I love a good food market and Madrid does not disappoint in this regard. If you want to have a quick drink, try a yummy snack or just wander browsing the offerings, mercado is there for you, so here is a quick introduction to three of my current favourite markets.

Mercado de San Miguel, plaza de San Miguel, 28005, Madrid

Yes, yes, Mercado de San Miguel is the most tourist oriented market in the entirety of Madrid. Everyone know it or knows of it. It does not matter, it is great. Majorly overpriced but still great. I come her for a quick drink and a small snack as it is very conveniently located to do just that.

My favourite counter is the one that serves vermouth and sangria on tap. Granted, white sangria might not have been the best (red was much better) but the overall selection of vermouth is unparalleled: three on tap an rows and rows of bottles you can have by the glass!

And this is where they truly shine: that selection of bottled vermouths that can be served by glass. We had quite a few different ones on various occasions and there was not one that we did not like. I think this is a great way to get acquainted with different vermouths (red, white, rosé, orange, dry, sweet, you name it). Granted, the bottled vermouth by the glass can be more expensive (there are three different price points to pick from) but this way you can try a bunch and decide whether you like it or not in the first place. We loved vermouth on our first go!

Most of the stalls at Mercado de San Miguel sell little snacks like olives, pintchos, empanadas, charcuterie, cheese and the like. There is this mozzarella counter that does whipped cheese pintchos and they are so incredibly yummy.

I cannot remember if I have ever seen anything that I would consider a meal sized portion though, hence, this market is perfectly suited for when you are on the go and need a refreshing drink, a small bite to eat or just to get a breather after the sweltering heat (or the biting cold) in general. It does get busy, so there might not be a lot of room to breathe in the end.

Mercado de Vallehermoso, calle de Vallehermoso, 36, 28015, Madrid

Mercado de Vallehermoso is one of the furthest markets from where we live, so we have only been there once. We were there on a Friday night around 20:00 and it was not too busy, so maybe it is not exactly very convenient for other people too. Nonetheless, all of the food stalls were open and serving drinks and food left and right. It did get busy by the time we left but are considered early eaters in this country in the first place!

We made it to Mercado de Vallehermoso specifically to try craft beer and pastrami sandwiches at Craft 19. As the name suggests, they had quite a few craft beers on tap. Although not exactly 19 and most of them from Ireland(???). Despite the very weird beer provenance, we tried 4 different ones and they were decent enough.

I had ½ a pint of stout (€4) and Matas had a pint of sour (€6.50) both if which were quite good. The other round included pints of juicy pale ale and a hazy IPA (€6.50 each). Again, quite good but rather on the mellow side. Apart from these four drinks, I would say the rest of the craft beer was more traditional (read, boring). So much so for 14 beers on tap.

I was really looking forward to a pastrami sandwich. For a place that had pastrami first, burgers and beer second, I expected big things. They had three pastrami options: house special, house spicy and New York style (read, Reuben). I quizzed the waiter on which was the best (the best best) and he recommended me the house special which I promptly ordered.

Overall, the pastrami here was not too bad. It had a nice taste from the spices and smoking, no acidity to it at all. The problem was that it was stacked so high, there was not enough sauce to go with it and it felt quite dry, actually. So much so that I had to order a salsa to go with it. I honestly would give that NY-style Reuben a try next. It looked positively joocy when it walked by (yes yes, the waiter was carrying it, the sammich did not sprout its own legs).

Matas’s double cheeseburger, on the other hand, had no problems with being dry. First of all, it actually came out medium, maybe even on the verge of being medium rare! It was so joocy and sloppy, I wanted to steal it for myself. The burger was legitimately good. As I said, the meat was juicy and tender and it had no bad beef taste at all.

Overall, Mercado de Vallehermoso might not be the biggest of the markets or the most central but they had enough interesting stalls to intrigue me and I already want to come back to try one specialising in ceviche. It looked like they have quite a few other craft beer stalls too.

Mercado Antón Martin, calle de Santa Isabel, 5, 28012, Madrid

Mercado Antón Martin is another busy and bustling spot both for the groceries and for grabbing something to eat. First of all, I love calle de Santa Isabel, it is one of my favourite streets in the neighbourhood, so I walk by this particular mercado quite often and it was always feel bustling and busy.

We have only eaten here once and as it turned out that night, we both wanted tacos, so we did not go into the market proper as Tiki Taco is located on the outside corner of the market.

We had to order at the counter and we started by ordering a michelada (€4) and a margarita (€5), and then sat down with our drinks to ponder our taco orders. We clearly made a mistake by not ordering the food with the drinks because in two minutes while we looked at the menu, the queue to order snaked around the building! I sent Matas to work on keeping us a spot while I sipped on my michelada which was actually quite good!

Anyway, our turn to order came and I got us a bunch of different tacos to share. And I have no idea how but MAGICALLY, there was no queue after us! I was incredibly baffled at our unfortunate time management at that point.

We have ordered guacamole (€7.90) to start and then a bunch of different tacos to share, including cochinita de pibil, tinga de pollo (€1 each), nopales (€1.60), cochinada (€1.90), pulpo and huitlacoche (€3.60 each). The tacos were surprisingly good. Not mind-blowingly great but good enough. Good enough to the point I would not mind coming back to eat here again.

I really like Mercado Antón Martin as well. It is not too big either but has a nice selection of interesting food, including a few different Mexican and a Japanese stall. They also have a bunch of good looking wine and cheese/charcuterie counters which I am yet to try but I will!

SO MUCH FOOD, SO LITTLE TIME TO EAT IT ALL,- I lament.