Trixie Navarre

Here is where I had a gastronomic affair with many tapas. Many, many tapas! One of the highlights of traveling to Madrid is noshing your way through the Mercado de San Miguel. It is an enticing market where one can taste the different flavors of Spain under one roof.

Stepping into this tapas market can be a fun experience for those who want to try different tapas in a short period of time. Inside you will find an assortment of wines, cheeses, tapas, and desserts for as low as a Euro or two. The food and experience at Meracado de San Miguel may be geared towards the tourists, but you cannot beat the price and variety.

While on a walking tour, one of the young men I had met insisted that I check out the Merecado, since I was a blogger. I had already heard of it from my chef friends back home, but I did not fully investigate it. That evening another solo traveler from that tour met me for tapas at Meracado de San Miguel. My new friend had already gone prior, and she showed me the ropes on how to order and where to eat.

The space itself can be very busy and loud, but do not let that intimidate you. The busyness can actually be quite exciting. There was a lot of hustle and bustle happening, all in the name of tapas! Do not be shy when you find something that you want. When you locate a delicious find, squeeze yourself to the counter, wait for your turn and point. If you know Spanish that helps but it is not necessary- just point.

If you enjoy olives as much as I do, I recommend finding the olive tapas counter and choosing several tasty skewers. I had to take it all in, and became quite overwhelmed with all the tempting choices.

Look at these simple but amazing olive tapas choices. The shrimp, pepper and olive skewer was great, but my favorites were the little stuffed olives. Que Rico!

The cheese counter was another of my favorites for obvious reasons. I am a cheese enthusiast, and I was quite enthusiastic gazing this counter up and down. If you love cheese then I highly recommend that you locate this counter. There were many styles of cheeses for you to try and buy, everything from a traditional Spanish Manchego to other fine European cheeses.

I honestly could not decide on what cheeses to try, and it was a very difficult decision. I decided on a Spanish Manchego, and a couple of French cheeses. If you ask, they will give you a couple slices of bread to eat with your cheese tapas. This was a win-win tapas counter for me.

Additionally, if you want to eat something fuller than a plate full of little tapas, there were wraps, sandwiches, paella, desserts, and so on from other vendors. Mozhear Mozzarella Bar looked absolutely divine, and in hind-sight I should have tried one of their mozzarella open face sandwiches.

Meracado de San Miguel also sells quality produce, fine wines, and specialty groceries. It certainly is a fun market to browse and nosh through.

At Meracado de San Miguel there were choices for everyone’s pocketbook. Several vendors offered tapas for as low as 1 euro. As the young man who insisted that I come here said, “They had tapas for one or two euros. You could just try whatever, and it wouldn’t cost a lot! Sure I will try that for a euro!”

I know that I will find myself in Madrid again. I also know that I will find myself in Meracado de San Miguel again. I am already planning out a strategic eating course for my next visit, and I suggest that you do the same!

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For my Yelp Review, Read Trixie N.‘s review of Mercado de San Miguel on Yelp

For market information – Meracado de San Miguel

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📸 All photos are taken by me and are my intellectual property- Trixie Navarre