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Honestly, Madrid as a city didn’t excite me that much. Sandwiched in my trip between the beautiful, romantic cities and winding streets of Seville and Barcelona, it seemed a little… meh. Except for one thing: the vegan food. While most of Spain has a definite paucity of vegan food, Madrid’s vegan scene appears to be booming. Here’s my selection of what and where you need to eat when you’re visiting the capital, depending on the mood you’re in. Except, for some reason, I was permanently in a burger mood. And then I was confused today when I looked in the mirror at my expanded waistline. Totally worth it though.

BEST GOURMET BURGER – VIVA BURGERS

This is a birthday or special occasion sort of place, or a ‘I want to taste on of the best vegan burgers in the world, because I’m just worth it’ place. Don’t be deceived by their size in the pictures, these burgers are massive. And the frustrating thing is, their starters are also pretty amazing, so you’re going to need room in your stomach. As an appetiser we had the spinach and…… croquettes, which tasted much healthier than the other croquettes I tasted in Madrid, but were delicious in their own right. We dipped them in ali oli sauce, and then when the croquettes ran out I may or may not have eaten the rest of sauce with the spoon when I thought no one was looking. When it came to the burger options we had trouble deciding, they all looked so good! In the end, though, we settled on the…. and the… with an added slab of smoked vegan cheese. Despite the names of real cheese (including Emmental and blue cheese) being on the menu, it is in fact a 100% vegan restaurant. They were utterly delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. If this was my last meal… I’d die happy.

Cost: €13.50 + €1 for extra cheese per burger. €2.80 for a glass of wine, and €6.50 for the croquettes.
Taste rating: like angels dancing across my tastebuds.
Would I return?: wild horses couldn’t keep me away.

BEST FAST FOOD STYLE BURGER – B13 BAR

It me three tries to find B13 open. Why haven’t I learned to check the opening times, yet? When I got there, they didn’t disappoint. They don’t accept card, but you won’t need much cash to fill yourself up here. I’ve a little bit fallen in love with croquettes, so they were an obvious order, along with onion rings and fries that were generous portions and pleasantly crispy. The burger patties were mock meat, Frys – unless I’m mistaken – but I use the same brand myself for the burgers I make at home, so I was perfectly content with them.

Cost: €20 for 2 drinks, 2 burgers, onion rings, a side of fries and croquettes, enough to stuff both of us.
Taste rating: like your guilty little secret turned into fast food, and wasn’t so little anymore.
Would I return?: oh hell yes.

BEST ATMOSPHERE – OVEJA NEGRA

I have a soft spot for vegan places that are full of dogs and t-shirts/pins/patches for sale. It’s not somewhere I’d take my parents, but I’d go there like a shot for a drink and some food with my friends. As we ate, a pug in a silly coat ran around happily getting attention from everyone, and then a greyhound in a jacket arrived who was clearly a regular. Trying to stray away from the burger habit I’ve got myself into, I ordered the chorizo in cider tomato sauce, and the croquettes (that’s not a habit I’m abandoning anytime soon. Anyone got a good recipe for when I leave the country?). Spain being Spain, we were given a basket of bread top mop up the sauce with. My couchsurfing host ordered the burger, which looked decent.

Cost: €20 for 2 drinks and our food.
Taste rating: like it needs some good company and great chat to complete the perfect evening out.
Would I return?: yep, and I’d bring my dog. (That I don’t have, anyone want to lend me one?)

BEST TAPAS/LUNCH MENU – VEGA

Or… best non-burger option, judging by everything I ate in Madrid. I went here twice after B13 foiled me the second time, and we needed somewhere close by for lunch so I decided on a revisit. The first time we had the seitan steak with roast vegetables, and the patatas bravas, the second time was for lunch so it was the set menu – a choice between 2 of each of the starters, mains and desserts. We all chose the seitan kebab and the chocolate liquor dessert. The kebab came with roasted vegetables, which were delicious, and was a more refined kebab compared to, say, the sort at Vöner in Berlin. It was delicious.

