Madrid, Spain

Before we get to the actual restaurant reviews, here is some helpful information for you:

1. You may see soup listed as “crema.” Do not be dissuaded from ordering them. They are not actually cream based soups. A “crema” is simply a vegetable puree that is very thick and creamy, but they are vegetable-based soups.

2. Do not worry about finding vegan food in Madrid. You can find something almost anywhere. There are “kebap” restaurants everywhere. These are Middle Eastern restaurants that all serve falafel, hummus, etc. So, even if you cannot find a vegan restaurant, you will still be able to eat well.

3. Breakfast as a vegan will be a challenge. You might want to pack some breakfast/snack bars. Thankfully we had late dinners and slept in, so this was not a problem. A builder bar was our breakfast every day.

4. Speaking of dinner, forget about a 6:30PM dinner. You will likely not go to dinner until 8:30PM at the earliest. Dinner at 11:00PM is not unusual.

5. It is a very common practice for restaurants to bring you a tapa, or snack, while you are looking at the menu.

And now, on to the restaurants we tried. We mixed it up and did not only go to vegan/vegetarian restaurants. We saw some places during our explorations that had vegan options on the menu and tried a few of them as well.

We arrived early in the morning in Madrid and after getting settled into our hotel, we headed right out to start seeing the city. We wanted to get on the new time as quickly as possible. After a few hours of walking we were heading back to the hotel and stopped for lunch at…

Artemisia Sol – Calle Tres Cruces 4
This is located just off Gran Via, very central to everything. Unfortunately, that is the best thing we can really say about Artemisia. It is a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options clearly marked on the menu. The menu posted on the window of the restaurant does not match the one they actually use; so do not expect to order what you planned on if using the display menu as a guide. Our server was not very friendly, it was almost as if we were bothering him.

While we reviewed the menu, our server brought out a plate of bread and an orange colored spread. After verifying it was vegan, we tried it. The spread was very good, although we were not sure if it was a carrot, pumpkin or sweet potato spread. As it was a little chilly out, we decided to start with some soup. We ordered the “crema” of the day, Avena. Michael can understand some Spanish, but does not speak it. Ethan is fluent in Spanish, but he was jet lagged and totally spaced out on the meanin of avena, and he thought it meant barley. When it arrived at the table and we tasted it we realized his mistake. Hindsight being a wonderful thing, Michael remembered when he had chickenpox and the oatmeal baths he had to take. They were made by, say it with us, AVENO. A little light bulb moment there. In any case, this soup was actually quite nice. It was like a very watery pureed bowl of oatmeal. A little bland, but with some salt it was fine.

Pastel Persian

For our main dishes, Michael ordered the Wok Stir fry – it was exactly what it sounds like, vegetables stir fried with fried tofu and rice noodles. It was very heavy on the oil. Ethan opted for the Pastel Persian – eggplant and zucchini stuffed with a vegan cheese and mushrooms. Neither was outstanding, but we were hungry and the travel was catching up to us. We settled our bill and left. This place is PRICEY!!! For the two starters, two bottles of water and two entrees, our bill was about $65.00. For this price, we expected much better tasting food and service. If the price were lower, perhaps our expectations would have been different.

After a long nap and shower, we were ready for dinner. Unfortunately, we did not notify our bank of our travel plans and our ATM cards were blocked. So we lost almost two hours between calling the bank, getting them to remove the block and waiting to be able to get cash to pay for dinner. By the time we could finally go to dinner it was 11PM and most of the kitchens were closing. Even though the restaurant may be open later, most kitchens close about an hour before closing time. Thankfully there was a Loving Hut a short cab ride away and they were open until midnight.

Loving Hut – Calle de los Reyes 11
This is part of the international Loving Hut chain of restaurants. When we walked in, we asked if it was too late and they very graciously said that they were closing, but would be happy to feed us. YAY!!! Our server said that there were only 2 options for starters and 2 options for main course left as it was so late. We were just happy they were willing to serve us, so we ordered one of each.

Michael started with the tofu salad. This was a large serving of mashed tofu mixed with carrots, dill and a little olive oil. Michael is not a big fan of dill, but he ate it all. Yes, he was hungry, but it was also very good. Ethan went for the soup which was a crema of potatoes and vegetables. It was warm, hearty and totally hit the spot.

