €12.40 for two small baskets of bread!)

* Wine and water: Check whether the price includes “vino” (wine) or “agua” (water) or a beer or “refresco” (soft drink ). Many places will serve you both wine and water (or gaseosa-fizzy flavoured water) at no extra cost.

* Coffee: Check whether coffee is included. Some restaurants allow you to exchange a choice of dessert for a coffee.

3. Pick your smoking preference.

Remember to ask for the “no smoking” section, if this is your preference. Otherwise, you run the risk of being seated next to a diner who might light up a post-prandial cigar just as you’re savoring your starter.

4. Know your hours.

In Barcelona, we eat lunch a bit later than everyone else in Europe–most restaurants do not start serving until 1 PM or 1:30 PM, and finish serving lunch at around 3:45 PM.

5. A few more words to dine by.

* Safety: Do not hang your handbag (or jacket with wallet) on your chair, if eating on a terrace.

* Tip: Don’t worry about the “propino” (tip). Leave what small change you have, or nothing at all. This could be somewhere between 5-10%, but shouldn’t be more than €1 per person.

* Complaints: All establishments are required by law to have a complaints book. If you’re not happy with any aspect of the food or service, ask for the “Libro de Reclamaciones.” If they say they don’t have one, you can legally leave without paying anything!

And, as we say here: “Buen provecho” and “Bon profit”!

About the author: Born next door to an infamous London prison, Bill Sinclair has been on the run ever since. He now resides in Barcelona where he works as a writer, translator and independent visitor guide.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Seville’s Cathedral is free on Sundays

Although Seville is a fraction of the size of Madrid and Barcelona, the southern Spanish city is packed with attractions. Seville boasts world-class art museums, historic palaces, picturesque neighborhoods, and an awe-inspiring cathedral.

Conveniently, most of these attractions are located in the city center, within walking distance of each other. And best of all, several have free admission.

We recently put together a list of our “Top 10 Seville Attractions” in our Seville city guide, and found the following attractions offered free admission daily, or at least at some point during the week:

Top free attractions in Seville

1. Catedral de Sevilla/Giralda Tower — The entrance fee is €7 for adults and €2 for children and students, however stop by on a Sunday, when it’s free for everyone.

2. Casa de Pilatos — Admission is €5 for the first floor, €8 for both floors, and an extra €5 for the gardens! However, on Tuesday afternoons the whole shebang is free from 1-5 PM.

3. Archivo de las Indias — Admission to this priceless collection of rare documents is always free!

4. Museo de Bellas Artes — One of Spain’s best art museums, second only to Madrid’s Prado. Admission is only €1.50, and free for visitors with an EU passport.

5. Alcázar — A ticket to the palace will cost €7, but students always get in free.

Want more? See all 10 top attractions in Seville, with complete descriptions, hours, prices, and budget tips for when to get for free!

Also see: Our list of recommended budget hotels in Seville.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Lovely Spanish fans. Photo by fuzuoko

Cheapos in search of a bargain take-home-prize from the land of flamenco need only peek at the sophisticated ladies of Spain. Not only do decorative fans provide personal air-conditioning in Europe’s balmy southwestern country, they’re also a fan-tastic piece of history to bring home. Cool!

Wave to the folks back home

The first known use of human-hand powered fans, made of palm leaves, were those to ward insects off Egyptians. In a later incarnation, high-born women spread a hand-held fashion craze, extending to every corner of Asia and Europe where weather was humid and dress was fancy and layered.

By the 18th century, specialized craftsmen used leaves, sticks, lace, silk, and parchment to create breezy constructs before fans were decorated and hand painted. With rhythms of flamenco, fans swung into the dance and music scene of Andalusia Spain.

Today, handcrafted Spanish fans can cost hundreds of euros. However, fantastic plastic and paper counterparts can be purchased for €5 to €10 from street vendors, inside shops along the Gran Via in Madrid, or even at some museum gift shops.

While you’re at it…

As long as you’re dancing along to the el baile flamenco beat, pick up a set of castanets, which can be found for €7 to €12. While flamenco dancers hold them in their hands and click the wooden ovals together to the rhythm of the music, bargainistas hear the sound of cheap.

Popularity: 17% [?]