Italian restaurants in Malasaña: who does each thing well

We're one of Malasaña's Italian restaurants, so this list has an obvious bias and we prefer to say so in the first line. That said: the neighbourhood has good Italian cooking, each house with its specialty, and whoever asks «which is the best» is usually asking something else: what they feel like eating today. This guide answers that.

Who does pizza well in Malasaña?

Menomale (Plaza Dos de Mayo). Neapolitan pizza with the credentials in order: long-fermentation dough, tall crust, oven as Naples demands. One of the highest-rated in the neighbourhood, with reason.

And for an Italian meal with a setting?

Villa Capri (next to Plaza de Alonso Martínez, a short walk from Malasaña). From the Big Mamma group: a bustling trattoria with pasta made every morning, Neapolitan pizza and a cocktail bar that sets the pace. You go as much for the food as for the atmosphere.

Bosco de Lobos (Calle Hortaleza, 63, in the courtyard of the Colegio de Arquitectos). Italo-Mediterranean cooking in one of Madrid's hidden gardens. When the weather cooperates, its terrace among the greenery is one of the most pleasant tables in the centre.

And the fresh pasta?

Here we play at home and we say it plainly: fresh artisan pasta is what we do. At My Pasta My Art (Calle Espíritu Santo, 16) the pasta is made by hand each day in the workshop, and the dish is composed by each diner: a homemade sauce — from the Original Carbonara to the Santo Pesto —, the fudys you choose and your kind of pasta, with gluten-free penne available. From €13.90, with 4.7 out of 5 on Google and more than 19,000 reviews. Bookings online or on 854 76 03 63.

How to choose?

Craving Neapolitan pizza in the heart of the neighbourhood: Menomale. An Italian meal with atmosphere and a setting: Villa Capri or the Bosco de Lobos terrace, both a short walk away. Fresh pasta made that same day, a dish tailored to you: ours, at Espíritu Santo 16. In any case, Friday and Saturday call for a booking; the neighbourhood doesn't forgive improvisation at 21:30.