EmiEats in Madrid

Hello!

Last week I travelled to Madrid for the first time - it's a truly fabulous city, especially if you love food! After much research, my friends and I visited some of the most popular food places around to find the best traditional spanish food at an affordable price! We scoured the internet, sought advice from locals and read all the Madrid books and blogs to find our favourite recommended places to go!

Mercado de San Miguel

This is an amazing food market that's ideal for a lunch stop or snack and buying some quality food. It provides an array of tapas, fresh fish and meats, cheese, wine and fresh juices if you're more tee-total. We decided to stop off here for lunch on the 1st day before heading to the Reina Sofia art gallery - which is perfect if you love contemporary art, it's collection tends to be much more modern than the Prado.

This market is more modern and upmarket your standard food market. To keep you cool in the summer heat they have light sprays of water showering over all who pass through; this is quite common in restaurants and terrace areas of restaurants. Here's a shot of what we bought and shared between 3 of us - each of us spent around 10 euros each - I always find tapas is surprisingly filling and you're never that hungry in 37 degrees heat! We bought a selection of olive skewers that were topped with octopus and iberico ham; a box of mini salami, mozarella skewers and potato wrapped prawns.

El Escarpin

This restaurant was recommended to us by a Spanish family specifically for Paella and local cider! It's tucked away on a side road not far from one of the main squares - Sol. The Spanish love to share their food and Paella is no different! It's always cooked and served in large dishes normally for 2 or more. Paella is originally from Valencia so in other regions and cities like Madrid they sometimes only refer to it as Arroz, which translates to just "rice". As always it's served with a healthy mix of seafood, normally mussels and prawns. We ordered one seafood or "marisco" paella and one with added chicken. Each paella was around 10-15 euros, so is extremely affordable when splitting the price with friends!

El Escarpin is also a Sidréria - meaning it's popular for it's selection of bottled and draught ciders. They serve a local cider by the glass that has a truly fresh and fruity flavour that's definitely worth a try.

Chocolateria San Gines

This place is recommended on all the websites, blogs and books - it's a major foodie hotspot! Churros are hugely popular in Madrid and San Gines are meant to be the best in the Capital! In the photo you can see a double portion of Churros served with a two cups of heavenly chocolate sauce. Churros are a must in Madrid!

Bravas

Bravas is a small chain of eateries, most famous for their "Patatas Bravas", which is one of the most popular tapas dishes around. Patatas Bravas are cubes of potatoes coated in a delicately spiced tomato sauce. Patatas bravas can be found in pretty much every restaurant in Madrid but we had to try the most famous ones around and they were definitely worth it!

Lateral (and Plaza de Santa Ana)

Lateral is a modern tapas restaurant located in Plaza de Santa Ana which is famous for it's string of excellent tapas restaurants, (we also visited Tartufo). As well as excellent Sangria and Vinto, they have a great selection of cocktails - in the photo there is a passion mojito, spiced mango daquiri and a forest fruits mojito! The menu provides a perfect combination of Tapas classics, like croquettes and pinchos, as well as some more modern fusion tapas, like Tuna Tataki and Sirloin Nigiri which put a Japanese twist on the traditional Spanish concept. If you'd like to mix it up, Lateral and the Plaza de Santa Ana are definitely worth a visit.

Café y Té // Café y Tapas

So Café y Té/Tapas is a hugely popular chain of eateries, almost like healthy fast food, meaning it's super affordable and ideal for lunch with friends or family. They serve a selection of fresh juices and smoothies as well as their own iced teas, along with typical soft drinks. Food wise they don't serve just tapas, but also a selection of amazing salads, home baked pizzas and other popular cooked dishes from around the world. The best way to try Tapas at these cafes is to have either the selection of pinchos, coming in sets of 3s or 5s, or to try one of the trios of tapas which are based on what's most popular in various famous cities - I tried the Madrid themed trio, which was made up of Russian Salad, Patatas Bravas and Calamari.

I didn't know what to expect from Madrid, but it was so much better than I ever expected! It has the perfect balance of exciting city along with relaxed vibes. There are plenty of sights to see, but also plenty of bars and restaurants to chill and eat in. So there is definitely something for everyone when it comes to Madrid. If you ever plan on going really do your research to make the most for your money!

Adios Madrid for now!

Emi Eats