LA BOLA

This is a traditional restaurant with over a century of history, specializing in stewed pot dishes. To be honest, as a foreign traveler, I found the flavors a bit difficult to get used to. However, this is purely a matter of personal taste and has nothing to do with the restaurant itself. Still, I made an effort to finish everything out of respect for the chef and the food. I believe that part of the joy of traveling is experiencing local cuisine at long-established, traditional restaurants.

Strongly recommend. Very good food especially their stew. One portion is good for 2 people. Reservation is a must. Lamb is excellent. A reminder: keep a copy of your reservation email because they missed our reservation at our arrival.

The perfect cocido to have to end the winter season! Superb cocido. It wasn’t too heavy nor too little. Soup was so good too! We also had a vegetable entree to start which was one of the best I’ve had in Madrid. Dessert was an apple tart with turrones ice cream!! Definitely would come here even during the summer because not only was food superb, the service was 100%

Historic place! Very blessed for the opportunity to be able to enjoy lunch there. We just walked in there believing that we could find a table. For our surprise, the person the received us said that was unprovable to sit us, but anyway she consulted with an emerging gentleman that joined the conversation, telling us that the only chance was to wait for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Then; thanks God the last consult was done to our afternoon hero. This senior waitress gave us the best smile on the city along with a service that we will never forget. Yes, he found the way to sit us and in addition was very supportive and gentle, giving us the most charm service during our visit to the city.

Visiting Madrid and want to experience something unique? This is it!!! La Bola is one of those unique places in Madrid where tradition and quality have been present for more than 150 years. A lot of history and perfection in the making , this place has one of the best cocido madrileños in town. Atmosphere is perfectly taken care of, the walls packed with the credentials of this signature place anticipating a unique experience. For a madrileño, I personally find it outrageous that this was only my first time here. But I am happy I finally managed to check that the good name and reputation of this restaurant does its justice and confirms what everyone knows. There’s no question about the quality and craftsmanship of this traditional Madrilean dish. Indulge yourself and give it a try! Service didn’t disappoint either. Super friendly crew, we arrived before they opened and they were super friendly accommodating us in a table when we didn’t even have a reservation and the waiting list goes for several days. Very happy and DEFINITELY will come back when in Madrid.

You must order their special dishes! They are delicious and hearty, very filling. The best we had while staying at Madrid. Short walk from the Royal Palace.

Delicious cocido madrileño ! Authentic restaurant. Good service. Recommended.

Excellent authentic Madrid food. Highly recommend a reservation. Legends like Nadal, casillas, Diego simeone have graced this establishment

3.5/5 stars Made a reservation and was seated quickly. Got the cocido madrileño and the prawns to split with my boyfriend. It first comes with this noodle soup, and then they pour out the chickpeas, veggies, and meat on a separate plate. It was my first time having this dish so I thought we were supposed to put the veggies and meat in the soup ourselves oops! It was so delicious and flavorful. There wasn't much meat though. The stewed beef was so tender, but there was only 1 piece. The chicken was a little dry. The sausage was just all right. The prawns were pretty good, but kind of sandy. This was a fun experience for authentic food, but def on the pricey side for what you get.

La Bola is a classic tavern in the Austrias district of Madrid. 150+ years La Bola has been serving Madrid. Their Cocida a la Madrileña is amazing. Cooked in a clay pot for over 4 hours over oak wood it is amazing. The service is fantastic and as a first timer will help you each step of the way to enjoy this classic dish. We loved our visit and will make sure to stop by every time we are in Madrid. Fyi make sure to grab reservations well in advance. They are booked out and only accept reservations.

My best advice: do not waste your time going to La Bola restaurant. Had the worst restaurant experience of my life. The food was terrible. We were in a party of 4, the shrimps were overcooked and too salty, the veal had no salt at all and the "cocido" was ok (eatable, but far from remarkable). The sangria was too sweet. The wine by the glass was less than mediocre. The olive oil is a cheap brand. Service was poor also... The phone kept ringing and nobody would answer it, we had lunch to the sound of an answered phone that kept on ringing nonstop. I wish I could leave some compliment, but absolutely nothing deserves it. The experience was so frustrating that we left without dessert. Madrid is said to have good food and good dining experiences, do not waste your time here.

