Nutella Travels: Madrid

For my birthday this year, my mother and I decided to spend a week in Madrid. We love Barcelona so we thought a good alternative would be Madrid. The beautiful European city is all about black coffee and pork and it wasn't quite what we expected but we were able to find some awesome vegan places that are making us want to go back. Below I have listed those favourite vegan foodie places that we found, that I highly recommend you visit if you are going to Madrid. Hope you've eaten!

Vega

On our first and last night, we ventured to Vega. A quaint and rustic eatery that only serves vegan food. It's one of those places that you want to have 3 courses at but you can't be sure if you can stomach it. As the portions are well sized and you won't be leaving Vega hungry. For appetisers, we went for 3 dips (we loved the guac, beetroot hummus & hummus) that comes with the poppadoms, shown in the main pic. As well as an assortment of breads. A great appetiser whilst you decide what you are having for your main. Then the mains tasted as good as they looked and were so innovative to what I am used to, especially the white sauce pasta and raw courgette lasagna. Plus the service there was so friendly, you cannot go wrong here.

Chilling Cafe

Just on the other side of the road to Vega is Chilling Cafe. A relaxed cafe with a sleek Japanese vibe mixed in with a mix mash of weird seats, great service, lunch and dessert options. I tried a couple cakes there but the most noteworthy thing is the vegan tortilla, shown above. I have to say it was really good, I like the way it was presented and how it made me double check whether it was actually vegan. There was a number of people that were in the cafe that were working and eating. I could definitely see myself doing the same in the quirky place.

Le Pain Quotidien

As soon as I heard that there was a Le Pain Quotidien in Madrid, I knew I had to visit. I have heard a lot about the eatery and have seen a number of my favourite foodie blogger frequent the franchise in London too. The first time we visited the eatery, it was an absolute disaster as the waitress did not understand English properly, didn't write down our orders and then gave my mother ham and myself a non-dairy croissant as the vegan ones had sold out. So we cancelled our orders and left. As we had been waiting for AGES, as a number of diners had been too. So, we tried again on a different day and had a different waitress and it was so much better plus it was the day of my birthday when I visited so we were so glad it was a successful visit. There were so many vegan options on the menu, it was a dream. I decided to go for the Detox Banana Split, the Vegan Brunch and Detox Green Juice. Both of which were tasty and I loved.

Amorino

When it's hot, there is one thing that is needed. Ice-cream! I found out on the Happy Cow app that Amorino had vegan options and I knew we had to check it out. Amorino has a number of vegan sorbets that are made from fruit and presented in rose form in a cone or in a cup. I went for the pistachio, mango and raspberry sorbet. Each one was beautiful but the pistachio was beyond anything else I had tried. So much so my mum went for the same thing and also loved it. It's so good to be able to have sorbets that are creamy and are more like gelato more than ever. It's funny how both Barcelona and Madrid know how to do vegan ice-cream options so well. England, take note!

Restaurant Viva Burger

I have tried many a vegan burger but the one I had at Restaurant Viva Burger is the best I have ever had. That alongside the freshly made wedges made for a beautiful meal that I loved. My mum had a wrap that was presented well but was very salty. So I wouldn't recommend the wraps but I highly recommend the burgers that revel any meat burger I had before I went pescatarian. The place itself is again very relaxed, the service was friendly but it was a little lacklustre.

Chocolateria San Gines

When in Spain, you have to have churros, right? Exactly! So we ventured to the infamous Chocolateria San Gines. They were in the know about allergens and were able to advise me that the churros are vegan but the chocolate pot they come with are not. Crispy, long and oh so tasty, definitely the best I have ever had!

Ay Mi Madre

Pizza is the food of the gods and when I heard that there is a pizza place that does vegan pizza, I had to taste it. They have a whole vegan menu, that includes pizzas and salads. We had a pizza each and a salad to share. I went for the bbq pizza that was everything I could want and more. They use seitan as a sub for mince, which tasted so good, the cheese had melted and tasted good too and then the base was lovely too. It was so good and it was even good cold the next day for breakfast. The service was great here, the vibe was chilled and there was a steady flow of customers eating in and getting takeout. You could tell it was a bit of a student area too, always a good thing in my eyes.

Fit Food Spain

One of the best discoveries that we encountered in Madrid was Fit Food. They specialise in healthy options, with products such as acai bowls, smoothies, desserts, sandwiches, salads and breakfast options. At this point I had never tried a acai bowl and was intrigued. I went for the Acai Peanut Power and thus the addiction began. I liked how the acai was layered with granola, strawberries, desiccated coconut, peanut butter, banana and cocoa powder. It made for a beautiful bowl that I didn't want to end. I had that alongside a Golden Turmeric Latte, which is still the best I have had thus far and this is also when my addiction started for this. I also tried their peanut butter and banana on toast and yogurt. Everything I had tried tasted amazing, was well presented and you could barely tell it was vegan. I wish there was a branch in London, or better still, in Birmingham because I probably would live there.

Tierra Burrito Bar

Last but not least, we found a burrito place a mere 10 minute walk away from our hotel. It was subway style where you get to pick exactly what you want in it and it was well priced. Also the wrap was heavy, I know this because we took two to takeaway and it weighed down my bag. The ingredients were fresh and so tasty and there were so many options for a vegan. Another great find!

Madrid, thank you for your amazing food options and hospitality but please be warmer next time I visit!