Want to taste top-notch tapas? This is the Spanish city to visit

The competition among the bars and restaurants here is fierce; they want regulars, so they treat their patrons well," says tour guide Alberto. "Tonight you'll be eating and drinking surrounded by locals - and they know their tapas."

Sounds good to me, and I see Alberto's point. By gathering in the upscale district of Chamberi (once an encampment for Napoleon's armies), we've managed to avoid Madrid's busy tourist zone in favour of a local neighbourhood where it'd be counter-productive to water down the sangria or serve low-quality ham. Therefore, on this Madrid Tapas Crawl - more of a leisurely stroll - we'll be getting the best.

We'll also be taking part in one of the great rituals of the Spanish capital, according to our guide: sampling a range of classic tapas over the course of the evening.

"We Madrilenos go out for tapas once or twice a week," Alberto says. "Ordering food to share, such as pork belly or manchego cheese. And a glass of vermouth as an aperitif."

An early stop on the tour is Ponzano, a restaurant which has seen 50 years and three generations of owners. It's renowned for its wine selection, says our guide, so I order a glass of a local drop made from verdelho grapes. The tapas we sample here are croquettes, comprising flour, butter, milk and ham (we're learning that pork of some sort is near-omnipresent in Spanish dishes). These are deep-fried just before eating to keep them crisp, and they are a delicious accompaniment to the wine. They also have a distinctly cheesy taste, though there's no cheese within them.

"We're now going back in time by 70 years," says Alberto as we gently amble to Los Arcos de Ponzano (none of these places is very far apart). This is a place to drink Mahou beer, a popular local brand, and we accompany the brew with calamari served with aioli. There's also deep-fried chorizo, served on bread with a mild green chilli - all held together by a toothpick.

Our final stop is even more venerable, having opened in 1916. Alipio Ramos started life as a wine shop, and still has a huge cellar to keep its bottles cool.

At this tavern we have a spread laid out for us: tortilla de patatas, roasted ham served with paprika on bread, olives marinated in oil and spices, and sangria which takes its flavour entirely from fruit rather than added sugar.

It's an excellent way of ending our culinary adventure - sitting around the table with my fellow tour members from Australia, the USA and India, discussing our respective food cultures while thoroughly enjoying the delicious tapas of Spain.

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What: Madrid Tapas Crawl Tour is three hours long and begins at 6.30pm from Sunday to Thursday, and at 6pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Morning food tours and sweet tours of Madrid are also available.

How much: 69 euros ($114)

Explore more: foodlovertour.com

The writer travelled courtesy of Eurail, Airbnb, and Turespana.