Food was great, but if you're an American, expect to be treated as second class. The service was anything but great. Our order was never taken but assumed, never given a menu to order, and we had to serve ourselves. Biggest disappointment while I was looking forward to this stop the entire trip. DO NOT COME HERE.

La Bola is one of the best examples of tradition. The "Cocido Madrileño" is what they are famous for, and they are well deserving of this distinction. I went to four other places, including one un the Michelin guide. La Bola for me, has a flavor of tradition, (if you ever had this on some spanish grandmas house , you'll understand) Served in a terracotta special dish, boiling and and filled with Spanish aromas and flavors, that are only enhanced by your surroundings of traditional colors , tiles, decor and pictures of famous personalities from all over the world. This is definitely a must in Madrid. (Beware, can only pay with CASH) reservation not need it, but very much recommend.

Anyone who gives this place less than 4.5 stars is sorely mistaken! Admittedly we were skeptical after reading some not so great reviews but so glad we stopped in anyway! The main attraction without a doubt is the Cocido Madrileño (authentic Madrid stew) perfect for a cold rainy night. We also got the roasted lamb and mixed asparagus, egg, and ham appetizer. Both were absolutely amazing. The roasted lamb was tender off the bone and flavorful; and the appetizer was also a perfect mix- eggs cooked perfectly not overdone so they acted almost like a sauce keeping everything together. Pro tip: don't be a fiend like me and eat ALL of the complimentary bread and olives that you get so you save room for everything else We were too full for dessert but we were offered complimentary lemon sherbet with vodka. So refreshing! Total bill for half a jug (yup... wine comes by the jug here), sparkling water, one appetizer and two entrees: 77€!

Its an OK restaurant. I would not recommend if you want to try French food in Madrid. We were shown to the behind sitting area straight away. For tourists. And the menu is different. They charge for breads and the cabbage in the first dish. Even I knew this before I arrived. Foodwise. The famous soup is just so so. 7/10. The waiter suggested roasted lamb. However, it's just a lamb leg. 5/10. Price wise, expensive for Madrid. And the un-notified charges makes it cheating. I would. Not recommend.

Took two days to get in this place and they really only serve one thing. Big jar cooked all night with garbanzos , Ox tail, and potatoes. The all night cook results in very bland dry taste. Not memorable or social in any way, you are there to eat the jar and get out. Much better places to eat in this amazing city... left me a bit confused how its lasted 100 years.

Came here as part of our food tour and it did not disappoint. This is a typical lunch spot for the locals here at Madrid. We had a sample of their soup and also was able to see how it was made and it was amazing. The ingredients we're simple yet the flavor was delicious. When you first look at the soup, you think it's like a tomato soup cause of the color, but once you start stirring the soup around, you notice it is a lot lighter. My first sip of the soup brought me to a surprise. It was bursting with flavors. It was like fancy chicken noodle soup. The pieces of noodle in the bowl was so smooth that all you do is swallow, you don't need to chew it or anything. I was just amazed because I was able to see how it was made and it was so simple, yet the complexity of the soup was there.

Wow. My wife and I are super impressed. Today is our 6th day in Spain (Barcelona then Madrid), and hands down the best restaurant we have enjoyed. My wife got the traditional soup "Caldo de Cocido" (TONS OF FOOD, Come Hungry!), and I got the Peppered Beef (Perfectly cooked, in a delicious cream sauce). This place oozes old world tradition with amazing food. We can't recommend enough. - Two Texans.

Polite and informative wait staff. Our waiter took time to explain everything to us. We ordered food to share and again, the staff made paced everything out appropriately. Food was alright, everything seemed to be prepared with fresh ingredients and care. The cocido is enough for two to share.

