It’s not a secret that I love chocolate. When I travel, I try to find the best local chocolate shops which can be easy or impossible (see Bruges Chocolate Shops).  On a recent trip to London, I even tried my hand at making chocolates at Melt Chocolate in Notting Hill.  So when traveling for the first time to Madrid, I had heard “you must drink chocolate and eat churros in Madrid”.  Well, if I must do that, no need to tell me twice. But where should I go as there are multiple options in Madrid (and Spain to be honest).

So, I did what any good tourist would do, I searched google and tripadvisor and then followed the tourists down the passageway (alley) to a yellow and gold hued building with a red neon sign that in the sunlight was hard to see.  I arrived at Chocolateria San Gines Madrid, which was founded in 1894 (yes, it’s that old) with no idea really what I was to do next.  I walked the length of the building to see seats inside and outside in the courtyard where servers were delivering trays of churros with cups of chocolate.

I waited in the line to place my order from the limited menu posted on the wall and paid in cash before receiving a receipt and directed ahead to wait to be seated.  My small table for two was in the main building so I could have a great view of the chocolate and churros operation from the line, cashier, preparations behind the counter, seating and delivery orchestration. It was a well-coordinated operation that hit a few bumps when tourists didn’t know where to stand for takeaway or didn’t speak Spanish enough to understand to move, order first at the counter or wait to be seated.

When my order arrived, my eyes anticipated the joy the freshly made churros dipped in chocolate would bring and my tastebuds celebrated with the first bite.  I saw folks drinking the chocolate straight from the cup and while that seemed tempting at first, I savored the churros first by dipping them in the chocolate. One note that in the U.S., the churros are usually dusted with sugar, they are plain at Chocolateria San Gines so no need to ask where the sugar is – the answer is always “in the US”. Once the churros were gone, I tried to drink the chocolate, but it was rich even for me and I couldn’t finish it all.

It cost €4.80 for six churros and a cup of chocolate which is a reasonable price to experience a local food indulgence.  Can’t make it to the shop in person, San Gines is available via Uber Eats!