Mercado de San Miguel

Sunday mealtimes in Madrid have a timetable all of their own: the day blurs into a haze of coffee, brunch, wine, tapas and back to coffee, maybe via cocktails, so your belly never really knows what time of day it is.

Tourists and madrileños alike nurse their Sunday hangovers at Mercado de San Miguel, a beautifully restored, glass-panelled indoor food market nestled behind the Plaza Mayor.  It's open from 10am until midnight (later from Thursday to Saturday); perfect for early morning tapas and wine if you're still going from the night before, or a late coffee and breakfast if you slept the day away.

A few Sundays ago we managed to gather ourselves in the market around 5pm, bleary-eyed and feeling a bit fragile.

Although you can buy produce to take home, the main draws of the market are the tapas stalls and bars lining the outside edge: you can install yourself at one and spend the day nibbling and quaffing through their tapas and wine selections, or you can choose a little something different from each of them and settle in at the tables in the centre.

It's undeniably touristy and can be expensive for Madrid, but the food is fantastic and the atmosphere buzzing; it's definitely worth a visit.  Okay, those olives stuffed with smoked salmon and feta might be €1 each, but they're the perfect salty hangover cure, not to mention the size of golf balls.






A few oysters, some squid croquettes and a chorizo paella later, I was just about feeling ready for another glass of wine...

www.mercadodesanmiguel.es