We sampled this place on our foodie tour of Madrid and decided to go back to try the cocido. I didn't have a reservation and the waiter, in true Spanish form, was super laid-back and welcoming and sat us at one of the special tables by the front window. It was a pleasant surprise. When we looked over the menu we decided to go with the menú del día which consisted of a three course meal of noodle soup (using the delicious cocido broth), ropa vieja, and an apple fritter for dessert plus a glass of wine for 27€pp. We enjoyed every morsel of our meal in this iconic restaurant. They even made some patatas fritas for my son even though it wasn't on the menu but is typical in most restaurants in Spain as they love children. This is definitely a spot that everyone should experience in Madrid.

On my search for a old fashion spanish restaurant I came by that place yesterday. Like many of the other reviewers I had the Cocido and it was really authentic, good and plenty. As it consists of the soup with noodles first and afterwards the stew, I found the price of 20€ quite cheap for a restaurant that's ranked with $$$ here. I added the English menu hanging outside to the pictures, but I had the feeling, that the menu inside had a few more dishes as it was two pages.

Wow...what an experience! The restaurant is over 140 years old and has consistently won awards for having the best and most unique Cocido Madrileno in Madrid (slow cooked, incredibly marinated stew). It is very slow cooked in an earthen jar over low flame, and they throw in so many tasty ingredients (which they let us watch in the kitchen)...the stew includes lamp, pork, chicken, fat, noodles, special Madrid water, and spices (and more). It is cooked over a great smelling coal fire and is hands down the best broth and stew we (entire family) ever tasted. Apparently the restaurant has two sittings for lunch and is not open for dinner because the stew is "too heavy" to have at night. The service is excellent and fast. Place is frequented by locals and by tourists and it boasts Michelin Stars. Be sure to bring cash/euros...they do not accept credit cards and make reservations or you will likely not get a table.

Plenty of other places in the city I would recommend trying something else. We had reservations at 8pm. When we got there at 8:10 they just said "we are closed". So we asked about our reservation. Then they invited us in. Not sure why that was such a unwelcome greeting. I clearly did not get what I ordered. I ended up with this greasy leg of lamb that was more like Turkey. Who the heck knows, it probably was Turkey. Fries and some peppers. No flavor and I didn't feel well for 2 days after. Wine was less than good. Only redeeming quality was the flan was a perfect consistency although not very flavorful.

Beware of a few things - 1) They will not let you share the pot of soup - even though the portion could easily feed 2 people, it is against their rule. So your companion has to order something else. 2) The soup is great but it has about 4 bites of meat (or maybe my jar was really skimpy on the meat for some reason) and an enormous amount of chickpeas. But hey - at least those things are good for you. It's still a cool concept and i would recommend it to any tourist - but if i were a local, i wouldn't pay 20+ euros for this.

Food was delicious! Service was good, and our waiter has his humor. We went there for dinner at 20:30, made a reservation by our hotel reception. It was not necessary to make reservation. There were not that many people at that time nor by the time we left. Soup was very yummy! Food was a little too much for us, it was too much meat. We also used the coupon from Yelp, got three glasses of sorbet drinks in the end. Delicious! Perfect ending for heavy meat dinner with a cup of coffee! They close at 23:30, for us, that was dinner alright. :)

When I saw that Yelp has expanded to Spain, I pulled out my old travel pictures. Two things remind me of La Bola. 1) The best meat stew ever! It's slow cooked in an earthen jar over low flame, all the flavours melt into the broth. Hotel concierge told us about this place, and it's been around for more than 140 years. 2) Every tourist takes the same picture of La Bola from outside, across the street from the same angle. I have one that looks just like the two that other Yelpers have uploaded.

My wife has a 6th sense about restaurants. We call it "foodar." One criteria that sets off her foodar is when she sees a big crowd in a restaurant. We walked past La Bola at lunch time on a Sunday and saw a big crowd spilling out onto the street. So she kept that in mind when, a couple of days later, we happened to walk past it at the beginning of the dinner hour, and we decided to try and get a table. We got in. Eventually. After having to wait a long time for a table while the server busied himself with some task. Mind you, there were almost no other customers in the place. But eventually, we were seated in the front room near the window. As the restaurant began to fill up, we noticed that tourists were seated in the front room and locals were seated in the back room. Odd. Anyway, the food was nothing special and over-priced. The signature meat stew was not particularly flavorful and not that enjoyable. The service was slow and the waiter was not friendly. We didn't feel welcome at all. And we would definitely not go back. Sorry foodar. You didn't work this time.

