Mercado San Miguel, Community of Madrid, Spain

5Mairwen1 5:00 PM Nov 18, 2020

Upmarket Market where you can Sample Traditional Foods
Having just been to the local food markets in Barcelona, this was different to what I expected. It's not the place to go to buy your local veg or groceries. Instead, it is a collection of upmarket stalls selling gourmet hams, olives, oysters and seafood and traditional pintxos, tapas, tortillas and paellas. I particularly liked the banderillas (small skewers of olives, anchovies and peppers) and the croquettes. We went in the morning but if I was planning it again, I’d do two things differently. I would go in the early evening instead for a drink and snacks before dinner. I would also have headed here before visiting Retiro Parque to pick up some picnic supplies to eat beside the lake. I can see that some reviews have said that it is over-priced and something of a tourist trap. Whilst you can probably hunt around and find food more cheaply elsewhere, I would still recommend going here. For one thing, it’s all very colourful and enormously appealing. The food is high quality and fresh and is gathered together under the one roof so you can easily sample a range of things. Wine/beer kiosks allow you to sit and have a drink at the same time. It’s an attractive space, set under-cover in a large wrought iron and glass structure that was once one of Madrid’s original food market, built in 1916. GETTING THERE: It is easy to visit this market from Plaza Mayor. It is only a minute or two walk around the corner.

4MSV 5:00 PM Jun 10, 2022

Variety of Spanish cuisine
This market was unexpectedly modern and well maintained. Fully fitted with air conditioning, convenient ledges around the stalls made it easy for us to sample various foods such as empanadas, tortillas, papayas bravas in one place. The prices are more expensive than if you went to a cafe or restaurant, but we found that it was extremely convenient to try different aspects of Spanish cuisine in one location.