The Munchies of Mercado de San Miguel

By Jared Teitel

Plates of shellfish, olives, thick slices of Iberian ham, clean cuts of Mozzarella, fresh produce, and a slew of chocolate-coated pastries and candies are only a fraction of the delicacies that line the display cases at a once medieval Catholic church.

Mercado de San Miguel (San Miguel Market) is the hotspot for hungry tourists breaking a sweat as they cross the steep cobblestone streets of Madrid. This taste of Spain is quite the refreshing reward after a long day’s journey exploring the modern art exhibitions, royal residences and old-century parks that rest upon the terrain of the capital city.

The exterior of Mercado de San Miguel since 2009, constructed with metal and glass while supported by iron pillars.

The Evolution

After a fire sweeping Plaza Mayor in the fall of 1790 meant the end of the Church of San Miguel de los Octoes, French statesman José I Bonaparte called for the construction of an outdoor seafood market that would serve as the food source for thousands of Madrilenians.

The crowded and unsanitary conditions the market posed soon came to the attention of journalists and public health officials, who proposed a reconstruction into a more enclosed setting where produce could be secluded from toxic air particles.

With the turn of the 19th century came the construction of what would become the Mercado de San Miguel. Spanish architect Alfonso Dubé y Diez led the project, erecting a marketplace with the wrought-iron-and-glass pieces that structured popular European markets at the time like Les Halles in Paris.

By 1916, a new and improved food district was open for business. Citizens and travelers alike could now rely on safe ingredients and produce no longer susceptible to contaminating family dinners.

But it wasn’t until the 20th century was sped up by commercialization that Mercado de San Miguel began to lose its footing in Madrid. As modernization saw the dramatic rise of supermarkets and brick-and-mortar businesses in the 1980s, Spaniards began putting their euros toward new products not available at the more traditional marketplaces such as San Miguel. As a result of this economic downturn, Mercado de San Miguel was expected to meet the same fate as its predecessor, the church.

However, with the help of private funding from investors and food experts was the market put back on its feet beginning in 2003. Named a monument of interest by the El Gastródomo de San Miguel society, Mercado de San Miguel was authorized for a complete remodel as architects installed sit-down tables and countertops that permitted shoppers the time to indulge in the dishes the market offered.

By 2009, Mercado de San Miguel reopened its doors as a one-stop-shop for decadent Spanish tapas and haute cuisine, becoming a premier gastronomic fair in the Madrid metropolitan.

The centermost pathway upon walking into the building. Visitors spectate the variety of bars and socialize at sit-down booths placed on granite and marble tiles.

Madreamiga

Upon opening those glass-paneled doors is a sea of sweet treats and savory eats now in the palm of your hand. With just a slight turn of the neck will you find a quant artisan bakery over to your left, offering a range of pies, palmiers and puff pastries topped with assorted fruit and creams.

Madreamiga, or Motherfriend, became an addition to Mercado de San Miguel following its nearly year-long shutdown in response to the onset of COVID-19. Madrilenian pastry chefs Begoña San Pedro and Hugo Rodríguez de Prada founded the stall as an extension of their bakery, La Miguiña.

After a year embittered by a global pandemic, Madreamiga has since offered citizens of the world a taste of something sweet with freshly prepared confections that define Spanish cuisine. Among the desserts at the mercy of every customer who stumbles upon the stand are yolk-infused, chocolate-dipped and nut-encrusted palmeras that offer a satisfying crunch with their flaky

exterior.

The display cases and countertops of Madreamiga present various flavors of tartas (cake), macaroons, croissants, cookies and elephant ears. A chocolate tempering machine rests behind the counter to prepare cups of hot chocolate for churros con chocolate.

Another standout item includes churros con chocolate (churros and chocolate), a staple of Madrilenian fare that involves indulging in a twisted stick fried to perfection, coated in cinnamon and sugar, and dipped into a steaming cup of melted chocolate. And Madreamiga is certainly not stingy on their chocolate, providing an almost endless stream of truffles, bonbons, dripped croissants, milhojas (“1000 leaves”) and cookies.

Mozheart Mozzarella Bar

Once satisfying your sweet tooth at Madreamiga, it becomes time to head right down over to a rather modest stand offering tapas – or what Spaniards call hors d’oeuvres – incorporated with varying forms of mozzarella cheese.

Served on thin slices of toast is creamy stracciatella, topped on thick bagel halves are knotted nodini and puffy burrata, and sandwiched in between small buns is balled bocconcini. At Mozheart Mozzarella Bar, expect to have no qualms about the diverse flavors a seemingly simple cheese can provide as they rest on beds of prosciutto or smoked salmon, sprinkled with bits of leafy arugula.

Whipped and creamed forms of mozzarella (e.g. burrata) are paired with pieces of ham, fish, bread or preservatives. The employee takes to his computer as visitors prepare to order.

