In the land where jamón and queso manchego prosper, it may at first seem difficult to survive as a vegan or vegetarian in Madrid. But fear not! Although it is true that Spanish food is typically meat and dairy-based, the city’s restaurant scene has changed a lot over recent years. Today, Madrid’s world-class vegetarian and vegan-friendly eateries will have individuals with all diets falling in love with Spanish food.

Here are a few Madrid restaurants that all offer delicious vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes with a Spanish twist!

Vega

Located on Calle de la Luna, this restaurant prides itself in creating all organic, vegan, homemade dishes for guests to enjoy. Restaurant-goers will love the smoked aubergine tapas or the beetroot and strawberries Gazpacho for appetizers, both vegan-friendly Spanish favorites. Visitors can enjoy Vega’s delicious salads, black rice with “squid”, “chili con carne”, or “Burrata” tapas. What is so special about Vega is their vegan twist on foods and dishes that are commonly enjoyed in Spain by the locals.

• Image from Facebook
• Address: Calle Luna 9
• Metro: Santo Domingo, Noviciado, Callao

B13

Enjoy typical Spanish tapas at B13, on Calle de la Ballesta, with their mouthwatering patatas bravas (a local favorite), their “calamari”, as well as their variety of vegetarian hamburgers. Whether you’re in the mood for a Spanish tapas-style meal or want to feast on a delicious hamburger or sandwich, B13 has what you’re craving for your next vegetarian meal.

• Image from Facebook
• Address: Calle de la Ballesta 13
• Metro: Callao, Gran Vía

Freedom Cakes

Freedom Cakes, also on Calle de la Luna, is known as the first vegan pastry shop in Madrid. It is truly a wonderful spot to enjoy a quality cup of coffee with any vegan milk that you prefer. Whether it be an iced soy latte during hot summer months or an almond milk cappuccino to warm you up on chilly autumn mornings, you’ll love their delicious coffee options. Better yet, pair your coffee with one of their renowned vegan pastries, ranging from freshly baked cakes, cupcakes, muffins, and cookies, all 100% vegetable-based!

• Facebook
• Address: Calle Luna 14
• Metro: Noviciado, Callao

Sanissimo

Last, but certainly not least, Sanissimo is a wonderful restaurant with a few locations in Madrid, that is pleased to offer an array of vegan and vegetarian dishes. Start your day off on the right foot with one of their juices and smoothies, or perhaps one of their popular bagels. Between their refreshing fruit bowls, sweet bagel options, and rich pastries, you’ll always enjoy starting your day at Sanissimo.  

• Image from Facebook
• Address: Calle San Vicente Ferrer 28 / Calle Campomanes, 5
• Metro: Tribunal, Noviciado / Opera, Santo Domingo

Whether your diet be vegan, vegetarian, meat-based, or fish-based, you’ll never have to fear missing out on the spectacular Spanish cuisine that the city of Madrid boasts. Enjoy mouthwatering vegan and vegetarian dishes, but with the same Spanish influence as what the locals are enjoying.

By Haley Grant

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On Calle Apodaca, just around the corner from the Mercado Barceló, is a little restaurant called Bar Pajarita. And I’m so excited to be able to do the honor of writing about it for Naked Madrid. Why, do you ask? It’s been on the go-to list for quite a while, and also on mine. One of my friends, who constantly raves about it, kept saying that I needed to go. This furthered my intrigue, but as time went by, the timing wasn’t right for me to get my first Pajarita experience. And then, one hot, summer night (one of many in this never-ending Madrid heat wave), I FINALLY got to see what Pajarita is all about. I was in luck as she was my partner-in-crime for the evening, helping decide which dishes to try.

We split four items, which was a perfect amount for dinner. The chef plays with a lot of different flavor profiles; this you can get a vibe for right away when you see the black napkin folded in the shape of a bow-tie (and in Spanish pajarita does in fact mean bow-tie) on top of your place-setting. This fusion of traditional ingredients and unique preparations is what makes it so playful, and so good. And that’s the point of the experience at Pajarita; they want you to have fun eating. You can eat with your standard fork and knife, or you can take the chopsticks at hold the napkin as a bow-tie when you walk in and eat that way too (or, as they say on their website if you dare).

We first started off with the quekas, which are quesadillas with mushrooms. The pico de gallo and the sunflower seed pesto were placed perfectly in the middle. While quesadillas often make for a challenge, these were perfect finger-food

Quekas

The next one, which was my hands-down favorite, were the huevos divorciados. Now don’t let the name (divorced eggs) fool you; the thing is that one one side that looks like potatoes is actually the egg white. As the name implies, the whites and the yolks are separated. And like a good Spaniard, you put the egg white as if it were a potato by dipping it in the yolk and mixing bites of seeds and lima beans.

Huevos divorciados- the “must-have” dish

We rounded out dinner with bacalao (cod) on top of a sweet potato purée and little squirts of mayonnaise…

Delicia de bacalao

…and one of my favorite meats, solomillo de buey on top of a pimientos de padrón mustard.

Coruñés 53

It definitely lived up to my friend’s hype, and I can’t wait to go back again and again. I also need to go back because we didn’t have dessert.  I’ll definitely work through as much of the menu as I can, but I will be (and still am) dreaming of the huevos divorciados going right into my mouth. On a quiet street in Malasaña, Bar Pajarita is a perfect place for dinner with great food and playful fun. It’s more fun if you have someone (or a few people) to have fun eating with.

Restaurante Pajarita