Don’t feel like tasting Spanish classics in a neighbourhood dive bar? Want something more original than tapas and paella? Enter Madrid’s gourmet temple, the Mercado de San Miguel, a stone’s throw from the central Plaza Mayor.
This traditional indoor market, founded in 1916, has undergone a lengthy renovation that, while preserving its original charm, has transformed it into an ultra-modern market for gourmet products.
Since 2009, it has been the reference point in Madrid for those who want to buy first-class food products. With more than 70 stalls offering Spanish and international culinary delicacies, it is also a must-see for tourists with a passion for good food, for those looking for something fancy or original and for those who want to grab a bite to eat in a livelier environment than the classic restaurant.
It is also worth seeing for the very elegant building inside which it is housed, one of the few examples of iron architecture in Madrid, so interesting that it has been declared an Asset of National Cultural Interest in the category of monuments. It can truly be said that the Mercado de San Miguel is a monument to good eating!
The Mercado de San Miguel is mainly a food market where you can buy both prepared foods and fresh ingredients, some of which are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere. There is a bookshop specialising in cookery books that also sells souvenirs and fresh spices and a couple of other shops where you can buy flowers, cosmetics, tickets for tours and flamenco shows.
Your mouth will certainly water as you stroll among the butcher shops, delicatessens, cafés, pastry shops, chocolate shops, breweries and other food shops in the market. Here are a few suggestions to get you going.
The Mercado de San Miguel is the right place to enjoy the most classic element of Spanish gastronomy at its best. We are talking about tapas, of course, here prepared with the finest ingredients.
A simple sandwich or sliced meats becomes a refined takeaway from Charrasco Guijuelo, the recommended shop for those who want to taste an excellent Iberian jamon. You can choose between the sandwich or the cute walking cones of sliced meats.
If fried food doesn’t frighten you, try the croquettes at Carro de Croquetas, which in addition to the classic cheese, chicken or ham croquettes also offers variations with spinach, chorizo, prawns and, for the more discerning palate, porcini mushrooms.
Not only cold meats and meatballs: at the Mercado de San Miguel you can also enjoy seafood delicacies, from the typical tapas based on gambas a la plancha, langostinos de Huelva and boquerones (grilled prawns, Huelva prawns and anchovies in oil), to cod, seafood, fried fish and octopus Galician style. For refined palates, there is no shortage of delicacies such as oysters and caviar.
If you have a particular passion for crab, head to Crabcrab, while the recommended shop if you want to try creative seafood cuisine is Carro de El señor Martín. Another very special delicacy is gulas, a kind of baby eel to try at Alevin Cocina Creativa.
Even cheese can be creatively reinvented: at MozHeart you can eat original tapas made with burrata, ricotta or mozzarella.
If you arrive here at aperitif time, the best place is the Hora del vermouth, where you can accompany an excellent drink with original olive skewers and loose olives of all kinds.
A classic cerveza or a glass of Spanish wine are perfect to accompany tapas and other typical dishes, but even when it comes to drinking the Mercado de San Miguel does not stop at tradition. In fact, you can opt for something more chic and sip sophisticated cocktails made with fine liqueurs.
The Mercado de San Miguel is located in the square of the same name in the historical heart of Madrid and can be reached by leaving the west side of Plaza Mayor.
If you want to get there by metro, you can take the L1, L2, L3, and L5 lines.
The Mercado de San Miguel is very centrally located, so there are plenty of places to sleep around it. Choose Plaza de San Miguel or the nearby Plaza Mayor only if you don’t mind the night noise, otherwise move a few hundred metres, or look for accommodation in one of the quieter side streets. In any case, tranquillity is not guaranteed!
The famous Mercado de San Miguel is located in the square of the same name in the centre of Madrid, a stone's throw from Calle Mayor and Plaza Mayor. It can be easily reached on foot from practically any part of the city centre.
City Card allow you to save on public transport and / or on the entrances to the main tourist attractions.
Hotel 
Budget accommodations 
Apartments 
Family Hotel 
Luxury Hotel 
Resorts