Madrid Food Markets: San Miguel and San Antón

We like travelling. Getting to know new cities or visiting some we’ve already been to. This summer I got the chance to go back to Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Mainly known by its Museums, Madrid has so much more to offer. It’s a huge city with tiny streets plenty of bars and delicious restaurants, fascinating shops and captivating people.

Tapas, vino tinto, cerveza,… Spanish food is the other highlight of the city. During my days here, I could visit some of the food-markets: Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado de San Antón.

Mercado de San Miguel is located next to Plaza Mayor, one of the most touristic parts of the city. Because of that, the target is mainly that… tourists! As a results, the shops are mainly restaurants, which prices are quite high. Even though, you’ll easily see people from Madrid too, enjoying some of the food and drinks as tourists do. Because, yes, everything here is delicious! From the outside, it seems to be an old market, but it’s all renovated inside. It looks amazing. Maybe you want to eat some croquetas, after you’ve drank some red vermouth. And then you can order one of the different kinds of hamburgers of Hamburguesa Nostra, which are 100% mouthwatering.

You can find Mercado de San Antón in Chueca, the gay neighbourhood of the city. It’s only one year old, so its architecture and design looks very new. Fruits and juices, meat, seafood and fish, Spanish cheese and cold meat, cupcakes and sweets,… their offer in the first floor is quite large! You can make your week-shopping there. If you’re hungry, you can also eat something in any restaurant of the second and third floors.

Visiting both food-markets is worthy. It’s not only about eating something, but also getting to know the food culture of the city. That’s why I really recommend it to everyone who is going there. I hope it’s as good as it was for me.

Text and pictures by Silvia Conde.