Four fine restaurants, Madrid and Sevilla-one a must do

We just returned from Best of Spain. A great trip and when I can shake my jet lag I'll post a complete report. But, wanted to comment on four restaurants. In Madrid we discovered Lateral on Santa Ana plaza. This is near where we stopped for a coffe and rest break on the way to the Prada. Yes, it's part of a chain. We ate dinner indoors as the outdoor tables were all spoken for. An American couple next to us were there for the third time in a row. The food was very good except for the croquettes, which I found pasty (I'm not sure I see the charm in these things.) Only downside is the food comes quickly, but it is delicious. D'Fabula is in the RS book and well worth a visit. It's near the small Madrid mercado. Very easy to find and just a couple of blocks from Plaza Mayor. But the small plaza is another world. Quiet, kids playing soccer, families strolling. And the food is fabulous, as the name implies. We enjoyed it so much we returned the evening prior to our flight home. The paella was worth the extra 25 minutes it took. In Sevilla we enjoyed Labulla which is a short stroll from the tour hotel. Great tapas, terrific service. But, the culinary high point was Eslava. This is out of the tourist zone, about an 8 Euro cab ride. It's really two restaurants-a tapas bar which is completely mobbed by locals. Their restaurant next door is small, accepts reservations (book far in advance by email). They make a point of telling you they don't serve tapas there, but actually four tapas were featured and they were great. But the real treat was the main dishes, particularly the pork cheeks and the fish. It's a bit of a splurge, but we found food and wine in Spain to be very inexpensive. For the four of us with two bottles of wine and a cocktail- about 185 Euro. Go!!