Seitan Curry

For main courses, the options were a seitan curry and some kind of fillets. Not a fan of curry, Michael had the fillets. If you have even been to a loving hut, the cutlets were the meats used in the Vegan Joy stir fries, but served as fillets. They were very good and nicely seasoned and came with brown rice and veggies. The curry was a mix of carrots and potatoes with Loving Hut’s standard two differenct kinds of seitan as well as their tofu. It was spiced mildly and served with brown rice. Again, it was the perfact amount of food and balance of seasonings. For dessert, we shared a flan topped with cinnamon. Michael is not a flan guy, but Ethan loved it.

Our second day in Madrid started with a walk to and tour of the Royal Palace. While strolling back from our tour, Michael noticed a restaurant with a small sign that read, “Restaurante Vegetariano”. So, we decided to try it. And we are thrilled that we did!

Restaurante Vegetariano – Calle Santiago 9. (On Happycow.net as Cocina Vegetariana Internacional).
This unassuming restaurant has a great menu and outdoor seating perfect for a warm sunny day. There is a menu in English available if you ask. All the vegan items are clearly labeled on the menu, so there is no need to ask. While we were looking at the menu, our server brought us a small tapa of pasta salad.

To start, we shared the gyoza and the hummus. Both were delicious. The gyoza were filled with vegetables and tofu and were served with a soy dipping sauce. The hummus was smooth and creamy and did not have cumin in it, so Michael loved it. The presentations of the food was just a good as the taste. They truly understand that you eat with your eyes first. It was truly amazing how just a sprinkling of paprika, some sliced cherry tomatoes and a few pistachios on top can make a simple bowl of hummus into a showpiece.

Soy Filets

For our main dishes we shared the bean and soy filet and the Moroccan couscous. The filet was incredible. They were 3 or 4 lightly fried filets covered in a rich onion gravy. And if that wasn’t enough, it came with French fries. that ht was served with French fries. Michael practically squealed with delight – he loves French fries and gravy. The couscous was excellent as well. It was a fragrantly spiced combination of chickpeas, assorted vegetables, slivered almonds and raisins.

We splurged and had dessert as well. We shared a piece of the apple strudel. It was so good. Juicy chunks of apple wrapped in a flaky phylo-like pasty and dusted with powdered sugar. It was the perfect finale to a great meal. Excellent food, a nice glass of wine, dining outside on a sunny spring day in Madrid, it doesn’t get much better.

Apple Strudel

We like this meal so much, we came back again the next day for lunch with Ethan’s cousin and her boyfriend. Neither of them are vegan, but they loved the food too. On our second visit, Michael stuck with what he liked: gyoza and the filets. Ethan however, tried 2 different things. He started with the artichoke soup and followed it with the tofu curry. Both were excellent. Of course we had to end with the strudel.

This is a must on any visit to Madrid.

Even though Madrid was a new city to us with so many great food options, we did try another restaurant we returned to a few times, B-13.

B-13 Calle de la Ballestra 13
B-13 is the closest place we could find to being a classic Spanish (vegan) tapas bar. It is a little divey, but often these are the places with the best food. B-13 is very close to Gran Via and right off the gay neighborhood of Chuecha.

First visit was SRO. Second visit had plenty of seating.

On our first visit, the restaurant was packed. There was practically nowhere to stand. We asked the bartender/waiter if it was always like this and he assured us it was not. There had been a women’s rights demonstration down Gran Via that evening and this was spill over from the marchers. As it didn’t seem like we would be getting a table anytime soon we opted to eat standing at the bar. We were given a plate of roasted red peppers to eat while we looked over the menu. This is not fancy fare. You are here for bar food. There also isn’t really wait staff. You order at the bar and the bartender makes a note of your table in his notebook. Your food is brought to you, but when you want to settle your tab, you have to go back to the bar to pay. When you pay, you can watch him tally your bill. Even on a packed night, he is able to tell what orders go where.