Very nice authentic Spanish restaurant. Cocido is highly recommended, but it's really a big dish for one person. So might better to share by 2 persons.

My husband went out seeking this restaurant and boy did it disappoint. First, do know that you need a reservation, we didn't know that but in fairness, they did squeeze us in. The atmosphere was dingy but not cool. The food was meh. My husband had the cocido and said it was good but not as good as his dad's. As a vegetarian I ordered the Piso Manchego &. Meditarrranean salad. The piso was very nice but they were out of all things Meditarranean like olives & cheese so they brought out a very expendive salad of ice burg lettuce, white onion and tomatoes. It tasted like a Big Boy's salad from the 80s before the US developed tastebuds. What's worse is that they charged us $3 more than they would have for Meditarranean salad. Very disappointing experience. We won't be back.

This was a very weird experience. We had lunch here and it was not busy at all but the host and server we had were very eccentric bordering on distracting. We ordered the typical stew dish and it was great but the overall service brought down my review. Think it is worth going if you enjoying stews and are in the area but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here since there are sooo many wonderful places right in La Latina.

I had their specialty, cocido and i wish i was very hungry when I went, because the plate was really filling(it would be ideal to share) the service was good and they keep an eye on you. The atmosphere was cozy and old in a good way, a mix of tourists and locals which is always a good sign.

The cocido was good, but not "blow your mind" good. Also, beware that they don't take credit cards, and you should probably have about 85 Euros in cash for lunch for two.

One of Ava Gardner's favourite restaurants in Madrid and boy did that girl have good taste. At times a little touristy but that's the price you have to pay for a historic restaurant. Stare for hours at the photos that adorn the walls and stick into a gut busting meal of cocidos Madrilenos.

Actually the waiter is very good! My previous comment was on the other waiter who led us to the table. The soup is great, bean is good, some part of cabbage is kind of hard. The meat is of course over cooked, pretty dry. Again, the soup is wonderful!

We got the specials (tripe and the cocido), and they were quite huge portions, and tasted quite good. I don't think I've had anything like them before. The waiter we had was charming. I had underdressed for the occasion (I didn't expect to eat a nice restaurant like this), but they treated us quite well still. PS: we checked in to Yelp and got free sorbets : )

Very fine version of the protein Madrid cocido, a super tasty pork, chicken and beef meat and vegetable and chickpea stew. For many people the best place to taste it in town. The place is beautiful and full of character. Make reservations in advanced, it is likely to get full.

Food is ok but very overpriced. Place is clean. Many other places to eat at a much better price like El Sur

Lovely place, full of character and busy all the time. Locals and tourists fight for a place to sample the frankly copious special stew in a vase or the lamb shoulder done slowly so it's sticky and just a little garlicky... lovely! But the other dishes fail on the portion size, the waiters are rather huffy and puffy they make you feel slightly in the way and the prices are a bit steep!

I was initially really excited about La Bola and their famous cocido madrileno - basically a traditional, Spanish-style chickpea stew with meats. You're also going to want to make reservations before trying to eat here. To be honest, I was really underwhelmed. La Bola has been commented on on multiple guides and is I'll preface this review by saying that it could just be that I don't really like that kind of stew so couldn't appreciate that La Bola's version is better than others. The main dish here is the stew - it comes as a reddish broth in one plate and then an additional clay pot filled with chickpeas and different types of meats and noodles. The way to eat it is apparently drink broth first and the meat in the clay pot once you've finished the broth. It was unclear whether or not they would allow two people to split the stew, but we did on our own. Honestly it was overpriced - like 28 euros for what amounted to just tons and tons of chickpeas. I ate the contents of the clay pot first - when I did this, a server gave me a very weird look and then went into the kitchen and got me a plate to dump the chickpeas and meats out to eat. The flavor was nothing special - the meats were soft and tender but at the end of the day it was just chickpeas and big chunks of meat. Then more chickpeas. And even more chickpeas. The broth was decent with pretty subtle flavors that ended up just being overwhelmed by the amount of chickpeas. but I wouldn't go out of my way to order the stew again, and that's their specialty. Then we had a very odd server - once we asked for the check, he told us with a very straight face that it would be 500 euros in Spanish. We thought he meant 50 and pulled out our money but, no, he insisted 500 euros. We smiled and laughed politely but were really confused. Then he cackled to himself and went off. Another waiter then brought us our check and it was 48 euros. The odd server came back, pointed to the final line item and said "OOOH not 500 euros!!" and cackled to himself some more. Very strange. Bottom line, I wouldn't go here unless you really wanted to try cocido madrileno from the restaurant in Madrid that's most famous for it. And be prepared to eat tons of chickpeas.

