Believe it or not I am usually well prepared when visiting new places. Weeks before the departure I search the Internet for sights to see, things to do and places to be. I know how the public transport works, what tickets to buy and where to get them as well as how to get from point A to point B. Well, this time our trip to Madrid was slightly different. Or let’s say a lot different from my usually well-organized trips.
I have no one to blame but myself but I will not do that. I want to blame the lack of time to do my research and the overall tiredness from our Christmas/New Year’s Trip. I have to admit that I had left it to the last minute and then I simply said to myself – well, I am sure we can figure out things once we get to Madrid. And guess what? Yes, we did figure out some of them, but they cost us a lot of time.
How we found the market:
Without a proper plan we just roamed the streets of this city, accidentally “bumping” into beautiful buildings and enjoying the atmosphere.
Towards the end of the day we ended up in front of this quite large building made of metal and glass. It was packed with people but you still could see various stalls with yummy foods. So we entered this place – Mercado de San Miguel and I knew right away that this was my kind of thing.
Mercado de San Miguel is an indoor market built in 1916. It is located in the heart of Madrid’s old quarter, on Plaza de San Miguel and is within a walking distance from Plaza Mayor. It is open from 10am to midnight (Sunday – Wednesday) and from 10am to 2am (Thursday – Saturday).
This market is like tapas heaven! Tapas after tapas! Deliciousness after deliciousness! I couldn’t take my eyes of any of them. Those tapas were so mesmerizing I even forgot to take pictures! I mean, I have some, but thought we would come back to get better ones but unfortunately we couldn’t manage.
It is a great place to sit and relax with family or friends with a glass of sangria (or wine, or beer or champagne) and some great tapas. For any food lover this is a must see place when visiting Madrid!
For me it has been the best gastronomical experience so far! Fish, paella, meats, sausages, seafood, olives, jamón, croquettes are only a few of the goodies we had seen there.
Mozheart was without a doubt my most favorite stall from the whole market! Mozzarella and burrata tapas looked amazing and it was hard to resist them! They were quite expensive at €3.50 each but I recommend you to try them when you visit this place!
Another stall – La casa de bacalao sells the finest Norwegian smoked salmon, Danish pickled herring, Galician preserves or Santoña anchovies and also make tapas with these as well as cod foie gras tapas or Galician style octopus tapas. A company called Alevín creative cuisine sells gourmet products made with elvers. If you haven’t tried elvers then you might give them a chance!
It truly was an amazing experience and we will definitely be back to taste the rest of the tapas we’ve left behind!
The Market | Mercado de San Miguel:
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