Tapas Tour in Madrid

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid). There are a lot of theories about the origin of tapas, the one I’ve usually heard is that tapas comes from the word tapar, which means “to cover” in Spanish. A tapa would often be placed on top of a drink to protect it from fruit flies; at some point it became a habit to top this “cover” with a snack. Although this theory is the most common, there are plenty of other theories about the origin of “tapas.” I may not have the answer to the origin of tapas, but I can assure you Madrid has plenty of tapas bars to be enjoyed. Madrid has more restaurants/bars per capita than any other city in the world, so that’s a lot of places to enjoy tapas.

1. El Tigre

Calle de las Infantas, 30 28004 Madrid, Spain

First on my must visit tapas bar is El Tigre. While not the most fashionable place, I like El Tigre mainly because it gives large, free portions of tapas when you buy a drink. You are probably asking yourself, “I thought tapas were free?” Well, the answer is, depends where. Mainly outside of Madrid, you get free tapas offered with your drink. This year while I was living in Avila, Spain everytime I got a drink, I was offered shrimp, mussels, little sandwiches, tortilla, all sorts of delicious tapas! In a big, touristy city like Madrid, that’s usually not the case. Most people are lucky if they get a few potato chips or olives with their drink. This is usually the biggest complaint I hear amongst tourists. They want to know where the free tapas are, and unfortunately in a cosmopolitan city like Madrid, this concept has just been lost, at least in anywhere tourists are going to hang out ie the center of the city. So maybe El Tigre isn’t the most fashionable place, nor does it have the best tapas, but this is a great place if you are hungry and sightseeing. It’s right off of Gran Via, in the trendy neighborhood of Chueca (so very central) and it offers big portions of tapas such as croquettes, manchego cheese, and of course, HAM! Every time you buy a drink, you get offered a huge portion of tapas, so this for me, makes it well worth the visit.

2. Museo del Jamon

Carrera San Jeronimo 6, Madrid, Spain (Centro)

I might get some flak for this one, but I am huge fan of Museo Del Jamon. Yes, it’s a chain, it might be like the Mcdonalds of tapas, but I love it. I always take visitors there, and they love it to. It’s not as much the tapas, as it is the décor and ambiance of the place (and the price, yes, I’m poor.) Museo del Jamon or “Ham Museum” is a bar where you all you have to do is look up to find cured ham legs hanging everywhere. Why? Because it’s Spain, and Ham is everywhere! Okay, there is more to it than that, but you can see ham legs hanging everywhere in Spain, on everyone’s kitchen counter top, in every bar/restaurant/home you go to, there’s a ham leg. Where does the hanging leg come from? (quick history lesson, here we go!) The Moors conquered the South of Spain and it remained under their control for 600 years. In1492, the Moors surrendered Granada to the Catholic King, and were driven out of Spain. Many changed their names, and the same year the persecution of the Jews began. but as Marie Antoinette was suppose to have said “Let them eat cake,” the King would say, “Let them eat pork.” Thus came about the tradition of hanging hams on their doors and under the eves all around their houses to show they were the good guys (aka Catholic). Pretty neat, right? So, well maybe you won’t find elaborate tapas here, you will find cheap beers and wine (about 1 euro each) with a little tapa of chorizo/jamon iberico/jamon Serrano, anything ham, and you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of hanging ham legs and rowdy Spaniards throwing their trash on the ground (this is also typical in bars throughout Spain.)

3. Mercado San Miguel

Plaza de San Miguel, s/n 28005

Mercado San Miguel (San Miguel Market) only recently opened in the last few years is a renovated train station turned tapas dream. This space is beautiful and full of different tapas bars. You can find an olive stand, seafood tapas, cheeses and hams, a paella stand, oyster bar, you name it, they have it. Apart from the fact that this place has really great tapas and tons of variety, it has a really great vibe, full of young Madrilenos!

4. La Perejila

C/ Cava Baja 25, 28005 Madrid, Spain

La Perejila is such a cute little place, covered in old flamenco pictures which gives it the ‘you’ve just stepped into the south of Spain’ feel. You have to go early because it gets crowded at dinner time. Try out their Octopus Rebanadas, and salmorejo or cava (Spanish sparkling wine). A personal favorite is the Octopus in its ink, but everything is delicious.

5. Txakolina

Calle Cava Baja, 26
28005 Madrid

Txakolina is a Basque Tapas bar on the best “tapas” street in Madrid, Cava Baja, in the best “tapas” neighborhood in La Latina. The “pinxtos” are little sandwiches, typical tapas from Basque country. They are laid out on the top of the bar, and you can have your pick of the pinxto. Amongst them are gulas (tastey mini eels), Jamon (ham), goat cheese, all sorts of different pinxtos. The environment is a typical tapas bar, standing room only! Cash only accepted.