Out of every city we went to in Spain, Madrid was my favorite by far. I felt like it had a Paris type vibe and I was all about it. I loved how it felt like a large, modern city with the abundant shopping, eating, business, etc. throughout, yet it was still able to maintain its rich history, natural beauty, and a more relaxing vibe than most large cities. I especially loved spending time in El Retiro Park, which is so quaint, expansive, and centrally located. Highly recommend doing some light (or heavy, you do you) shopping, getting a box of macarons, and then eating them in the park. Alright I'm done expressing my love for this city for right now, here's what you came for - the food!
Where we Ate:
This was the first place we ate at in Madrid and it set the tone for some good mood food. Huge healthy menu, to-go/dine in orders, aesthetically pleasing, great lighting, friendly staff, overall great place. First off I got the Red Velvet Latte, which was made with espresso, beetroot powder, agave, and milk. Um like hi where have you been my entire life? They even put edible flowers on top. I really appreciate their dedication to extra food presentation.
Next up I got the avocado toast that comes with tomato spread, avocado, and jamón. I could've done without the tomato spread as it made the bread soggy but at the same time it added a nice, tart flavor element to the dish and I still devoured and enjoyed every second of it. As per usual the avocado and jamón smacked, what else is new.
The only thing left in the meal was a smoothie bowl, and it was worth the wait. This was the most extra and amazing food presentation I have ever witnessed at a smoothie bowl place in my life. Like this was on some me decorating my toast Tuesday post level. They had a smoothie bowl decorated so beautifully, a granola trail, a wooden plank, edible flowers, and every color of the rainbow. As if the presentation wasn't good enough the smoothie bowl tasted so good too. It was topped heavily and was just the right amount of sweet without being too much. I wish I had one of these near me because I could eat here everyday.
Another healthy restaurant but who's surprised. To be completely honest I crave healthy foods and that doesn't just magically stop when I travel. Yes I love to indulge at home and abroad but at the end of the day if I've had nothing but bread, meat, and cheese my body will literally be screaming at me for a vegetable of some sort. Thank God for places like Rawcoco for existing and letting me satisfy that healthy food craving while also being delicious. This place has a huge menu full of juices, smoothies, toasts, desserts, and a create your own salad bowl. We went at around lunchtime and it was so packed that the salad line was almost out the door. I opted for the avocado toast and a green smoothie. They were very generous with the avocado and the smoked salmon I added on top. They also used tomato spread but their bread remained crunchy and toasty, not soggy so I didn't mind it as much.
The green smoothie was so cute. It came in a mini mason jar with a striped paper straw (I brought my metal straw but they just gave me it without asking) so it was super fun to photograph. I also loved the ingredients, appearance, and taste of the smoothie itself because I could tell from reading the description, looking at the color, and sipping on it that my body was getting a major dose of health it needed.
Oh truffles. I knew when I was in Madrid I wanted to eat truffles. The last time I had really good truffles I was at a restaurant in the Tuscan countryside that George Clooney frequents, so i’ve got some high truffle standards. I kept looking at lists for best truffles in Madrid and this restaurant kept coming up so I knew it had to be it, and trust me it was IT.
First of all there’s a bread basket. I love it already if there's bread. Second of all they’ve got a menu full of drinks that’s longer than most restaurant menus alone. Third of all we got grilled vegetables and they were amazing. They tasted so decadent while also so fresh that you knew they were doing good for your body. Starting an indulgent meal with vegetables always helps me feel better physically afterwards so this was perfect. This is also a good example of how they’ve got stuff other than truffles on the menu that still tastes good if those aren’t your jam.
Fourth of all...TRUFFLES. So we got a grilled ribeye with a fried egg and truffle sauce and it was killer. It was so rich and the yolk was insanely orange. As if their truffles weren’t indication enough that the ingredients there were top notch the beef and eggs gave it away.
Okay anyways I know it's hard to follow that up but the star of the show was my penne pasta with truffle sauce. When I say I licked that bowl clean I am not exaggerating. I'm a biiiig pasta lover so combining that with truffles for me was a dream come true. I could have and still would drink that truffle sauce. It was so good and It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten behind that truffle stuffed ravioli. 100% make a reservation here. You can do it through their website. It’s a very popular restaurant and filled up very quickly while we were there and was still crowded as we left. This was on a Monday night too so it's safe to say this place is crowded. Rightfully so as in addition to great food it has a great atmosphere too, you won’t regret this place.
We didn’t necessarily eat a meal here but we got some cupcakes from here because it was attached to our hotel. Everything here is gluten free! They have a lot of vegan sweets (cake for days, even raw options), typical cafe food, cold pressed juices, and vegan + sugar free cupcakes. We indulged in those. I only tried the carrot cake one and can confirm it was 10/10, especially that frosting. They have multiple locations and this would be a great place for a quick, healthy bite or healthy dessert.
Okay so i’m a big macaron girl. Whenever i’m in Europe (or NYC or Miami) I always have to hit up the Laduree store for a box of macarons. Turns out Spain doesn’t have a Laduree store, but they do have Moulin Chocolat, which lived right up to Laduree. I got a box of 7 and they were so amazing. I Enjoyed some of them in my new favorite place in the world (Retiro Park) and could not have been more content. They also have amazing pastries, chocolate, ice cream, bonbons, truffles, eclairs, fruit spreads, and more. If you want something sweet this is your place.
