Prior to our trip to Spain, I booked a tour through Gourmet Madrid to sample some tapas around the city.  I picked the “Madrid Wine and Tapas” tour because it took place in the neighborhood where we were staying, and there was a lower price for the kids who would not be drinking wine.  For Adults (age 13+) the price was 80 euros and for 12 and under, the price was 55 euros.  I kind of find the price difference hilarious, since at most places, soft drinks cost just as much as a glass of wine or beer.

I love booking food tours in different cities. Most often, you go to more hidden places that might not be so well known, and places that you might not choose to go to yourself. You also almost always will try food that is new to you, but typical for the area. You also almost always get some extra history thrown in by the guide, who is always knowledgable if you book through a reputable company.  

I loved this tour through Gourmet Madrid!  We met at Plaza Santa Ana which was literally one block from our hotel.  There were twelve people in our group, almost all from the USA.  Our guide was a young woman from Madrid, who was enthusiastic and loved telling us about her home city including some of its history and the history of Tapas (which actually originated in the region of Andalusia).  Our first stop was Casa Gonzales for some more traditional tapas and drinks.  On this tour, you could choose from non-alcoholic drinks, beer or wine to drink at each stop. I chose wine, of course! To eat, we had the incredible jamon iberico on toast, very melty cheese with quince paste, which was also served on toast and quite possibly my favorite food item on this whole tour, and soprassata so fresh that it was pretty much spread onto the bread.  

Afterwards, we stopped by the home where Cervantes lived for the last year of his life for an extra history lesson, and then we continued to El Lacon restaurant where we sampled some more unusual tapas including pigs ears, fried shark croquettes (which tasted a bit like falaffel to me), and sweetbreads.  There was also potato salad, shishito peppers and eggplant tempura with honey.  I am going to stop here and tell you that fried eggplant with honey was a revelation!  The combination of the savory eggplant with the sweet honey was absolutely perfect and sings in your mouth. This was a dish I had never tried before, although is one of the more traditional tapas dishes available throughout Spain.  You absolutely MUST seek out this dish when you are in Spain, and I am super excited to try making it myself.  This was a big stop at El Lacon, where it seemed like the food kept coming and coming.  

Following this incredible stop, we went to La Casa Del Abuelo where we had the most delicious garlic prawns.  Most places that serve tapas will serve garlic prawns, but whatever this place puts in their garlic sauce is magical.  The prawns are fresh and not rubbery.  The place itself was also more of a traditional tapas place. With very few tables to sit at, there were mostly high, small tables around the space, as well as the bar around which to stand and enjoy your shrimp.  The workers here were particularly fun and really seemed to enjoy being there and wanted you to have a great time there as well.

After this, I could not believe there was yet another stop!  Our guide started taking us to Plaza Mayor which was met with some raised eyebrows from the group, but she assured us that the place we were going to was legit.  She told us a bit about the history of the famous Plaza, including the fact that it is located in the center of several crossroads around Spain.  It also has burned down three times!  The place that we went to at Plaza Mayor was called Los Galayos which is located sort of in a corner of the plaza away from the rest of the hustle and bustle.  This is the exception to the rule (tourist trap central) at Plaza Mayor, where we were able to get some very delicious tapas.  First, they took us down to the cellar to show us how the different storefronts used to be connected underground.  Then, we went upstairs to a large, nicely air conditioned room. Here, we had five additional tapas including cheese croquettes, spanish omelette, fried baby squid, and pork belly.  We also had a dessert which was a bread pudding.  By this time, we were all completely stuffed, and all four of us were extremely tired due to the fact that this was our first full day in Madrid and so we said goodbye to our guide and new tour group friends.  

The tour advertises that you will taste more than 10 tapas, and I counted 15.  That’s basically 5 euro per tapas and also 4 or 5 glasses of wine or beer.  Considering the addition of a knowledgable guide, and not really having to think about where you are going and what you are doing, I think this tour was a great value, and definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I would highly recommend booking this tour through Gourmet Madrid, and definitely always consider booking food tours anywhere you go in the world to sample some true local cuisine!