A Slice of Italy in Madrid at La Vita é Bella

Wish there were a place to go for a meal in Madrid that offered take-out service and authentic Italian dishes made from the freshest ingredients. Well, look no further than La Vita é Bella.

Stepping into La Vita é Bella is like being inside a bustling coffee shop in Italy. The décor is minimal with few tables and bar stools.The reasonably priced food and variety of options make this spot perfect for a quick mid-day snack or a relaxing dinner at a nearby plaza or park. All locations offer mouth-watering pizza, pasta and stromboli. While the place is normally packed with tourists, students, and locals, the staff is efficient and thorough. There are tables to sit and enjoy your meal but only a few, so be prepared to wait or take your food on the road.

What to order:  The Malasaña pizza is a must: A delicious combination of tomato, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, arugula, and fresh Parmesan. The menu offers fifteen thin-crust pizzas that have both meat and vegetarian options. Pizza comes in one-size only, which can feed two people or one, depending on how hungry you are.

For dessert order a cannolo, a ricotta cheese filled pastry tube dream.

La Vita é Bella means Life is Beautiful in Italian – fitting for how you feel after eating at any of their locations!

Address: Calle Pelayo, 22, C/ Espiritu Santo, 13, Plaza de San Ildefonso, 5
Telephone number: 915231741,  915238401, 915214108
Hours: Sunday – Thursday 12 PM -12 AM, Friday, Saturday 12 PM – 1 AM
Average Price: 7 euros
Neighborhood: Chueca, Malasaña, Antón Martín
Metro: Chueca, Tribunal, Antón Martín

By Marissa Friedman

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3 places are mentioned in this post!

1. Calle de Pelayo, 22
2. Calle del Esp�ritu Santo, 13
3. Plaza de San Ildefonso, 5

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II Piccolino della Farfalla

Budget restaurants in Madrid that offer a lively atmosphere and good food are hard to find. So why not check out II Piccolino della Farfalla on Huertas, which offers vegetarian options, pizza, Spanish meats, and much more! Here you’ll have a wonderful meal at a low price. They also have menus in English! For more click here.

1 places are mentioned in this post!

1. Il Piccolino Della Farfalla

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Restaurants in Madrid: II Piccolino della Farfalla

La Farfalla (ii piccolino della farfalla)
Calle Huertas, 6
Telephone: 91 369 43 91
Metro: Sol

This is hands down one of the most popular restaurants in the city. Every night the restaurant is filled with locals, and if you don’t get there early it’s hard to get a seat. The food is wonderful and prices are inexpensive. Salads cost around 5 euros, a brown rice dish with vegetables and tofu runs around 8 euros, and the Parillada for two people is around 20 euros. Get a pizza for around 7 euros. We recommend the four cheese pizza, which is so tasty you’re bound to make your way back to the restaurant again, and again.

The atmosphere is lively, sometimes there is live music, and the establishment has a true mom and pop feel to it. The waiters are very friendly, but you might have to ask more than once for your check! Definitely a good idea to call ahead to get a table, if you don’t you might have to wait anywhere between ten minutes to an hour to sit.

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1. Il Piccolino Della Farfalla

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Best Pizza Slices in Madrid

Whether you’re lonely, busy, strapped for cash, or stumbling around late at night in Malasaña a good slice of pizza can be heaven.  This is why we here at MAP went to the trouble of doing the leg work to point you in the right direction with MAP’s list of the best Pizza Slices Madrid.

OPERA PIZZA
Calle Arenal, 23
Tel:  915 595 373 – 915 591 765 (For Delivery)

First up is Opera Pizza located, as you might have guessed, outside the Madrid opera house (and Opera Metro Station).  This is something of an institution and has been around the city for some time. In short it offers all the stereotypical American foods, however the restaurant manages to not give off that discomforting tourist trap vibe.  There are usually a couple different options for slices on hand and depending on the day you might find a Hawaiana (Jamon York and Pinapple), a Vegetal (onions, green peppers, olives and mushrooms), or any number of combinations (but usually something with Jamon York).  The pizza can best be described as “college days” pizza, distinctly familiar to all of the pieces of pizza you ate/eat/see on TV around your local higher learning institutions.  Not that this is anyway a negative characterization, but the pizza is very typical. The size is respectable, but you’ll definitely need a couple to make it meal.  It gets points for having a central location and being a comforting reminder of home, as well as being open late Saturdays until 1:30ish.  However the slices don’t hold up very well over time, and when you are unlucky and arrive when a fresh pie hasn’t been put out for a while it can be a bit disappointing, so I encourage you to wait for a fresh one to come out of the oven to order your slice.  As I said they also offer all things American, so if you’re in the mood for a hamburger, hot dog, or chicken wings in addition to or in lieu of your pizza they’ve got you covered.  Each slice is around €2.60.