We found this one on a whim our first night in Madrid and OH was it good. The portions here are HUGE. It was definitely one of the biggest meals I ate in Spain and I am not complaining because the food was so good. We started off with a caprese type salad that had lettuce, tomato, mozzarella, zucchini, and basil oil. Basil oil was a major game changer and I'm deff gonna have to start making and utilizing that in my kitchen.
Then we got a Spanish omelette It was the literal size of my face and no less than 3 inches thick. It was like biting into a fluffy potato filled cloud. It was seriously so filling but I couldn’t stop eating it because it tasted even better.
My favorite dish by far though this night was the squid ink spaghetti (hence the black color) with eel sautéed in garlic. Like i said i’m a big pasta girl but I’m also a big garlic girl, so this dish just spoke to me. Thankfully my dad let me eat most of it as he could see it was my jam.
We also got grilled prawns to finish the feast off and they were so fresh. They were a bit messy as you had to peel them yourselves but it was worth the wait. The atmosphere of the place was great too and it had a lot of space. It’d be amazing for a group dinner or just something more casual. With lots of space and an extensive menu they cater to everyone. The service was also amazing. Our waiters were so funny and kind and dealt with us trying to order in broken Spanish/English.
Mercado de San Miguel
This place is kind of like La Boqueria in Barcelona but more grab and go/tapas type food and less of a grocery shop. It's also much smaller but it still has a lot of options. We went with the fresh fruit stand where you could create your own actual salad, order a smoothie, get fruit on a stick, or make your own fruit salad with their extensive collection of fresh fruit. I went with watermelon, pineapple, mango, kiwi, and blueberries. Basically all my fav fruits, happy gal. The fruit was so juicy and sweet. It’s amazing how much food being fresh from a market versus the store can make a difference. Like I said the options here are limitless.
The market has so many food places it was honestly a little overwhelming. Deff have an idea of what type of food you’re craving (ex: tapas, tacos, dish, ice cream, jamon, sandwiches, mozzarella, etc) when you walk in there or you’ll spend a good 10-15 minutes wandering around 3 times trying to figure out what sounds best (aka what we did). Eventually we stopped and got a simple sandwich on focaccia bread with arugula, cheese, and jamón. The bread was a little dry and I’m sure the sandwich would’ve been better toasted but the toppings (and our high hunger levels) made up for anything the sandwich was missing. The market is a great fun place to grab a casual bite or just sight see.
So after all that indulgent, amazing food in Madrid for a couple days my body was asking me for a vegetable. Preferably something raw and green. In came honest greens to the recuse for dinner. We got two salads.
First one was the avocado rocket salad with chicken and the other was the umami bowl with tofu. This really hit the spot for needing something healthy for dinner. I also loved how you pick the salad then add your protein of choice to it. I love and appreciate when menus are flexible and customizable.
We also got an order of Ben's sweet potato fries. They were so freaking good and crispyyyy. They also came with housemade beet ketchup (I need a bottle of this in my fridge asap) and healthy, vegan aioli. These were my favorite thing here by far and I could probably eat them everyday for the rest of my life. They also serve grain bowls/entrees, tons of shareable dishes, other sides, juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls, and desserts. Literally anything healthy you could imagine they've got it. And free refills! Not really a thing in Europe so it's always cool to find a place with them. They’ve got locations throughout Madrid and Barcelona.
Okay so I’m not sure how I missed this place in my google search of “Madrid healthy food” but I did. Luckily it was a two minute walk from my hotel so I stumbled upon it one night. Sadly it was my last night in Madrid and I had already eaten dinner. Luckily for me it opened at 8:30 am and we didn’t leave for the train station til 9:30 am so I woke up bright n early, got ready for the day, headed over here, and got my food to go.
This place was my dream cafe. They had a huge menu with toast, smoothies, smoothie bowls, and more. They also had pastries and vegan sweets, and a little market where they sold any and everything health related. They had nonperishable products like house made nut butter (made from basically every nut imaginable), granola, protein powder, chocolate, and more. I legit wanted to buy they whole store. They also had a perishable fridge where they sold juices, specially waters, wellness shots, more granola, housemade vegan kale pesto, and again more that I just can’t remember. I wish my fridge and pantry were these little shopping areas.
I ended up getting the omega 3 toast (crunchy crispy toast + kale pesto + halved tomatoes + almonds & pumpkin seeds), a beauty water, an immunity shot, aaaaand an iced oat milk latte all to take with me on the train. So freaking good. I wish I could go here everyday.
So, the food is done now and I will not be mad if you stop reading because I know what y'all came for, but Madrid was my favorite city out of all three so I wanted to share some beautiful pictures I took of it.
Salamanca
Buen Retiro Park
Real Jardin Botanico
There was a produce garden where they were growing many edible plants and types of lettuce.
Mercado de San Migeul
Plaza Mayor
Barrio de Chueca
Puerta del Sol
Plaza de la Independencia
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