Madrid: Breakfast at Taberna La Carmencita

Mercado de San Miguel is probably the most popular market in Madrid, but I had also heard a lot of nice things about the smaller Mercado de San Antón near Chueca station, so yesterday morning, I skipped the churros con chocolate at the place close to my hostal and took the metro to Chueca, to have late breakfast at the market instead. 

Hmm…I’m afraid I’m going to offend a lot of Madrid foodies by saying this, but I think that place sucked. I’m sure it’s a great place to buy fresh produce and fine food, but as a tourist attraction, hmmm..not so much. Maybe it was because I was there too early, maybe it was because that grumpy guy behind the counter at the café, where I waited for almost 10 minutes, before I walked out, just had a bad day, but that market was such an anticlimax.

Though the area itself seemed promising, so I went for a walk and thank god, I did that, because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found Taberna La Carmencita. Taberna La Carmencita dates back to 1854, and this beautiful place is thus the second oldest restaurant in Madrid.

Taberna La Carmencita was almost full, and the (Spanish) voices and laughter from the brunching patrons made it all the way out on the street. I squeezed down at a table between two senoritas + kids and a girl, who looked like a vegan art student. I later saw her digging into a big plate of Serrano, so my stereotyping probably needs some adjustment.

The menu was in Spanish, but after a few minutes guessing game with a really nice waiter (Hola!), I managed to place an order. I had a rustic, but super tasty breakfast consisting of toasted Spanish bread, Serrano and tortilla with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Taberna La Carmencita, you just made me love Madrid even more!

When Mende arrived, we went back for dinner at Taberna la Carmencita, which you can read about here

My blog about Madrid

Taberna La Carmencita, Calle de la Libertad, 16, 28004 Madrid