Casa Dani
When Eater counted in 2025, Casa Dani's bar in the Mercado de la Paz was making more than 200 tortillas de patatas a day.
Why go
Daniel García and Dolores (Lola) Cuerda came from La Mancha and opened Casa Dani in the Mercado de la Paz in 1991.5 The family told El Español in 2021: There's no trick. They're made by eye, with the recipe Lola created over her years as a cook.
They named fresh brown eggs and the sour potato of La Mancha
as what makes the flavor.5 In March 2019 that tortilla won Spain's second national tortilla championship, held in Tenerife.8
Lori Zaino of The Infatuation called it a tortilla de patata that people cross the city for
in 2024. She explained the method: they fry the potatoes in sunflower oil, which helps them retain their original, sour flavor that's complemented by the sweetness of the onion.
1 The Gastroactivity blog found it barely set, without going as far as the almost liquid Betanzos style,
juicy with confit potato and soft onion. The blog reported that the kitchen cut each tortilla in four, so a pincho (a single serving) was generous.6 The Traveling Hungryboy blog ate at the counter in 2024 and wrote: I tasted more potatoes than eggs in there.
7
The chef José Andrés wrote in 2024: Located in the Mercado de La Paz, this is where you go to start your day, people!
4 Paula Móvil of Eater gave the timing in 2025: At lunchtime, the place gets packed, so go around 11 a.m. to enjoy a slice with a café con leche without having to fight for a seat.
3 If you do come for lunch, the menú del día (the set lunch) cost 15 euros in June 2026 and got you an appetizer, main, dessert, and coffee.
2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the tortilla de patatas,
beloved for its well-done exterior and gooey interior
to Paula Móvil (Eater, 2025).3 - Order: the salmorejo,
a creamier version of gazpacho topped with egg and ham,
or fish from the market's stalls (Lori Zaino, The Infatuation, 2026).2
What locals & experts say
- Paula Móvil, Eater (2025):
Tortilla española may seem overrated to some, but for locals, it's quite the comfort food.
3 - Award: first prize, II Campeonato Nacional de Tortillas, Tenerife, March 2019.8
Good to know
- Where: inside the Mercado de la Paz, Calle de Ayala 28, in Salamanca. Casa Dani also has doors at Calle Lagasca 49, the Mercado de San Leopoldo and Bernabéu Market.9
- Timing: open from early morning Monday to Saturday, closing mid-afternoon on Saturday, and shut Sunday (the house's hours, read in September 2026).9
- Booking: walk in. If the bar is full, Eater (2025) points you to the takeaway stand around the corner.3
- Health record: a salmonella outbreak at the Mercado de la Paz bar in January 2023 affected
at least 106 people,
and14 people remain in hospital,
El Español reported on 30 January 2023.10 Directo al Paladar reported on 7 March 2023, citing Madrid Salud through Vozpópuli, that the likely cause wasseveral workers who, without knowing it, carried the salmonella bacteria.
The district closed the bar from 30 January 2023 until the company drew up a self-control protocol.11
Verdict
should-visit — Go to Casa Dani in the morning for a pincho of its barely set tortilla de patatas, before the lunch crowd fills the market bar. In June 2026 the menú del día cost 15 euros with coffee.