Live the Live ™

No trip to Madrid is complete without visiting a couple of food markets. The quality and selection of foods, ready-to-eat on location or packaged to go, is mind-boggling!

On our recent trip to Madrid, we sampled foods from two food markets: Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado San Anton.

Praised by many as the best market in the city, Mercado de San Miguel is near the tourist center of Madrid, by the Plaza Mayor, a plaza featuring open-air restaurants, outdoor concerts and loads of street performers looking to make a few bucks. The choice of foods at Mercado de San Miguel is incredible, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find an empty seat.

It’s worth the extra effort to elbow your way over to your own private corner of the market to enjoy everything from olives to oysters.

 

 

 

If you’re lucky enough to have a place to cook, you can take home some fantastic seafood…

 

…including swordfish and squid!

 

Though the Mercado de San Miguel clearly has it all, its large size and huge crowds can be a challenge to those not wanting to stand in long lines. The Mercado San Anton across town, meanwhile, is funky, smaller and a more manageable market.

 

Mercado San Anton has five floors. Three feature food shops and tapas bars. Grab a bite and a drink right there or take it with you.

And on the top floor: a great restaurant that you shouldn’t miss: La Cocina de San Anton. If for no other reason, you need to dine here to experience the magnificent plate of Iberico ham and other meats they offer, sliced to order. This is truly a situation where more is more.

 

We’d go back to the Mercado San Anton in a heartbeat. Located in the colorful Chueca neighborhood full of art galleries, it’s a place where you can easily spend hours and hours over lunch.

Madrid has many fine restaurants. But tapas are a great way for any self-respecting foodie to explore the markets for a real taste of this beautiful city.