Essential Food & Drink Experiences You Can’t Miss in Madrid, Spain

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Essential Foodie Experiences in Madrid

These are some essential foodie experiences you can’t miss in Madrid that I’ve experienced so far. I am definitely going to have to get back to Madrid to cover more ground, but I think I’ve got a solid foundation built!

Take a Food Tour

If you only have time to do one foodie thing in Madrid, I highly recommend taking a food tour with Devour Tours. It was the highlight of our time in Madrid! Not only do you get to try interesting foods (some that you might not even think to eat), you get to meet other foodie travelers and get a mini tour around Madrid.

Some amazing things we got to eat and drink (some of which I’ll mention in this guide as their own separate foodie experiences) include vermouth, fried bacalao, chorizo-stuffed mushrooms, croquettas, and the most delicious gambas al ajillo!

Visit Mercado de San Miguel

Madrid is full of food markets, but Mercado de San Miguel is one of the most popular – especially with visitors.

This market is very centrally located near many other Madrid sights, and for that reason, it’s typically pretty bustling with people and has higher prices. That being said, there are a ton of great food stalls to try out different Spanish foods and drinks!

Grab a vermouth or a beer and wander around the market trying out tapas and snacks from other vendors like patatas bravas, pintxos, olives, cheese, seafood dishes and more.

My recommendation: come here for lunch while you’re exploring nearby sights like Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace! It’s the perfect spot for a food and drink break to fuel you for continued sightseeing.

Eat Mushrooms at Mesón del Champiñón

The chorizo-stuffed mushrooms at Mesón del Champiñón in Central Madrid are most definitely worth a stop on a Madrid tapas crawl. This was actually one of the stops on our Devour Tours food tour and I was blown away!

As someone who has traditionally not been a big mushroom fan, these little babies were incredible – salty, savory, and perfectly cooked. You can watch the chefs line up dozens of these at a time while they sizzle in oil and get stuffed with bite-sized pieces of chorizo.

And the trick to eating these here: two toothpicks! Use them to scoop the mushrooms into your mouth so that you don’t spill any of the juices and oil.

While you’re here, I also recommend a plate of padron peppers and a glass of tinto de verano (wine with lemonade) to wash them all down.

Buy Cloistered Nun Cookies

The cookies from the nuns at Monastery of Corpus Christi aren’t exactly a huge secret these days. However, it is a bit of a fun adventure to procure said cookies and a really unique food-related experience to have in Madrid.

What are the nun cookies, you ask? Well, cloistered nuns (those are nuns who take a vow to live in seclusion) are baking up a variety of cookies behind the closed doors of a monastery in the middle of Madrid.

cookie procurement Tips:

• The nuns only speak Spanish, so you’ll need to learn a few words for ordering. I was a little nervous myself, not being a Spanish-speaker, but I got through it. I do include a few tips below on some key words to focus on.
• Cookies are cash only!
• Look for the “Nun shop” marker on Google Maps to find the door
• Hours are posted on the door of the monastery. When I went in 2025, they were 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

How to get the nun cookies:

• Visit the Monastery of Corpus Christi in central Madrid (not far from the Mercado de San Miguel)
• Locate the button for purchasing cookies marked “dulces” and wait for a nun to answer

• Ask “tienes dulces?” when they answer and they’ll unlock the door for you. This signals you’re there to buy cookies.
• Once inside, it’s an easy walk down a corridor until you come to a little wooden window with a turntable and posted cookie menu

• Order your cookies with the nuns (you’ll be speaking through the turntable window while they remain unseen), i.e. “media galletas por favor” (that’s me asking for a half portion of the lemon cookies in what is probably terrible Spanish).
• You’ll need to choose between 1 kg or 1/2 kg – the half portion was more than enough to last us a couple of days!

• Place your money on the turntable and turn it so they can receive the money
• They’ll then return your change (if needed) and a box (or boxes) of your desired cookies will come out

We only got the lemon cookies to try and they were pretty good, although a little dry. They definitely need to be eaten with a beverage (tea or coffee), or if you’re like us, the lemon actually paired nicely with a glass of scotch.

I highly recommend doing this in Madrid as it offers a bit of a challenge and you’ll be rewarded with cookies!

Have Churros con Chocolate for Breakfast

Churros and chocolate for breakfast? Absolutely! Churros con chocolate is a very popular item to have for breakfast in Madrid and there are churrerias scattered across the city serving up these fried delights with thick hot chocolate.

The most famous churreria in Madrid, Chocolateria San Gines, is located in the city center and has been serving up churros since 1894! The standard order here: six fried churros with a cup of thick, rich hot chocolate.

The churros in Spain are different than those in North America, which are typically coated in cinnamon and sugar. In Spain, churros are served plain, fresh from the fryer – meaning they aren’t sweet. All the sweetness comes from the hot chocolate instead. Some spots will, however, give you a pack of sugar if you do want to sweeten things up.

We got the standard order of churros with chocolate and I made sure to dip every bite into that chocolately goodness. The chocolate at San Gines was so good, I drank the rest of it straight from the cup after we finished up our churros. I daresay I liked this chocolate better than the hot chocolate we had from Angelina in Paris!

You can, of course, have churros con chocolate at any time of day (not just for breakfast). And if chocolate isn’t your thing, switch it out for a cup of coffee instead!

