Madrid like the rest of Spain uses seafood as centerpiece for many of their traditional dishes. These dishes are wide ranging in the protein choice and the creative ways that people make these dishes. These dishes, while more of a modern take on Madrid’s cuisine, are still rich in the culture of the city and taste great as well. The first item while simplistic is a staple of most regions in Spain and that is calamari or fried squid. Which while you can find a version of this dish almost anywhere in the world it takes on the most creativity in Spain, this including the city of Madrid.

One of the funnier options is comparable to something that many American blue-collar workers do, which is take some beef jerky or other types of dried meat and make a sandwich out of it by sticking it between some rye or some other type of bread. In this sense they take the calamari and stick it between two pieces of bread, this dish in particular is referred to as Bocadillo de Calamares. This is not to say there aren’t more creative options, it’s just that this option is popular with the general populace of Madrid. This is due to Spain’s access to the Mediterranean Sea making calamari and other sea food very inexpensive and easy to obtain.

Another seafood dish that is highly popular in Madrid is Huevos Estrellados which translates to fried eggs. The dish is similar to Mexican dirty rice in which you have a base which is for this dish is eggs which is mixed or plated with French fries or hashbrowns depending on the time of the day. The most common form of this dish is to use fish since it is a much lighter protein which makes it a good breakfast item; however, you can use any meat item for this dish, chorizo is often used as it is a staple of Spanish cuisine. This dish has great flavor and like many other dishes from Madrid and the rest of Spain has a large amount of freedom to play with protein and vegetable choices.

Sources:

“Traditional Madrid Food.” Gran Hotel Ingles, www.granhotelingles.com/blog/traditional-madrid-food . Accessed 20 Apr. 2025. 

“La Carta de Botín – Restaurante Botín: Cochinillos y Corderos Asado de Madrid.” Botín Restaurant | Roast Suckling Pigs and Lamb of Madrid, 24 Feb. 2025, https://botin.es/en/menu-botin/ . Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.