The Royal Palace of Madrid, which is a lot bigger than Versailles or Buckingham, is located in the city´s oldest neighbourhood, where the old Alcazar and the Arabic wall of the 11th century used to safeguard the capital of Spain. That is why it is common to find in this area Parisian-style squares, and Medieval and Muslim alleys. In this touristic neighbourhood known as Opera, as it is home to the Royal Theatre, James has spotted three heavens for foodies.
LA BOLA
If you live in Madrid, the cocido is a traditional dish that you shouldn’t miss. Close to Sol, right in the city centre, we encounter La Bola in the street of the same name on number 5. This tavern has been making this stew for more than 150 years when Mara´s great-grandmother, the current owner of this family business, slow-cooked this stew in a clay pot.
Nowadays the family still keeps this traditional way of cooking, offering its clients a unique cocido with: chicken, bacon, soup and a tomato sauce containing cumin to facilitate digestion. If all this amount of food is accompanied by a Montecillo Gran Reserva, this meal will be difficult to forget. Reason why Camaron de la Isla, Ava Gardner or Camilo José Cela have sat at their tables.
LA LONJA DEL MAR
Even though you can´t find a beach in Madrid, this is one of the best places to eat good fish, as all the products from the different coastal areas of the country arrive here. This makes Madrid, the biggest fish market in Spain. La Lonja del Mar, located in the Oriente Square 6, is one of those places that offer the most selected fish prepared in a natural way, without overdone elaborations. A mandatory stop if you are a fish lover to try it in any of its forms: raw, smoked or marinated.
An experience of flavours to enjoy the best Spanish fish in a sophisticated place.
SAN MIGUEL
The market of San Miguel, located in San Miguel square, keeps its original iron structure dating of the beginning of the XX century in an elegant style, very typical of the public facilities in Europe during those days.
A group of investors decided recently to rescue this building, bringing it back to life as a gourmet market. You can stroll around its numerous stalls as James did and enjoy all its delicatessens: tapas of as many flavours, colours and aromas as you can imagine.
You can either eat them on the spot or bring as a take-away. Don’t miss Pinkleton & Wine tavern to pair all your tapas with the finest wines. James opted for a Montecillo Gran Reserva Selección Especial 1994 and asked himself where was he during that year: the answer was in his home country, New Zealand, but he wasn´t drinking a wine as special as this one, that´s for sure!
