Food – Page 2

Bodegas Rojo: Carabanchel Alto’s living museum of niche wine and spirits

27 February 2020

Bodegas Rojo, like any diamond in the rough, lies unbeknownst to many, tucked away on a residential street. Families and groups of teens walk by but few so much as throws a furtive glance its way.

Míticos, típicos y no-frilleños: Malasaña’s 10 best bars

8 February 2020

The bares típicos are one of the things I deeply love Spain for. The way you can pop in for a coffee in a glass, a caña, a tapa, a few words with the person behind the bar and other people in the bar – a sense of connection to simple uplifting things.

A homage to Madrid’s Chinese corner shops

25 January 2020

A year ago, my photo series of 100 of Madrid's no-frills bars reignited the nation's love for a time-honoured aspect of Spanish culture, but around 20 of these no-frills bars are actually Chinese-owned.

The battle for Baobab

10 January 2020

Yesterday, the people of Madrid make their thoughts crystal clear: don't evict Baobab! So far, this emotive Instagram post has been shared by 2,793 people in their stories, and viewed by 32,557. To put things in perspective, that's about 10 times more people than my average Madrid No Frills Instagram posts.

Food

Anarchy in Madrid’s 11 most no-frills vegan restaurants

11 October 2019

Madrid's no-frills vegan and vegetarian restaurants are built on radical foundations. None of the restaurants I've listed below shy away from expressing their opinions on feminism, anti-speciesism, communism or even all-out anarchism, and nor should they. What makes Madrid such an exciting place to live is the people's unrelenting will to fight for what they believe in – a hangover from decades of oppression combined with real concern for the future we're hurtling towards.

Bodega Maribel: donde los parroquianos son el bar

26 September 2019

Allí está Maribel y los demás, sobre todo entre semana es raro el día que no ves a alguien con quien ya te habías topado en el mismo lugar. Mismo lugar, la bodega, y mismo lugar, el espacio que ese conocido ocupa en ella. Los habituales de los bares, tabernas y bodegas funcionan así, ya sabes.

10 rainy-day activities in Madrid (for people who don’t like museums)

14 September 2019

It's raining but perhaps you've already been to all the museums, or maybe you just fancy something a bit less obvious such as spending the afternoon in a mercado, doing a no-frills bar crawl around a barrio you haven't visited before, exploring the labyrinthine tunnels of the old tobacco factory or finally enjoying it being cool enough to eat hearty food again! Here are 10 rainy-day activities that you won't find anywhere else on the Madrinternet...

The Rastro fish bar that will never give in to tourism (even when it totally could)

3 September 2019

The prices are low, the quality is fine, the service is quick, the menu is in Spanish and the soul and decor of the bar is utterly no-frills.

No frills, nostalgia and resistance at Madrid’s summer Fiestas

10 August 2019

An elderly woman dressed in all black is straddling the wrong side of a first-floor balcony. Standing up there with her is another elderly woman wearing a floral smock, bellowing unsolicited advice about how her friend should tie up the bunting. Fierce high-rise arguing descending into laughing, and I watch on in horror yet reassurance that, somehow, these ladies have got it handled. After all, it is quite possibly their 90th year of decorating the streets.

Madrid’s no-frills bars are a portal to Spain’s migrant boom years

16 April 2019

For the past few centuries, Spaniards from all over the country have been packing their bags, saying adios to their towns and villages and setting sail for the big city. When they arrive in Madrid, they disperse into many different lines of work, but there's one business over any other that harks back to the most recent migration boom. You guessed it: Madrid's no-frills bars.

Relive the old Vallecas in Bar Eutiquio

23 February 2019

Vallecas might feel like the Madrid of long-ago, but for Constantino Carral Sánchez, it’s changed a lot.

From Mauritania to Lavapiés: meet Usman, the alternative vegetable farmer

15 February 2019

Usman is a Mauritanian organic vegetable farmer with an allotment in the Jarama valley – a beautiful bit of local countryside with clay, terracotta soil, which I know well because I find it in the nooks of my freshly picked purple carrots.

Faro Vallecano: a beautiful, no-frills diner in Vallecas

3 January 2019

The sun pours through the smokey windows of this upstairs diner and is intercepted by half a dozen coconut palms, casting exotic shadows on the terrazzo floor. Everything – and I mean everything – is a shade of brown, as it has been since its last refurb a few decades ago.

Around the world in 10 Embajadores eateries

18 December 2018

Emerge from Lavapiés’ metro into the Mediterranean Maghreb. Meander through its narrow, winding streets lined with candy-coloured facades and Juliette balconies, and catch a glimpse of the Middle East and Africa, but also Asia, Latin America and of course, Madrid.

Mandela 100: emblematic Senegalese diner opens on Plaza Nelson Mandela

16 August 2018

Hearty, home-cooked Senegalese food rolls out of the kitchen fast at Mandela 100, which is owned by Mamadou from Senegal. His Africa-themed diner has hit the ground running, much to the delight – and relief – of Lavapiés locals, because it's not just quality that can be found here; it's also equality.