Tag: mercado de san miguel

Madrid 2025 – last post

by ginnyinshanghai

Concluding our 2025 Spain trip was sad, but looking back over these photos – we had some great times, saw interesting sites and undoubtedly had awesome food experiences. Let’s wrap this up!

One of our stops was at Point Zero in Madrid, found in one of their most famous spaces – Puerta del Sol, in front of the Government of Madrid Community. The ‘point zero’ tradition comes from the Roman Empire, dating back to the time of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. Remember ‘All roads lead to Rome’. And I discovered it almost matches the authentic center of this country.

Let’s talk some food. One afternoon we stopped in this establishment for a ‘light snack’. Sangria went nicely with the cheese & bread they brought us.

Even something that ‘mundane’ just tasted better in Spain.

Naturally a meat platter, an egg tortilla and a salad were thrown in for good measure.

We made another visit to Mercado de San Miguel. Yes, it might be filled with tourists but it was definitely worth going back for one last visit. We wandered until we found a spot where 2 or maybe 3 can sit then one goes off to bring back food.

Most of the photos below are easily identifiable. The top left was octopus – delicious!

Eric had anxiously been awaiting his dining experience in Posada de Villa Madrid.

Back in the seventeenth century there was only one Flour Mill in Madrid, which became in 1642 the first Posada de la Corte, under the protection of the Arab walls, where food and lodging were given to all travelers who arrived in Madrid. It was in 1980 when it was rescued (from disrepair) after 2 years of meticulous restoration, by an individual from Madrid to ensure the tradition continued. We were there when it opened at 7pm for our reservation.

Bread and olives started our feast.

Then the reason Eric made these reservations………………….Quarter lamb roasted in a wood oven – shared by him and Adrienne.

I ordered chicken and truth be told, all three of us could have eaten off of the lamb that evening. Their kitchen offered a cuisine prepared with dishes belonging to Castilian and Madrid gastronomy.

There were some ‘sides’ that came with the meal, but totally not necessary. What we did need…….was dessert. ha!

After eating, these Floratine cookies were brought with the check – like we needed more food. BTW – no crumb was left.

I have one more eating experience to share – cava street crawl. Although looking back at our photos, I don’t think we drank any cava. Ha!

This was our first stop. Pitchers of sangria were already made. They added some juice and ice and they were ready to serve.

This next place was s.u.p.e.r crowded. We squeezed into a spot along the bar. Really, we ‘made’ a spot for us to stand.

This third stop had an interesting twist. The hostess led us down some stairs so I assumed we would have horrible service. Not so much. Why was that? In one of the photos below – a doorbell when you needed something or someone.

It quit raining and it started getting thick. Both with people and with cars. There were people living above all the restaurants streetside. Yikes!

Last stop – we were getting full.

One last look of Cava Street before we left to crash at our rental. The colorful umbrellas drew your attention.

You may have noticed Eric was sporting a new look. Eric felt a new wool hat was needed. Once he saw the bronze plaque indicating a 100+ years existence in front of this store – he was sold, a blue wool hat was purchased.

Our last night we were able to see one of their iconic emblems fully lit. Read one of my earlier posts for why this advertisement continues to exist. 🙂

We enjoyed Spain – central and northern Spain. Food was great and expenses were not totally outrageous and our AirBNBs were well situated. We hope to be back and explore the southern parts of Spain.

Adios!

Ginny

Madrid 2025 – post 5

by ginnyinshanghai

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.

Ginny