Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with food in Spain. Even during the 70s we quickly came to the conclusion that good Spanish food in Madrid was hard to find. Because my husband was a postgrad student at that time we had very limited spending money so stayed in a campsite on the edge of town. We decided after a couple of bad experiences to buy fresh food from the fresh food market and make our own dinners back at the tent. The local ham was fabulous and so were the fresh salad things. Garlic was so cheap and plentiful people bought it in kilos. When I asked for just one head they gave it to me without charge, surprised that was all I wanted. Later when I was there in the 90s to attend a conference, other members of my delegation discovered Madrid hamburgers. When I was able to escape from the conference for half a day one of the staff from our embassy recommended I try the hamburgers in the cafe at the Hotel Ritz (think this was the one) as they would be very good and the hotel was very close to the main art galleries I wanted to revisit. They were all right, it was the best hamburger I’ve ever had in my life. Really high grade quality Spanish beef and fabulously fresh salad. It wasn’t even on the menu of the cafe but when I told the waiter I’d heard Madrid hamburgers were the best and was disappointed that I couldn’t order one there, he said they would make one specially. Don’t normally love hamburgers but this was to die for. One evening another embassy staffer took me to pre-dinner drinks at a couple of bars that he knew and the tapas and seafood were really good. But on my own I’d never have found these places. Another evening as part of the conference hospitality all delegates were invited to the zarzuela theatre where they afterwards fed us finger foods that were absolutely fabulous, including wonderful prawns and other seafood. We managed to capture a lovely waiter who kept coming back to us with amazing foods.
Fraussie
March 12th, 2012 at 8:48 am
Yes, I suspected you had to be in the know! I was sure there must be good food somewhere. Thanks for sharing.
[…] been exercising as much lately (I haven’t been swimming for a while) and maybe the trip to Madrid didn’t help […]
Black Cat
April 23rd, 2012 at 9:44 pm
I have just come back from a hen’s party in Madrid and it turns out that San Miguel market actually has a whole restaurant with a sun terrace on the second floor for which you can book. It serves full meals and you can even do your shopping in the market downstairs and they will cook the food for you! We paid 16 euros a piece for main course and glass of wine. It was Saturday lunchtime and there was a live band and a beautiful couple dancing flamenco. Great experience!
Fraussie
April 23rd, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Well, there you go! I tried three times and did not realise there was a restaurant upstairs!
[…] are another speciality of Spain. We loved them in Madrid but found that even in the most popular churro place in Granada (Futbol Café), they were salty and […]
Dear Fraussie
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with food in Spain. Even during the 70s we quickly came to the conclusion that good Spanish food in Madrid was hard to find. Because my husband was a postgrad student at that time we had very limited spending money so stayed in a campsite on the edge of town. We decided after a couple of bad experiences to buy fresh food from the fresh food market and make our own dinners back at the tent. The local ham was fabulous and so were the fresh salad things. Garlic was so cheap and plentiful people bought it in kilos. When I asked for just one head they gave it to me without charge, surprised that was all I wanted. Later when I was there in the 90s to attend a conference, other members of my delegation discovered Madrid hamburgers. When I was able to escape from the conference for half a day one of the staff from our embassy recommended I try the hamburgers in the cafe at the Hotel Ritz (think this was the one) as they would be very good and the hotel was very close to the main art galleries I wanted to revisit. They were all right, it was the best hamburger I’ve ever had in my life. Really high grade quality Spanish beef and fabulously fresh salad. It wasn’t even on the menu of the cafe but when I told the waiter I’d heard Madrid hamburgers were the best and was disappointed that I couldn’t order one there, he said they would make one specially. Don’t normally love hamburgers but this was to die for. One evening another embassy staffer took me to pre-dinner drinks at a couple of bars that he knew and the tapas and seafood were really good. But on my own I’d never have found these places. Another evening as part of the conference hospitality all delegates were invited to the zarzuela theatre where they afterwards fed us finger foods that were absolutely fabulous, including wonderful prawns and other seafood. We managed to capture a lovely waiter who kept coming back to us with amazing foods.
Yes, I suspected you had to be in the know! I was sure there must be good food somewhere. Thanks for sharing.
That’s a lot of churros!
Amazing isn’t it? And all for 7.40 euros (including the chocolate). We didn’t like to leave any …
[…] been exercising as much lately (I haven’t been swimming for a while) and maybe the trip to Madrid didn’t help […]
I have just come back from a hen’s party in Madrid and it turns out that San Miguel market actually has a whole restaurant with a sun terrace on the second floor for which you can book. It serves full meals and you can even do your shopping in the market downstairs and they will cook the food for you! We paid 16 euros a piece for main course and glass of wine. It was Saturday lunchtime and there was a live band and a beautiful couple dancing flamenco. Great experience!
Well, there you go! I tried three times and did not realise there was a restaurant upstairs!
[…] are another speciality of Spain. We loved them in Madrid but found that even in the most popular churro place in Granada (Futbol Café), they were salty and […]