Went to this place based on a personal recommendation from a few years ago. As far as I can tell, it is now a soulless tourist trap whose main appeal is the opportunity to watch Chinese tourists trying to figure out how to eat olives. First things first though: I went to the restaurant at 8.30 pm (they like to have dinner late in Madrid) and got a table in the middle of a tastefully decorated, if somewhat densely furnished room. The waiter asked me whether I wanted the menu in English, French, Italian or German, which should have been the first hint that this was probably not a restaurant for the locals. I then asked for bread, which was extra (unusual), and despite the fact that the bread basket was three steps away, the waiter insisted that he had to serve drinks to every other party in the room first. Incidentally, I never got my bread all evening despite asking for it repeatedly -- though it showed up on the bill, of course. Considering I was alone and not feeling like killing a whole bottle of wine, I ordered a glass of red. No information was provided as to what this was, though it would have been decent by Algerian standards. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to observe what must have been one of the cooks repeatedly strolling through the dining area carrying a jug of some dark brown cleaning product that bore a large warning label identifying the contents as caustic. I couldn't really figure out exactly what it was, as my attention was then diverted to my plate of olives that was almost knocked to the ground by one waiter's rather unfortunately proportioned posterior. The food I was served was forgettable, so I shan't dwell on it. The Chinese and Japanese diners seemed greatly impressed by the fact that the soup was served out of a terracotta vessel though, so maybe that would float your boat. Following an altercation with the waiter about the fact that I had no intention of paying for my imaginary bread, I then left this sorry excuse for a gourmet temple, never to return -- as undoubtedly the great majority of its customers will: and do they ever know it!

Mixed-very mixed I ate here October 13. The restaurant is small, but with a good atmosphere and friendly staff. The red wine (there appears to be only one kind) was absolutely excellent. The food however is another story. I had the cocido. This is a stew of which the liquid is served as a soup-thin, greasy and tasteless. The main body consisted of lamb bones with virtually no meat, a large piece of ham fat and a piece of ham gristle with no edible meat, plus lots of chick peas. No spices or condiments appeared to have been used in its preparation and I left most of it. My wife had a steak which she reported as good quality poorly cooked. Together with a starter the bill was 55Euros.

My wife and I ate here about 2 weeks ago. Being off-season, we had no trouble getting a table without a reservation. The service is professional, table cloth, nice décor, etc. Our general observation is that this restaurant appears to be a bit of a "one trick pony" because the only thing we saw anyone having was the cicido a la madrilène that is listed at the specialty in Fodor as well as by other reviewers. As noted by others, it is a large portion, and our purpose for adding this review is to explain what it consists of. You are brought soup dish with some small pasta like vermicelli in the bottom. The waiter comes with a crockery that contains the meal, and he pours the liquid portion from the crockery into the soup bowl. This results in a very flavorful and hearty broth similar to chicken noodle soup. When you are finished, the remaining contents of the crock were poured into the dish consisting of chick peas and the meat. As noted by others, we don't remember that it had much meat, but the portion of chick peas is more than enough food. We were also brought a side dish of sauerkraut to be scooped onto the chick peas. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of this -- if we had this restaurant in our area, it might be the best one in town. On the other hand, it reminded us of the obligatory roast beef you order at Simpson's in London so you can check it off your list. We noticed a tapas bar called El Mollete across the street that looked interesting. We went there on a subsequent evening and had a great time for less money -- locals, friendly owners, good food.