Los Cedros

Named after the beautiful surrounding garden of 100-year-old cedar trees, this charming country mansion-hotel lies in the distant suburbs of Madrid. Done up in a vaguely Tuscan style, the restaurant has three spaces and a lovely summer terrace. Its menu designer is Pedro Larumbe (whose eponymous city center restaurant is one of Madrid's top gastronomic addresses). The result is simple and mature cooking at very reasonable prices from Larumbe's deputy chef Miguel Jiménez. Top-notch ingredients are allowed to reach their full potential: beef slow-braised to melting tenderness in treacley oloroso sherry, or artichokes bought alive with fresh Galician clams. Reservations essential. By car: take exit 2 or 2B from the M30.