Six classic churrerías in Madrid, to enjoy the best chocolate with churros

Madrid = churros con chocolate. For many Madrid residents, Spaniards in general and tourists, with the arrival of winter and the approach of Christmas, this equation is inevitable.

The capital of Spain, which decks itself out like never before with the end-of-year festivities, invites you every winter to delight in one of its great gastronomic traditionsalmost irresistible to alleviate the cold in the streets.

There are no hours to savor chocolate with churros; For breakfast, lunch or snack, Madrid churrerías are always ready. And although it is true that there are fewer and fewer left, there are those that keep a tradition alive that should never go extinct.

Here, six of the most famous churrerías in Madridto warm the body and sweeten the soul in the cold Spanish winter.

San Ginés Passage, 5

Perhaps the “super classic” of Madrid churros, which transcended borders and opened locations in countries as diverse as Colombia, Japan, Mexico and China. And although recently It is also in Buenos Aires -in the Carriage Market, Av. Leandro N. Alem 852-, it is worth going to the origin: the store in the center of Madrid, 100 meters from Plaza Mayor.

Born in 1894 With the style of the cafes of the time, San Ginés remains more relevant than ever: Open until the wee hours of the morning from Thursday to Saturday and serves more than 10,000 servings each day of their delicacy which, they say, is made with a secret recipe.

Its two floors are divided white marble tables and a tiled counter where to have chocolate with churros in a traditional way, although there are no shortage of people who order a soft drink or coffee accompanied by a selection of cakes.

It is worth enjoying one of the most accepted traditions among many Madrid residents: ending a night of partying with friends having breakfast in San Ginés.

They deliver and define themselves as “leaders in home delivery of churros”, but the truth is that there is nothing better than enjoying them in one of their almost always packed venues, one located in Vallecas and the other in San Sebastián de los Reyes.

With more than 40 years of tradition, Siglo XIX maintains a clientele of faithful “churreros” who do not miss its long and crunchy churros – they stand out for being not very oily – and, they say,the biggest clubs in the city -porras are similar to churros but wider, spongier and shorter-. Of course, always with its corresponding hot chocolate, because churros and chocolate are a marriage that cannot be broken.

It is presented as “the oldest in the capital”, present since the year it bears his name. And it is also the “surviving” churrería of the Malasaña neighborhood, now so fashionable and trendy, with design stores and creative bars, and which two or three decades ago It housed more than 10 churreríaswhich were falling with the advancement of other options.

Four generations of churro families have brightened the mornings and breakfasts of Madrid residents and tourists in the Malasaña neighborhood, since it was called the Maravillas neighborhood, with a brand born for distribution to companies, and which later decided to open to the general public, a decision that Madrid residents and tourists are grateful…

Today, in charge of the churrería are the young Mario Mendoza Manzano and his sister, who have inherited the recipes from his parents, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparentsfocused on making the churros and porras crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, “as if it seems like the oil hasn’t even touched them,” they say.

www.churreriamadrid1883.es

Five generations dedicated to the art of making churros from its initiator, Florencio Gorracategui, who founded it in 1902: after having learned and perfected the technique, Florencio began his adventure selling churros and batons on the streets from Madrid with a stove that he made himself and that heated the oil with wood and coal.

The local “1902” only emerged in 2013, thanks to the fourth generation of churro mastersin homage to those beginnings and with an offer in line with new times, since in addition to the traditional churros with chocolate, it also offers options for vegans and celiacs.

And an extensive menu that also ranges from sandwiches to crepes, hamburgers or brownies, as well as another very typical product like pestiñosa flour dough fried in olive oil and dipped in honey or sugar, which is usually served as a sweet for Christmas or Easter.

The churros and porras that are made today follow the old recipe created by Don Florencio, in the hands of a fifth generation of the family that continues a tradition with More than 120 years of service and secrets passed on from parents to children over time.

Postigo de San Martín, 7

A chocolate story that starts in 1881when Valeriano López Lloret began his own adventure with family history of chocolatiers that went back several decades, since the López family worked as a chocolate maker in the Ermita area.

Today this former cafeteria and chocolate shop has four stores in Madridalthough the most frequented is the one in the center, on Postigo de San Martín street, less than 100 meters from Plaza del Callaoone of the epicenters of every Christmas.

In their letter they surprise eight types of chocolatesto which they have been dedicated for more than a century and to which 30 years ago they added their already renowned artisanal churros, which, they say, stand out for their spongy dough.

The Madrid family Repullo Hernández founded Churrería La Andaluza shortly before the Spanish Civil Wara business that three generations of the family continued, until 2005 whenthey sold one of the employeeswho knew their secrets as well as they did, the churrero Javier Mata Serna, current owner.

Since then, Javier dedicated himself to renewing the machinery and the business, without forgetting the main objective of preserving the artisanal quality that always highlighted the churros, porras and buñuelos of La Andaluza. Incidentally, it is one of the few churrerías in Madrid that still makes homemade fritters.

Javier maintains a long tradition and continues to teach this ancient and noble craft of churrero to new generations.