Top Best Roscón in Town

Time for Roscón has arrived, it is one of our favourite Christmas moments! If you walk by Madrid, you will notice that all the bakeries show their best Roscón in their windows. With its typical frozen fruit on top of it and its oval shape.

Japanese tea time in Madrid: Panda

We are all very familiar with sushi as a main Japanese dish, but Japan’s gastronomy is so much more than that!! In fact, in Japan, they love sweet things, their sweets even compete against some of the best and most acclaimed French patisseries in the world every two years in the famous Coupe du Monde de Patisserie.

In Madrid, there is only one place where you can taste Japanese pastries, its name is Panda, open from Monday to Sunday (during tea time schedule) from 17.00h to 20.00h.

Miss Chou, a Delicious Bite!

A French sweet speciality has arrived in town – the Petit Choux! The place to buy them is: Miss Chou. I hope it won’t be a temporary success just like the already forgotten cronut. They are very well known in France and first appeared in the XVIth century!

Fonty our French-Peruvian Choice for Brunch

Close to Retiro Park, there is a very cosy café with great deco that will make you think of another city far away: Fonty. The name is an abbreviation for Fontainebleu, the French village well known for its castle and famous business school – where the owners, Luis and Marie, spent some time studying. The café has an international atmosphere, both in the customer mix and the delicatessen. The chefs are French and Slovenian.

Tip for September: a picnic at the Retiro by Magasand

So, we are back in town and it’s official, the holidays are over. We all look very suntanned but inside a terrible post-holiday depression has overcome us… no more outdoor activities either in the sea or the mountains, the majority of us are now confined to be in front of a computer.

Summer holidays are over and we have the pavement as landscape, however, we at My Little Madrid have a recommendation that will, for sure, make you feel as though coming back to the city wasn’t so terrible... as you will have the feeling again of being free among nature!!

You just have to follow our instructions:

El Huerto de Lucas, a new ecogastrocultural market!

I am so happy with this new eco trend going on in Madrid! Last Sunday I went to El Huerto de Lucas, in San Lucas 13, a covered market with a nice restaurant in the middle that is worth a visit, especially as walking down the Street you don’t seem to realize that there is a huge space of 450 square meters inside that can be considered as an eco-paradise! Actually their motto is ‘the first medicine is food’!

Il Tavolo Verde, Organic Café and Antique Market

Big glass windows, lovely antic furniture, organic food and a pleasant atmosphere close to the Retiro: I am talking about Il Tavolo Verde, (which in italian stands for the gaming table). The perfect place to go to by yourself for a relaxing lunch or tea time with a book. I sometimes feel that in Madrid, there are not enough places to go to on your own when you find yourself in a quiet mood.

Entertaining at home in Madrid (with little effort) Part 1 – the Dessert

They claim to be the best chocolate cake in the world and...they are!

Anyone who spends a little time here knows it; Madrileños like street life, they like to be outside, not at home. We like to go to the bar and have a cañita (beer), go to a crowded restaurant, take an aperitivo (snack) at the park... But we're also very social and lately (because of the financial crisis) we are starting to  entertaining at home. Our problem is that the easiness that we like outside does not work when we entertain at home. Inside our houses we like to be formal, everything has to be perfect. And then, yikes! Entertaining becomes a heavy task…!  I am willing to share here some of my best addresses. We will start by the end, the desserts:

Pop Up Christmas Shopping in Madrid - The Appartment & Madrid in Love

 It’s late for Santa but still in time for the Three Wise Men (los Reyes Magos), which is the real tradition in Spain for Christmas presents.

I have been actively searching the perfect gift and I am ready to recommend two singular Pop-Up Stores: The Apartment (6 December – 6 January) and Madrid in Love.

Maria's Bakery

Cakes at Maria's Bakery

Maria's bakery is a very nice little bakery at the end of my favorite street Blanca de Navarra. Well, it is really located at Zurbano 15, just at the angle!! It is true that finding good traditional bread in Madrid is not as easy as in other European cities. The famous "barra de pan" chewy and insipid, from the typical Panadería is a product to be avoided if possible. Maria's bakery, on the contrary, is a good choice for bread, cakes and other delicacies.

Isabela Gourmet Market in Madrid

Last Update: Isabela gourmet market did not make it. It has been closed down on the 17th of May 2013. Too young to die?

Isabela Gourmet Market
Paseo de la Habana 3
91 562 71 83

Chocolatería San Ginés

You do not know Madrid if you have never been to Chocolatería San Ginés and tasted chocolate with churros!!! "Chocolate con churros" is a quintessential Madrid treat!!! Hot thick chocolate served with churros (thin) and porras (thicker), whose fried ridges are engineered for dunking. They are very welcome for breakfast or tea.

Pasadizo de San Ginés 5

Coffee Bar - La Paca

 La Paca 

Valverde 36

Very nice coffee bar in malasaña area "La Paca". I discovered it after visiting an exhibition at Espacio Valverde, (Valverde street number 30) the small little gallery owned by Asela and Jacobo.

San Miguel Market in Madrid

Nice exterior...

The current San Miguel Market was built at the beginning of 20th century, following the style of the markets in Paris with big glass and iron buildings, Eiffel Style. During the Civil War the market was closed but fortunately not destroyed.

San Antón Market in Madrid

A vegetable wall for a veggy shop

Someone at the Town Hall started with this good idea to recover old district markets (spanish mercados de abastos) that were abandoned and refurbish them as new hot spots for the city. Today the trendiest place to buy food or to have a snack in Madrid is Mercado de San Antón or Mercado de San Miguel, and I've heard there are some others programmed shortly...!! I must say I like it.

Concept Stores - Federica & Co

Federica & Co
Hermosilla 26

It is a recent trend to find cool places where a bunch of creative young people gather selling all different items not related among them but that somehow work well together. They usually find nice commercial spaces and create a concept that is simple but classy. Probably one of the consequences of the economical crisis that we are suffering makes people gather and think that being united will help their business! And I think it does!!

Bakery - Mamá Framboise

Mamá Framboise is my choice for afternoon tea in Chamberi (Fernando VI, 23). Inspired in Joanne Harris’, Five Quarters of the Orange, and with a very frenchy style, you will get some of the best deserts in Madrid.

Young Chef Alejandro Montes is the winner of various prizes such as: Best Young Spanish Baker (2006), Best Spanish Chocolatier (2007) and golden medal in the France Open de Desserts (2010). He‘s being assisted by Ángel Sánchez- Infantes with an important family expertise.

It also offers a catering service, take away, and place to arrange family events and celebrations. Menu includes sandwiches, quiches, salads and all kinds of breads and croissants; a great variety of coffees and teas, hot chocolate and other. It can be very packed but all tables are communal, so you can also socialize as in “Le Pain Quotidien” (another option genuinely Belgium).