Tapas Tour | Mercado de San Miguel

We arrived one by one at the meeting point, Puerta del Sol.  Four friends and I. The night was young. The plan was simple.  Head to dinner at one of the hundreds of fabulous restaurants in the La Latina neighborhood on Calle Cava Baja.  In need of spirits, one of our own suggests that we stop for a pre-dinner drink at this cool market along the way.  Three hours later, we were still there.

Immediately upon entering Mercado de San Miguel, we order a bottle of Rioja wine from a vendor.  After the customary toast, we began to browse the market. Somehow, calling it a market seems grossly inadequate.

It was packed.  I mean, really packed!  My first thought was "I can't believe I've been in Madrid for six days and this is my first time here."

And no wonder.  Everywhere you turned there were fresh, unbelievably mouthwatering tapas.  Many of which were only one euro.  I made a beeline for the smoked salmon. Initially, I was a bit apprehensive.  Coming from the states, often times inexpensive equals low quality.  So was not the case at Mercado de San Miguel.

Stuffed with the freshest of lox, we came upon a stand selling what I thought were desserts.  I quickly learned that it was actually burrata, a soft Italian cheese consisting of mozzarella and cream, giving it the appearance of whipped cream. The cheese lover in me danced after one spoonful of burrata.

Then, there were the olives.  Huge olives served in a million ways.  I still think about the olives to this day.

Just as we finished the bottle of Rioja, we come across a vendor serving sangrias. Up until this point, I hadn't encountered many restaurants or bars promoting what's considered to be the typical Spanish drink.  Having been in Spain for two weeks, this would be my first sangria in Madrid.  Time for toast number two.

Refusing to end the night without dessert, we trolled the market for churros y chocolate. What a warm, rich way to end the evening.  On three...ready, set, dip!

In case you were wondering, we never made it Calle Cava Baja that night.  And guess what?  We didn't regret it one bit!  If you plan on visiting Madrid, Mercado de San Miguel should be at the top of your to do list.  Be forewarned, this is only a small sampling of what you'll find.  There were numerous vendors serving artisan breads, cheeses, empanadas, paella, pizzas, and fresh seafood. Don't expect to be able get a taste of all the offerings in one visit.  The selection is so vast that you'll have to go back time and time again.  ¡Buen Provecho!