Estación Obligatoria
Calle Pez, 2

Estacion Obligatoria is somewhat new to the Malasaña area and advertises itself as providing Argentinean food but their pizza is a big hit as well.  The slices here come in a distinct long and skinny rectangular shape, which actually makes it handy to eat, though not your typical idea of a slice of pizza.  This place gets big points for its crust, which is thin and always crispy allowing the slices to makes it stand the test of time.  Every time I´ve had one of their slices it seemed fresh even if it may have been setting there for a while. They offer a somewhat unique departure from the standard pizza toppings including shrimp and hardboiled egg, but they also have go-to toppings like ham and tomato or chorizo if you’re not feeling experimental.  Although the crust, sauce, and toppings are great, the slices are somewhat small and even after two you might be left wanting more.  Incidentally, the best deal here might be the €1.50 Argentinean empanadas that come in a wide variety of fillings.  Slices here cost €2.50 or  less.

Pizza & Pita
Calle Fuencarral, 93

Pizza & Pita gets the award for best late night eatery in the Malasaña area, staying open until 2:30am on Friday and Saturday nights.  This is an important fact to know when that Friday night dinner with friends turns into half of a croqueta, a bite of tortilla, a few chips, 7 cañas, and you’ve found yourself ordering a whiskey and coke on an empty stomach. Pizza Pita provides the perfect place to stave off your hunger. This place gets big points for the late night weekend hours, actually having a pepperoni pizza and making sure lots of pizzas are on hand for the late night revelers. Stick to going during peak hours.  By the way they have pita as well.  Slices here cost around €2.50.

La Vita É Bella
Calle Espíritu Santo, 13
Plaza de San Ildefonso, 5
Calle Pelayo, 22

Finally we move on to the pinnacle of pizza slices in the center of Madrid, now with an empire that has extended into three locations. La Vita É Bella is hands down the most popular place to grab a slice around Madrid.  Advertising themselves as providing “Comida Italiana para llevar” they serve up a huge Sicilian style slice (square-shaped and thick crusted) stacked with lots of toppings and cheese.  The crust and sauce are big winners; the former is thick yet crispy, light and fluffy, and the latter being an herb-infused tasty base for the rest of the pizza components.  More cheese please…obviously there is a fine line between a piece of pizza having too much cheese (Pizza Hut) and not enough and La Vita É Bella manages to walk that line like a well trained Circus high-wire act.  They usually have a nice variety of slices when you arrive, some of the standards include: margarita, ham, mushroom, bacon (mmm bacon!), or any combination of the aforementioned. But for me the best choice is the slices drizzled with their house-made pesto sauce.  Due to its popularity, if you go during typical meal times the pizzas are always fresh out of the oven and don’t even need reheating, and one slice of their pizza is almost a full meal.  They also have a nice selection of pastas as well as a few other typical Italian items available for carry-out.  All slices here are €2.50.

Whether you’re a tourist on a budget or a local with little time your hands, a slice of pizza can definitely hit the spot.  While all of the above mentioned have their merits the slice of pizza ultimately is a matter of personal choice. Hopefully this will give you a good road map when you set out to find the one that is best to your liking.

By Coleman File

6 places are mentioned in this post!

1. Calle del Arenal, 23
2. Calle del Pez, 2
3. Calle de Fuencarral, 93
4. Calle del Esp�ritu Santo, 13
5. Plaza de San Ildefonso, 5
6. Calle de Pelayo, 22

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Best Restaurants in Madrid: Nina

Nina
Calle Manuela Malasana, 10
Brunch Saturday and Sunday 12 – 6pm
Open everyday
Telephone: 91 591 00 46
Metro: Bilbao, San Bernardo

This Italian restaurant in Madrid is chic, sophisticated, and (unusual for Spain) offers a non-smoking section. Nina is a wonderful place for a romantic dinner or a night out with friends. The restaurant offers plenty of pastas, salads, meat and fish. Good portions, though a bit pricey, the food is worth it. The menu del dia is 12 euros. Make a reservation -  the place is always packed.

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1. Nina Madrid

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Best Restaurants in Madrid: La Gata Flora

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

This Italian restaurant in Madrid  is a favorite of the locals. From the name, you may have guessed that La Gata Flora restaurant has something to do with cats – and indeed it does:  The place is decorated with photographs of cats, hanging cat lights, and pillows with embroidered cats. Although there are no windows in the restaurant, the interior colors are bright and the decor upbeat. Check out their menu del dia for 10 euros . Try the tasty berengena or eggplant dish.

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1. La Gata Flora

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