Mercado = Markets
When we were at Barcelona several years ago, we stopped at markets that not only had produce for purchase but also places to eat inside the market. We loved that! If possible, we definitely stop at those places for eating. One of the best reasons the three of us enjoy these………we can each order the type of food we desire and are not limited to one restaurant’s menu.
We’ve already hit one such market in Madrid, but we have found several more. Let’s start with Mercado San Ildefonso.
They are billed as the first street food market in Spain inspired by the street food markets of London, Singapore and New York. Opening in 2014 it’s near where the traditional food market was located until 1970 when that was demolished
It offers 18 stalls and three drink bars on three floors devoted to different gourmet products. There are no boxes of vegetables, no fresh fish or meat to take home but an establishment to take a break during a shopping day or meet friends after work.
Enough talk, let’s see the food. I ordered the chicken skewers and fries.
Eric ordered a few things to share:
We enjoyed our meal, but so far, the first market we visited on Day 1 beats this.
We were splitting our vacation between three cities in Spain and before taking off to northern Spain, we wanted to stop at Mercado de san Miguel. We had been told that this was mainly a tourist market that locals no longer visit. Well, we’re tourists. Let’s go!
This market is a monument to Spanish cuisine located in the heart of Madrid. They welcome more than 7 million visitors each year. 100+ years have passed since this was inaugurated as a food market. This historic building allows visitors to take a tour of the flavors from each of the corners of Spain.
You know what? It was full of tourists – but we enjoyed it. 🙂 It had a ‘vibe’ going and after finding seats……it was a fun experience. People were continually moving around so after finding a table spot for the three of us – we were set.
Mostly I sat at our spot, trying to keep our stools, but upon occasion, I left them and did some exploring on my own inside the market.
Let me show you some of the vendors I came across. Perfect little sausages to pop in your mouth with their own holder.
Always enjoy a good fish display.
Several different types of paella.
First time seeing octopus on skewers.
There were a few stalls that had oysters, all from France.
Having the little figures in front of their cheese displays made it much easier to decipher the beginning ingredient of their displayed cheese.
There was at least one vendor that had sweets after you finished your savory choices. A great way to top off your meal – just saying.
But what did we eat? Let’s see………………
Oysters from two different vendors.
Octopus, very tasty and not chewy at all.
One of the last dishes was the paella with the squid ink. It turned your tongue black.
But we ultimately finished with Ibersian ham (of course) with nuts and crackers.
Yes, we can say the place was full of tourists but I would still recommend anyone visiting Madrid to stop by and pick up some goodies. We would definitely stop by again.
Darden Travels 