San Ginés Chocolateria, Madrid

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At San Gines Kim and I experienced the pleasure of Churros. VT friends Santi, Ursula and Joaquin met us downstairs in a very cosy and warm booth. Churros was immediately ordered and the fun began. These delicious long sticks of fried dough are enjoyed by dipping into mugs of warm delicious chocolate. This we found to be a very enjoyable way to chat with friends and pass time. A big thanks goes to our VT mates in Madrid for the treat. WARNING can get very messy and is highly addictive.

San Gines is a very popular hang out for all ages and favourite haunt of many Madrileños. If you loved chocolate go to there.

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Stopping by the Chocolateria San Gines is such an experience, I almost felt like putting this tip in the "Things to do" section! Without necessarily being the best place for chocolate in Madrid, it certainly is the most popular and it's worth going in just to soak up the slightly old-fashioned atmosphere of the place. It's pretty much always full of people, and the later it gets, the more crowded it becomes - it seems like going out for chocolate and churros after a night out in Madrid is the Spanish equivalent to going out for poutine at 3:00 am when you're in Quebec ;o)

So what is so special about chocolate and churros? Well, first of all, chocolate in Spain has nothing to do with the hot chocolate we get in Canada. It is so rich and thick, I guess I would describe it as a chocolate fondue poured into a cup. Churros are fried-dough pastries that you can dip in the chocolate, but I prefered my technique: eat the chocolate with a spoon (because it's so thick you can't really drink it), and then take a few bites of churros to cut the massive sugar intake. Another tradition I fell in love with!

Favorite Dish: I'll let you guess!

San Ginés Chocolateria is an institution in the Madrid's downtown. You cannot miss it because is between the Gran Via and the church of San Ginés, indeed. The ambience is very nice but NOTHING compared to its chocolate, so creamy, soft and tastly. The only disadvantage is that it is always overcrowded but don't loose your patience: the chocolate will re-pay you completely. Of course you have churros (better not to think to the cellulite a churro can increase) or other "potres". You can standing or sitting. I cannot remember exactly but I think that smoke is forbidden. Considering the high price for a cappuccino in Madrid (that in in 90% of cases is milk+coffe....non a real cappuccino) I think it's better to have, for a lower price, chocolate with churros.

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Have a good Chocolate con Churros is one of the things you must to do in your visit. I did it and it was good. I read some comments about San Gines and we decided to go, my sister got a table and i took the ticket, we wait about 2 minutes and after we were enjoying the best churros in long time. San Gines is one of the most popular place to have hot chocolate and churros.

Tomarse un buen chocolate con churros es una de las cosas que debes hacer cuando estás en Madrid. Leí varios comentarios sobre San Gines y nos decidimos a ir a merendar una tarde, mi hermana cogió mesa y yo me quedé en la barra sacando el ticket, esperamos un par de minutos y después estabamos disfrutando del mejor chocolate con churros.

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Make sure to pay/order first and then go sit...they will bring it to you. I went to Madrid thinking that chocoalte and churros was going to be the best thing ever, don't get me wrong it was good but did not live up to the hype, they have the same hot chocolate in paris and the churros are a little greasy...good though. I am sure this would of been much better if i would of just came out of a bar late at night hungry. Don't get me wrong it is good.

The restaraunt was very crowded but bright when we entered. You have to place your order at the counter and you pick a seat when you get your order. There are two floors with one downstairs. This restaraunts specialty is desserts.

Favorite Dish: The churros are freshly made and are served with a cup of melted chocolate that can be used to dunk the churro or can be a drink

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Just North of Calle Major this place is easy to miss. It makes for a fun and entertaining and tasty way to enjoy a bit of decadence. You basically order a small mug of melted chocolate and dip your churros. I prefered mine with a cafe con leche. But you can also eat them straight up.

For churros con chocolate (which is basically melted chocolate in a cup), this is the place. Having heard it was pretty packed all the time, we went during siesta - we were the only two persons in the place!

Pay attention when you look for the place - I happened to turn my head to the right when we passed a street just in time, else we'd have missed it.