Vegan Calamari

For our first meal, we decided to start with the “patatas bravas” and calamari. Patatas Bravas are chunks of fried potatoes covered in a smokey and spicy tomato sauce. They were out of this world, although the spiciness became too much for Michael, so poor Ethan had to finish them himself. The calamari was insane. When it arrived we were skeptical as it looked EXACTLY like actual squid ring calamari. When we tried it we just looked at one another and had a moment of, “wait, are we SURE this is not actual calamari?!?” The bartender caught our expressions and smilied assuring us everything in the restaurant is 100% vegan. It had the perfect taste and texture. We doubt anyone could tell the difference between this and actual calamari. With the potatoes and calamari done, we moved on to our main course.

Patatas Bravas

B-13 offers a combination plate from which you choose either a hamburger patty, a “salchicha” (hotdog, sans bun) or a seitan cutlet. This is accompanied by your choice of hummus or salad. And it all comes with French fries. (They know how to do potatoes in Madrid). On our first night, we both had the cutlet. It was a thick slice of seitan that was light fried, basically a chicken fried seitan. Michael got the hummus and Ethan had the salad. The hummus was very heavy on cumin, so it didn’t work for Michael, but Ethan loved it. The salad was some iceberg lettuce with a few slices of tomato. Ethan graciously offered to swap plates with Michael as he knows Michael and cumin don’t mix and he likes cumin.

Seitan cutlet with fries and salad

With 2 glasses of wine, the entire bill came to less than $20. A bargain for how much we ate and how good it was.

On our two, yes, two, subsequent visits we tried many other items on the menu. For our second dinner were offered a plate of hummus to start. This was all for Ethan. We tried the pumpkin, onion and potato croquettes as an appetizer this time. Well, that and the calamari and patatas bravas again too. The croquettes practically melt in your mouth. Crispy and fried on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Our mains that night were the hamburger and salchicha. Both were good, not outstanding. The salchicha tasted like a years-ago version of a tofu hotdog and the hamburger was a bean burger. We tried dessert this time as well. For dessert we could choose between caramel cake and lemon cake. This time we tried the caramel cake – yellow cake with a creamy white frosting drizzled with caramel sauce. It was good, not the best cake ever, but certainly far from the worst.

Caramel Cake

On our third and final visit, we were offered a plate of olives as a snack. For our starters, in addition to the calamari and patatas we ordered the aros de cebolla, or as you may know them, onion rings. And we ended with the lemon cake. We didn’t have any entrees. The lemon cake is the exact same as the caramel cake, but instead of a caramel drizzle on top, it has a lemon drizzle.

A few additional notes about B-13: they only accept cash, no credit cards, the kitchen closes an hour before the bar closes and it is closed on Mondays. Also, the bread here is amazing!!! Be careful not to fill up on it.

We repeated only one other place, Yerbebuena. We went once for lunch and once for dinner. We would have one again, but we ran out of time.

Yerbabuena – Bordadores 3
Yerbabuena is a vegetarian restaurant, but almost every item on the menu is marked as suitable for vegans or vegan option available. Also, the menu is in both Spanish and English, a big plus. There are so many options it is almost overwhelming. This is a place to eat!

Guacamole to start

Yerbabuena Salad

We first tried it for lunch. While looking over the menu were served individual servings of guacamole and chips to snack on. On our subsequent visit we again were served the guacamole, but we also got a shot of their mango, papaya, passion fruit smoothie which was refreshingly delicious. We started with the Brocheta Yerbabuena Fusion and the Yerbabuena Salad. They were both so good that we started with them again when we came back for dinner another time. The Brocheta are kebobs of veggie shrimp, tofu, tomatoes and veggie meatballs. It is marinated in a soy sauce marinade and grilled. The Yerbabuena salad is huge. It is a tortilla bowl filled with mixed greens, cucumbers, avocado, sprouts, carrots, shredded beets, corn, peppers, orange, apple, kiwi and nuts. It could be a meal unto itself. Two people can easily share it. On our return visit the following evening, Ethan got a bowl of the potato-leek soup as well. The soup is amazing. You can get it served hot or cold. Ethan opted for hot. It is very rich and hearty.

Eggplant Moussaka

The main dishes we tried on our visits were the vegetarian paella, the seitan paillard, oriental sautéed seitan and tofu and eggplant moussaka. All were delicious. Michael did not care much for the paella as it had a smokiness to it – it also might have been that pesky cumin again. However, Ethan really enjoyed it. It is a large portion filled with an assortment of vegetables. The seitan paillard were thin slices of seitan fried seitan served with fried peppers and a spicy Thousand Island type dipping sauce. The oriental sautéed seitan was basically a stir fry. Although loaded with veggies and fantastic, there was not much tofu or seitan in it. The eggplant moussaka was amazing. Slices of well-seasoned eggplant layered with a decadently rich cream sauce. It was so rich you would swear it was a dairy based cream sauce, but it isn’t.