The bar turns the traditional Italian cheese into a unique Spanish delicacy, blending the cheese with miscellaneous spices, meats, and starches that are sure to leave the tongue wanting more.

Carrasco Guijuelo / Carrasco Ibéricos / Mas Gourmets

Another standout stop you have to make in your visit to the San Miguel food market is Carrasco Guijuelo – the station for your fill of Spain’s trademark jamón ibérico, or Iberian ham. Otherwise known as Mas Gourmets or Carrasco Ibéricos, the butcher shop is a mom-and-pop business that raises its own pigs and boars native to the Iberian peninsula. This pork has been a staple of Spanish cuisine since the Romans brought the delicacy to the country from Germany.

At Carrasco Guijuelo can you observe the employees slice and cure the sweet-tasting meat firsthand. Upon doing so, the butchers then plate or package the thin slices now ready to be sold from the display cases.

The employee carefully slices jamón de bellota ibérico (acorn-fed Iberian ham) to later package or plate, using a stainless steel jamonero (jamón knife).

John, a Los Angeles native traveling across Spain for his honeymoon, enjoyed a plate of jamón ibérico paired with crispy picos (spikes), thin and elongated crackers invented in the country’s southern regions.

“It was 100 grams for 25 euros, which is most I ever paid for any sort of meat, and it is fantastic,” he said. “This is my first time having it straight shaved off like this.”

And Kat, his new bride enjoying an ice cream cone from Rocambolesc, can attest to the splendor walking into a traditional Madrid market for the first time offers as she meets the flavors of the city with surprise. Unlike the bistros, cafes and fine-dining restaurants that landscape the country, she knows a market like this presents a little taste of everything.

Ice cream toppings available at Roccambolesc, San Miguel dessert shop founded by 3 Michelin star pastry chef Jordi Roca.

“We usually make reservations for dinner and things like that,” she said. “But for Madrid and this market we’ve been a little more blind.”

Paella by Rodrigo de la Calle

You, of course, cannot leave Mercado de San Miguel without a sampling of one of Spain’s most celebrated dishes: paella. Served from a fairly wide pan, the rice dish possesses eastern origins in the city of Valencia.

Ultimately diffusing through the remainder of the country, paella has clearly had its influence on the coy market towns of Madrid. Indeed, Mercado de San Miguel has come to offer Michelin-star paella plates as they flaunt the recipe of Madrid’s very own Rodrigo de la Calle, famed chef and gastronomist.

The stand welcomes large servings of paella and black rice mixed with a variety of vegetables, shellfish, meats and poultry. From mushrooms, carrots and green beans to shrimp and chicken, Paella by Rodrigo de la Calle offers a meal for any herbivore or carnivore that walks by.

Vegetable and chicken paella is scooped directly from the pan and served on white paper plates upon order.

Shellfish and seafood

Mercado de San Miguel is not shy to show off the fresh and authentic crustaceans, mollusks, salmons, tunas, anchovies and other underwater life straight from the Spanish coasts.

At stands like Madrí and El Señor Martín will you find mussels, octopus or anchovies battered to a deep-fry and dressed in various oils, seasonings and spices.

San Miguel is sure to satisfy your craving for crustacean as Crab Crab Crab blends Arctic red king in sweet, savory and citrus dressings, while Martín Tenazas lays whole lobster on sheets of ice or stuffed into rolls drizzled with creamy mayonnaise and sprinkled with crunchy chives.

At Ahmudos Domínguez is chewy smoked salmon stuffed in between bagels, wraps and kabobs or sophisticatedly plated with crackers or in small tin containers. All that and more at La Casa del Bacalao as anchovies, octopus, herring and cod lie on thin pieces of toast, in saran wrap or canned packages.

Pre-packaged fish and octopus tapas paired with sauces, spices and cheese are presented from the display cases of La Casa del Bacalao.

And the world is certainly your “oyster” at Daniel Sorlut, where there is no shortage of the mollusk plucked from claires, or saltwater ponds, of the neighboring coasts. The station is your spot for a gourmet bite as you can also expect to find helpings of caviar and French wines.

Customers point to seafood tapas they intend to taste as they place their orders at La Casa del Bacalao.

Why San Miguel

It is without question that Mercado de San Miguel is the place to not only get your fill of authentic Spanish cuisine but that of high quality. From warm baked goods to frozen seafood and chilled chocolate, it goes without saying that San Miguel offers something for everybody.

Fresh fruit and other produce available at Felixia, a small grocery located in the back corner of the market. You can also find East Asian and Mediterranean flavors and dishes in portions of hijiki and wakame seaweed, for example.

“You can eat really well for so much cheaper than you can in the U.S. The market is not as economically segregated in terms of fine-dining,” John said. “I’m very happy here.”