San Miguel Market, Madrid night view
Mercado de San Miguel
I went to San Miguel Market for dinner. It’s within a 10-minute walk from my accommodation, so I took a stroll through the neighborhood on the way. As the sun set, others also came out for dinner, and the atmosphere began to liven up.
The exterior of San Miguel Market was under renovation, so it was a bit inconvenient to navigate around. However, I was fortunate to enter inside as they mentioned the interior access might have been restricted during the renovations. It was disappointing not to see the building’s full exterior as it was said to be quite impressive even before the restoration.
San Miguel Market operates from Sunday to Thursday: 10:00 AM to midnight (24:00), and on Fridays, Saturdays, and the eve of holidays: 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM (01:00). It’s not very large, so an hour or so should be sufficient for exploring and dining there.
Once inside, I found a variety of food stalls gathered together, bustling with people and hardly any room to maneuver. Each stall had its own unique interior and displayed different types of food, making it enjoyable to browse through one by one.
I thought it was a market where they sell fruits or meat, but it was more interesting because there were restaurants gathered there. Most of them were Spanish restaurants, and seeing unfamiliar foods made it visually enjoyable. It’s not exactly like a restaurant, more like food stalls or counters where you buy various foods because there are no seating areas inside the market.
Here are some popular eateries in San Miguel Market:
La Casa del Bacalao: Known for dishes using bacalao (salted cod), a staple of Spanish cuisine.
La Casa del Bacalao : In Spain, you often find places that sell jamón (ham) hanging.
Mas : They sell sausages and ham. Bastones de Fuet con Trufa (Truffle sausage sticks) / Bastones de Chorizo (Chorizo sticks): Stick-shaped snacks with flavors of sausage and chorizo. Longamiza: Various types of sausages such as olive-flavored, spicy, and more, available in different shapes.
El Señor Martín : A seafood restaurant that originated in San Miguel Market but has also opened an independent restaurant near Colon Station. It is also recognized in the Michelin Guide.
La Hora del Vermut : A place that sells vermouth and tapas, where you can also find various types of empanadas.
I chose the one that seemed most visible and appetizing among them. In the first restaurant I went to, there was a wide variety of dishes and it was crowded, so I waited to place my order. However, despite waiting patiently, they only took orders from people who arrived after me. Did they ignore me? So I confronted them, asking why they were taking orders from those who arrived later and not acknowledging my wait. Eventually, I went somewhere else to place my order.
Arzábal was where I placed my order. I noticed a lot of Pintxos in other restaurants, so I ordered some here too. Pintxo is a Spanish dish, especially popular in the Basque region, served with drinks. It consists of food placed on bread or pastry and held together with a thin, pointed wooden skewer.
I ordered Pintxo Sardine, Roasted Pepper, and ‘Piparra’, and another one with baked tomato, if I remember correctly. Both were bursting with flavors, combining different ingredients harmoniously in my mouth. They cost around 3.5 euros each.
Honestly, I know Spain is famous for its diverse and delicious cuisine, but I don’t know much about what kinds of food there are or how they’re made. Perhaps it would be a good idea to sign up for a food tour to learn about the food while making friends with other travelers. Tours vary, but they usually include complimentary wine tastings. Since many tourists come from other countries, most tours are conducted in English.
Madrid Night View
While exploring elsewhere, someone tapped my shoulder. Could it be someone who knows me in Spain? When I turned around, it was a gentleman who mentioned seeing me at a restaurant I visited last night. Surprisingly, we bumped into each other again here.
He started chatting, asking if I was Korean, mentioning he’s worked with Koreans a lot in his job. He then invited me to continue our conversation elsewhere over drinks, and I agreed out of curiosity and boredom.
He mentioned he’s in Madrid to accompany his daughter, who teaches English here before returning to the US. We discussed careers and exchanged LinkedIn profiles. He even offered to assist if I ever consider changing jobs.
What a serendipitous encounter!
And he offered to show me the night views of Plaza de España and Gran Vía since I missed them.
If you enjoy hearing guides explain things while traveling alone, you might consider signing up for a city night tour.
Night View of Grand Via
Night view of Puerte del Sol
Night view of Plaza de España
I explored Gran Via, Sol Square, and Plaza de España. He recommended that I visit El Corte Inglés Preciados behind Sol Square, describing it as a Spanish equivalent of a department store like Whole Foods. He left casually afterwards. It was an exciting night, looking forward to meeting new people at the next destination.