Drink Sangria in El Retiro Park

El Retiro Park is a beautiful, enormous park in Madrid that’s worthy of being on any Madrid itinerary. Plan for several hours here of wandering, peacock spotting (yes, peacocks!), strolling around the Estanque Grande del Retiro pond, and admiring statue art.

If you’re visiting in warmer months, I recommend heading to The Gallery at Florida Park, which is located right in El Retiro Park Park, for some sangria.

They offer several different pitcher options to choose from (or you can order by the glass if you don’t want to share). Sangria is very light and not super strong in alcohol, which is perfect for warm days.

We chose the Sangria Blanca and it was so refreshing! They also gave us a bowl of pickled onions and olives that paired well with the sangria. It was such an ideal spot for a break before we continued our walk in the park.

Try Patatas Bravas

Patatas bravas are a must-try when visiting Madrid, especially since this dish is believed to have originated in the capital city!

This is a relatively simple tapas dish made up of crispy potatoes topped with a tomato and paprika sauce that can be different levels of spice (sometimes mixed with ingredients like alioli to make it creamy). There are a lot of different variations and while I don’t know where the best in the city is, you should try them at least once!

Patatas bravas are also very filling (because potatoes), which makes them the perfect companion to bar hopping to help soak up all the beer and wine you might be consuming.

We had patatas bravas at the Mercado de San Miguel at one of the stands called Arzabal and they were pretty good. Their bravas sauce was of the creamy variety (I’m guessing mixed with alioli), which made the bravas taste very rich. I’d love to try a more simple version of this, like from Casa Toni or Bar La Campana.

Eat a Calamari Bocadillo in Plaza Mayor

Speaking of La Campana, a very traditional quick meal to have in Madrid is a calamari bocadillo and there’s no better place to get one than from La Campana!

This meal is very simple – fried calamari is stuffed into a crusty bread roll. Honest thoughts: the calamari is delicious, but stuffing into a roll makes this eat very dry. Make sure you ask for either lemon or a mayo packet (if that’s your thing). My husband thought about asking for a side of bravas sauce next time!

There are two lines at La Campana – one for takeaway and one to sit and eat in the restaurant. If the line for dining in is long, I recommend getting your bocadillo to go and sitting in Plaza Mayor to people watch while scarfing down your sandwich.

Drink Mahou Cinco de Estrellas

Mahou is the beer of Madrid, which has been brewing in the city since 1890! At 5.5% ABV, the Cinco de Estrellas is a lighter golden beer which pairs well with tapas. You can have a few without feeling overly tipsy when you’re out on a bar crawl.

Tapas Bar Hop

Madrid is full of endless restaurants and bars perfect for tapas crawls. Much like you do in San Sebastian in Basque Country, pick a dish or two at each spot to have with a cana (small beer) or glass of wine. Some tapas bars even include a free tapa with purchase of a drink!

Calle de la Cava Baja is a great street for tapas bar hopping as the whole street is lined with bars and restaurants. Or, you could visit one of the many markets and do a tapas crawl in between different stands.

Some iconic dishes to try in Madrid: patatas bravas, gambas al ajillo, tortilla espanola, padron peppers, jamon iberico, and bacalao.

Visit Less Popular Markets

Mercado de San Miguel might be the most popular market for visitors, but Madrid has a bunch of other markets scattered throughout the city! At these markets, you can expect fewer crowds and better prices.

We visited Mercado de la Paz and had the bar at Perillan (sadly, now closed) all to ourselves. We chowed down on octopus with mashed potatoes, crispy artichokes, and a special interpretation of my beloved Gildas from Basque Country. Mercado de la Paz is also home to Casa Dani, which is famed for their tortilla de patatas/tortilla espanola!

Other Madrid food markets on my list to visit are Mercado de Vallehermoso – a vintage market, and Mercado de San Ildefonso, which features many restaurants with a more international flare.

Sip on Vermouth

Vermouth (or vermut) is the quintessential pre-meal aperitif, especially popular in Madrid. It’s a fortified wine that you can drink straight, over ice, or mixed in with cocktails.

Where we had it: at Mercado de San Miguel with tapas, and at Casa Labra paired with manchego cheese and fried bacalao. On my wish list is Taberna La Concha, which is supposed to have one of the best vermouth cocktails in all of Madrid!

Try Gambas Al Ajillo

Two things I love to pair together – garlic and shrimp! And when in Madrid, the best place to get some garlic shrimp is at La Casa del Abuelo (which has multiple locations in Madrid). Their shrimp are sizzled in lots of garlic and oil and they are absolutely delicious.

Along with the gambas, I recommend a plate of fresh-sliced tomatoes, croquettas, and their house-made wine. This was yet again another stop on our Devour Tours food tour, but I would have prioritized a stop here for the shrimp even outside of the tour.

Eat Fried Bacalao at Casa Labra

This is one spot in Madrid you can’t miss if you love bacalao, or fried fish in general! Bacalao is cod that is dried and salted for preservation, and then rehydrated when used for cooking.

At Casa Labra, the bacalao is battered and fried in fritter form. It’s hot and crispy with the perfect touch of saltiness. These were undoubtedly the best thing we ate in Madrid. I might even say the bacalao here rivals any fish and chips we had in London and Ireland! Kicking ourselves for not going back to Casa Labra for a second helping.

Thank you to Devour Tours for including this stop on our tour!

Would you add anything to this list of essential food and drink experiences to have in Madrid?