Filloas de crema

We did have dessert on both visits. On our lunch visit, Ethan tried the carrot cake. As a rule, carrot cake is one of his favorite desserts. But, he was rather disappointed in this one. Michael stuck gold with his choice – filloas de crema: two huge crepes filled with vanilla cream served over warm chocolate sauce. Two people can easily share this dessert. Michael allowed Ethan to have a bites, but mostly to be able say he didn’t eat it all. If for no other reason, just come here for the crepes. On our dinner visit, Ethan tried the chocolate brownie while Michael went right for the crepes again. The brownie was good, but a little dry.

The staff at Yerbabuena could not be any nicer and the restaurant has free wifi. They do offer a plate of the day giving you the choice between 2 starters, 2 entrees and 2 desserts. Of the starters and entrees offered, one of each is always vegan and the other can be made vegan. The dessert however is not vegan. Just order off the regular menu. This is another do miss restaurant when you are in Madrid.

We were eager to try Rayen Vegano after reading great reviews about it, but when we first tried to go, it was full and we couldn’t get it. So, we called ahead and made a reservation for another day and got in.

Rayen Vegano – Calle Lope de Vega 7
Everything we read about vegan dining in Madrid raved about Rayen Vegano, but after eating there, we aren’t sure why. The foodwas not particularly good. They offer a plate of the day that give you the choice between two starters, two entrees and two deserts. When we went for starters we could choose between a zucchini

Crema of the day – zucchini soup

soup or chickpea salad with apples, tofu with tomatoes and greens or rice with vegetable and red velvet cake or a lemon muffin. The starters and entrees were all decent, we tried both options. Nothing was bad, just nothing was worthy of the praise we had read. For dessert, we only went with the red velvet. This was just not good at all. If Ethan isn’t finishing a cake, there’s a problem with it.

Red velvet cake

The restaurant is very small and the table and uncomfortable chairs look more like lawn furniture than what you would expect to find in a restaurant. It could just be when we went, but Rayen Vegano is not worth the hype.

That is it for the vegan/vegetarian restaurants we tried. Now, onto the vegan friendly places…

Bosoforos – Calle Horteleza
This is one of the kebap restaurants we mentioned at the start. You can get falafel on a plate, in a pita or in a wrap. When in a wrap is called “durüm falafel.” The sauce they served with the falafel is a ketchup-mayonnaise mix, so ask for no sauce if you want to keep it vegan, and why wouldn’t you. Instead, for a small charge, you can have them add hummus instead. It is also worth noting that the ketchup used is not like American ketchup. It is very watery and has oregano in it. Lastly, this place is very over priced for what you get. In fact, we were still hungry when we left that we walked across the street to…

Stir fried noodles, tofu and veggies from Walk to Wok

Wok to Walk – Calle Horteleza 7
This is basically a make it yourself stir fry chain with two locaitons in the city. You pick your noodles, add ins and sauce, then the chef cooks it for you. We first saw this chain in Amsterdam many years ago. This is a great option for a quick meal. The price is reasonable for a large portion.

Udon Chuecha – Calle Clavel 6
This is an Asian restaurant in the Chuecha neighborhood. We thought there would be ample vegan options for us here, but we were mistaken. Almost everything on the menu contained animal products. However, it was late and we were hungry, so we tried it.

We started with edamame that were over-steamed and under salted. It was also a very small portion. We tried the yasai gyoza that although not labeled as being vegan, are. The dough is very thick and there was not much filling. They were however very heavy in pepper. Lastly we tried the yasai kare rice, rice with broccoli, shitake mushrooms, coconut milk, sprouts and asparagus. Like the gyoza, it was also very heavy with pepper. As Ethan said, “it is not great, but it works.”

Very small portions for a very high price. If you are craving Asian food, go around the corner to Walk to Wok.

