These aren’t easy or beautiful times for Europe. Both Lucas Papademos in Greece and Mario Monti in Italy are Prime Miniesters who haven’t been chosen democratically but bankers who are closely associated with Goldman Sachs. Both are, at the moment, only the most extreme example of the phenomenon of imposition with the active collusion of the European Union on behalf of the main responsables of the crisis. In other words, the finance markets (who annually turnover 3,450 billion euros on a world scale compared to the 45 that real economy creates around the world), its representatives in governments around the continent who haven’t had the need of carrying out elections with the mission of demolishing of the public sector, that constitutes the base of the Welfare State while banks, insurance agencies and other financial establishments obtain money from the Central European Bank at an interest of 1.25% to loan it to the same countries that they saved from collapsing with public funds at an interest rate which is exceedingly high, something that can only bring nothing other than the downfall of their economies and a debt that’s bigger and bigger all the time. This debt is countered by these technocrats, imposed as governors, by administering new cuts, privatizations and calls for austerity, thus creating an atrocious vicious circle that can only be described as a true financial coup d’état destined to completely destroy any sign of social protection policies.

In such circumstances it’s good to know some good, nice and cheap restaurants where you can eat for under 20 euros, such as Ernie’s Station for the 50s rock style lovers, American border food with Tex-Mex flavour and the vertigo of the sound of Harley Davidsons on Route 66.

Or, if we prefer the Izakaya style restaurants in Japan, the wonderfully cute Hanakura (http://www.hanakura.es/) doesn’t just offer daily menus for under 13 euros but also a free hour’s car parking.

For the lovers of a more Mediterranean atmosphere, there are few better options than Grazie Mille, Roman charm put through New York’s Italian aesthetic with contemporary design, where it’s nice to drink a few Martinis at the bar listening to soulful, chill-out and electro-tango in front of its excellent dishes (it also has a daily menu that costs around about 10 euros, including an exquisite coffee and an entirely Italian menu).

But the star of the moment in terms of value for money and beauty is probably Con Dos Fogones. Located in the charming and galdós-esque district of Conde Duque, it offers a menu based on Mediterranean food from Monday to Friday for just 10 euros, a menu that mixes tradition, avant-garde and fusion with an elegant and informal presentation. The dishes, for which they use seasonal ingredients only, change every day in cycles of about two months.

Paul Oilzum

The four aforementioned restaurants are places with a special charm of their own that offer good food from different traditions at a very reasonable price. You might want to visit them when you rent apartments in Madrid

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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