Alternative Walking Tour Of Madrid

My beautiful friend Laura came to visit Madrid for a few days last week. I had such a lovely time with her, and I hope she did aswell! I decided that instead of showing her the typical spots in Madrid, like the Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real and Retiro, that I would do an 'alternative walking tour' of my favourite spots in Madrid. 

Here is a list of the places I showed her... and in case you wanted to know, YES, they are all in Malasaña! 

- Calle Espíritu Santo - Lolina Vintage Cafe, Happy Day Bakery, Alino, Templo de Susu, Miss Vintage, Banzai Sushi

- Plaza Juan Pujol

- Calle San Vicente Ferrer  - Taboó

- Plaza del Dos de Mayo - aka Plaza de Doggy Dogg. (Our Pet name for the square cus it's full of dogs...) 

- Calle Velarde - All the vintage shops 

- Calle Hortaleza - Tommy Mels 

Dionisos

I've been meaning to go to Dionisos for a long time now, as it is located just round the corner from my flat, in Chueca. On the last night of my second semester in Madrid, we wanted to go for a nice meal, and picked this lovely little Greek Taberna. 

The restaurant is extremely inviting, with simple Mediterranean decor and a friendly ambience. 

The prices were surprisingly very reasonable, so we cheekily decided to go for a starter, main, dessert and a glass of white wine! We shared a platter of Greek Tapas which included Hummus, Taramasalata (eeeewww fish roe), Tzatziki, Falafel, Dolmades, Feta cheese and Pita. - YUM! The only criticism I have is that they don't serve Haloumi, something which I have been craving for since I left home! Next we ordered a few mains to share including Greek Style Chicken, Rocket Salad with sun-dried tomatoes and grilled Greek cheese, and Pastry stuffed with chicken, cheese and vegetables. The portions were huge and the food was fantastic. The dessert was an Orange Carpaccio with vanilla ice-cream and cinnamon, which was disappointingly just sliced up oranges arranged nicely on a plate, sprinkled with cinnamon. However, at the end of the meal we were given a free shot of desert wine, which I supped pretty quickly. 

All in all I loved my experience at Dionisos Greek Restaurant and would recommend it to anyone looking for authentic Greek cuisine in the centre of Madrid.