Viva Chapata – Calle del Ave Maria 43
We stumbled upon this little gem while wandering around after finding the restaurant we wanted to go to was not open yet. We arrived there before it actually opened, but they told us we were welcome to come in and sit. This is a great place for traditional tapas. All the vegan options are clearly marked on the menu.

bread with vegan cheese spread

Our free starter while looking over the menu was a baguette with a vegan cheese spread and drizzled with olive oil. We ordered the mushroom croquettes, the vegan barbocoa pizza and the vegan arepas.

Barbacoa Pizza

We could tell that the croquettes were made from frozen as some of them still had frozen spots inside. However, that aside they were very tasty. The barbacoa pizza is a big piece of ciabatta bread covered with tomato sauce, vegan mozzarella cheese and soy crumbles and a drizzle of barbeque sauce. The arepas are corn tortillas topped with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, soy cheese and greens. We wanted the regular pizza rather than the barbacoa, but the waiter talked us out of it. We should have gone with the regular. The barbacoa was good, but the regular looked so much better. The arepa was ok, nothing great. It was very hard to cut with a knife.

In addition to tapas, they also offer vegan burgers and a vegan Spanish torta.

If you are in the Chuecha neighborhood and want a quick snack, check out:

Vegan hot dogs

Chicago Hot Dogs at Corredera Alta de San Pablo 2. They have a vegan hot dog that you can top with a wide range of toppings. We opted to top ours with fried onions, potato chips and mustard. Ethan added ketchup as well, but Michael is a purist and believes ketchup is for burgers, mustard is for dogs. We also got an order of fries as well. The dogs are good, but not great, similar to the salchichas at B-13. But, if you are looking for a quick bite and craving American junk food, this is the place to go. They are open late, so it is great to stop by after a night at the bars. It is cash only, so no credit cards.

The final restaurant of our seemingly unending food-fest in Madrid is Bufalino.

Bufalino – 13-15 Calle de la Puebla
We found this place while walking around Chuecha and looking at menus. (It is always a good idea to look at menus as you never know what you might find). This is an omnivore restaurant to be sure, but they have vegan options on the menu and clearly understand veganism, which is lovely. When one thing we ordered came with a yogurt sauce on it, the server immediately removed it before we even had a chance to say anything.

Tempeh al Estilo Oriental

We tried a number of items here. First was the Tabla Vegetariana: a platter of fried spinach balls, falafel, humus, couscous, and roasted peppers. It was good. Nothing outstanding. Then we had the Tempeh al Estilo Oriental: large chunks of tempeh with soy, sesame and coconut milk. It had a very good flavor we both liked the play of the sesame and coconut together. Lastly we had the Verduras a la Plancha: roasted peppers and onions. There was nothing extraordinary about this dish. Overall, the restaurant is not great, but the staff if very friendly. It is definitely overpriced for the size portions given.

We took a day trip from Madrid to see the ancient town of Toledo. Walking the streets you feel like you are back in the 1400s. There is one vegan restaurant here, but it is closed on Tuesdays, the day we visited. However, having done our research before going, we did know of another place with vegan options…

Restaurant El Cristo de la Luz – Calle Cristo de la Luz
This middle eastern restaurant at the edge of town has something for everyone, it has vegan options and it is certified as both Kosher and Hallal. The owner is very friendly and

Couscous

was eager to show us around. The décor is decidedly middle eastern with heavy blue fabrics embroidered with gold, red and green. There is even a hook if you want to try it. While looking over the menu, the owner brought us a basket of potato chips to snack on. There is a lovely front patio to dine outside or you can

choose to sit inside and be enveloped by the middle eastern touches.

Falafel plate

We ordered the falafel, fried eggplant with tomatoes, hummus and couscous with dates, orange, mint and almonds. Everything was delicious. The owner was concerned that we ordered too much food, but there was nothing left when we were done. The food is simple, fresh, and flavorful. It is on the edge of town, so it is away from the tourist areas.

While Madrid may not the most vegan friendly city, there are ample choices. In a week, we didn’t have enough time to visit every vegan or vegan-friendly restaurant in the city. Therefore, we humbly and respectfully disagree with the Huffington Post article listing Spain as one of the top 13 most vegan unfriendly countries in the world. And yes, we do know that Madrid is a city within Spain, not a country. We have no complaints about finding delicious vegan food in the amazingly beautiful and wonderful city of Madrid.

And just in case you needed more proof, here are some additional photos…