Cost: €11.90 for 3 courses on the lunch menu, €7.90 for two. Mains for around €8.
Taste rating: like the Tyrell’s crisps of kebabs and steak plates.
Would I return?: I did already.

BEST COFFEE AND CAKE – CELICIOSO

Celicioso are totally gluten free, and have a clearly marked vegan section on the menu. A chocolate cupcake, a chocolate raspberry one, both of those in cake form, and a carrot cupcake. We remain a little unsure of what’s actually in this, considering the vegan and gluten free aspect (I did ask later, they’re rice flour), but they taste delicious. Actually I went back the next day. They’re vegan gluten free, so they don’t have calories, right?

Cost: about €2.80 for the cupcakes and €3.20 for the cake.
Taste rating: like magical fairy candyfloss in the shape of a cupcake.
Would I return?: I went back a day later and got the cake…

Have you been to Madrid? Anywhere I really should have gone? I got into a bit of a burger loop, I must admit… let me know in the comments below.

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On the way to Barcelona, my Blablacar driver told me about this Catalonian food I had to eat called Calçots. “It’s these grilled onions, in sauce,” he said. I smiled politely, not really having a clue what he meant, and not thinking it sounded appetising enough to remember. The next day, however, I got a message from The Vegan Word saying her street is having a Calçotada party, there’s a vegan menu, and do I want a ticket. ‘Calçotadas…’ I thought. That sounds familiar, isn’t that the oniony thing?

Calçots cooking on the fire, photo by Caitlin from The Vegan Word

Sunday morning arrives and the street party committee office is a hive of activity. Yes, there’s actually a street party committee office (in what appears to be a large garage filled with papier mache animal heads from a previous event). By early afternoon, tables have appeared and already a crowd has formed. At 2.30, when we head out to find a seat before the 2.45 kick off, the street is swarming with people and it’s only with great difficulty and a lot of negotiating in Spanish that we can find two empty seats. Somebody, clearly cannier than us, brought their own uncooked potatoes in a bowl. I’m not sure what they were going to do with them, but there they were, on the table.

Kicking off

Bread arrived, wine arrived, and after a while hot, blackened Calçots wrapped in newspaper arrived. Calçots are a variety of spring onion that are larger, sweeter and milder. Apparently they were created by peasant farmer Xat de Benaiges at the turn of the 20th century in Valls in Tarragona Province, although their origin is disputed.

Calçots incoming.

Normally a festival held in country villages in Catalonia, it was a little odd to see a street in Central Barcelona fenced off for a barbecue. They were served with the traditional romesco sauce, and slices of bread. As an alternative to the sausages, vegans and vegetarians were provided with a potato, an artichoke, and some roasted peppers.

Calçots wrapped in their newspapers.

To eat the Calçots, you have to peel off the black outer layers with your hands, getting the burned bits everywhere. Then you dip the fleshy inner into the sauce, again using your hands to mount a decent amount of nutty tomato goodness on the stem. Then you tip back your head, lift the whole thing high into the air, and lower it down into your mouth. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. It will probably help if you bring a bib, and some baby wipes for afterwards when your hands turn everything you touch black.

In full swing of peeling, dipping and eating.

The normal number to eat is 15. I stalled at 12. It was a lot of onion, but Caitlin managed the full 15 like an allium eating trooper. Whoever was DJing was having the time of their life – hopping from Coldplay, to Classical, to Salsa, to Reggae before you could say ‘mas pan por favor!’ The whole experience cost us €10 each, however if you don’t like to display your onion eating skills in the public outdoors, you can travel to New York and have the experience recreated for only $100 a head. If you want to stay local, visit Catalonia in February or March to catch the Calçotada season.

¡Salud!

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Vegan Madrid – the cake and burger edition – Plant-Powered Nomad

Calçotada festival! A burnt onion street party in Barcelona – Plant-Powered Nomad