From a time to this part gourmet markets have proliferated in the large provincial capitals and have become new tourist attractions. These old food markets have been transformed into gastronomic spaces where you can buy everything from basic products to delicatessen.
Gourmet markets such as San Miguel or San Antón in Madrid are some examples of this trend that is conquering foodies from all over the world. If you are one of them, You cannot miss this tour of the most outstanding gourmet markets in the capital of Spain.
It is difficult to know how many gourmet markets currently exist in the country but in Madrid there are quite a few and each of them has its own charm. An exclusive design, a historical architecture or avant-garde decoration and lighting can make them different, but they all have bright and interesting gastronomic proposals in common.
Mercado de San Miguel
Located in the heart of traditional Madrid, next to the popular Plaza Mayor, is the Mercado de San Miguel. A monumental and historical place declared an Asset of Cultural Interest whose motto is "the temple of fresh products where the protagonist is the genre, not the chef."
It was built in 1835 by the architect Joaquín Henri in order to be a food market and was completed by Alfonso Dubé y Díez in 1916. Three years later it was inaugurated and remained in operation for a long time until it began to decline due to different reasons. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, a group of businessmen decided to save it from abandonment and transform it into a new concept: quality gastronomic establishments where a selection of products that can be tasted on site are exhibited. An idea that has caught on among consumers despite the fact that prices are not for all budgets.
The San Miguel Market has more than thirty shops of the most varied: cheeses, oysters, meats, derivatives of the Iberian pig, fruits, wines, pickles, fish, fresh pasta, pastries ... the success has been resounding.
Mercado de San Antón
At first, the Mercado de San Antón was a street market that supplied the Justicia neighborhood, an area of Madrid that had grown a lot in the XNUMXth century by sheltering immigrants who arrived from the countryside. At that time it was already so popular that the writer Benito Pérez Galdós quoted it in the second part of his novel 'Fortunata y Jacinta'.
Since its renovation in 2011, the Mercado de San Antón has been working to become a gastronomic reference center in Madrid. It is currently a busy meeting point on weekends in Chueca.
It combines top quality food stalls with an area of exquisite tapas and an incredible terrace on the roof to enjoy a few drinks with friends at any time of the year.
Stalls
Image via Teinteresa
Opened in 2014, this large avant-garde complex housed in a former movie theater is the largest gastronomic leisure space in Europe. Its almost 6.000 square meters are distributed over two floors, three stalls and a sweet area whose purpose is to be the main gastronomic exponent of Madrid and one of the main references in this regard at a national and international level.
The best chefs on the current culinary scene meet at Platea. Also artists and musicians since this space has a wide and varied entertainment offer. An ideal place to go after work or to enjoy in good company on weekends.
Barceló Market
Image via Minube
This has been one of the last markets to reinvent itself as a gourmet space. Although the primitive Barceló Market was inaugurated in 1956, a new one was recently built that has a hundred stalls inside, twelve outside and a floor dedicated to delicatessen shops.
Like the Mercado de San Antón, Barceló also has a terrace where you can drink and eat from morning to night. The most characteristic thing about this terrace is that it looks like an urban oasis as it is decorated with magnolias, pomegranates, bamboos and Japanese maples.
The gastronomic proposal of the Azotea Forus Barceló is defined by the philosophy of healthy food. Salads, cold soups, raw food, juices and smoothies and cocktails such as Barcelito (its particular version of the mojito) abound on the menu.
Isabela Market
Image via Dolcecity
In front of the English Court of Castellana (between Nuevos Ministerios and the Santiago Bernabéu) is the Isabela Market, a place dedicated to gourmet food but also to leisure and entertainment thanks to its cocktail bar, its events room and its cinema for fifty spectators.
This is one of the newest gourmet markets in the capital, modeled after the Mercado de San Antón in terms of more stalls dedicated to tasting rather than for sale.. Its offer includes Japanese cuisine, pickles, vegetarian specialties, game products and the latest pastry trends. A place called to become the fashionable after work in the financial area of Madrid.