My family has these annually summer gatherings in various destinations. This time our stop was Madrid. My brother, Mum, Dad and I were present. My sister stayed home working but were immensely missed.
I've never been too excited about Spain but surprisingly Madrid turned out to be very much enjoyed. I'm extremely interested in food and after traveling a lot to Italy I was expecting the same kind of food habits in Spain; old fashion and traditional with meat, fish, cheese and gluten everywhere. But this was not the case, apparently the "Madridians", are extremely up to date. Even way more than Norway and 100 % more forward-leaning than Italy. Wherever I turned my head I saw signs with vegan, vegetarian, raw, gluten and milk free food options. Wtf? Ice cream I could eat everywhere. All my life when traveling with my family I’ve been struggling to find things I could eat besides vegetables, legumes, nuts and fruits. It has always been both a problem and disappointment. But apparently not anymore, now there is even more healthy options than that unhealthy shitty food. The world is moving forwards in a backwardish nutritious way. Back to our roots, eating vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits etc. Killing animals will become rarer and rarer I believe as more people become conscious, it will definitely become a huge trend; veganism, vegetarianism and organic foods. I can’t say it enough; the future is PROMISING.
Mother and I <3
So, where did I go to eat in Madrid? Sadly I visited for just 2 days but the places listed below where my absolute favourites and I ended up eating at the same places both of the days. They were all highly sophisticated places with top quality food, haven’t tasted such homemade delicious dishes ever since visiting San Francisco and LA. I actually felt I was taken right back there.
So, the hotel we stayed at, Only You (sounds kinda tacky but it was the complete opposite), was the coolest and most forward-leaning hotel I've ever been at, it had such a quality, style and personality and most service minded people. It has a huge bonus; a breathtaking rooftop restaurant with a view over Madrid.
You can read more about the hotel here:
Only You Hotel Atocha
(photos from Only You's Website)
Dinner At The Restaurant On The First Floor " Restaurante Trotamundos"
Home made quality food, you can’t find such food in Norway unless you eat raw foods.
They didn’t have too many vegan options but if you ask they will happily adjust and make delicious dishes for you, not add in that crappy soy or wheat kind of stuff.
I asked for a vegan nachos and they made this magical nachos with guacamole on top and black bean sauce with mushrooms and aubergine, and the crisps were really good tasting too, chili flavour. All was hot. Top notch, everyone loved it.
My mother ordered this wonderful and extremely tasty salad, I have no idea which leaves it was but there was also flowers in there. Omg, so good. The atmosphere was calm and the service excellent.
Only You Roof Top Dinner "Restaurant Universe"
Didn’t have too much here but tasted once more a really good salad my mother ordered and my father ordered som squid croquettes and another grilled vegetable salad. And once more. Top quality home made food, mind-blowing. Atmosphere GREAT. View over Madrid, temperature great and service excellent.
Only You Roof Top Breakfast
Wtf they had everything and really well prepared and good looking, they had almond milk, soy, and oats milk and they had porridge with oat milk and rice pudding. They had chopped all kinds of fruits and it all looked soooo classy everything home made of course. Definitely you should STAY at Only You Hotel. No better hotel. And you wont find better food breakfasts for sure.
Randomly we came across this Gluten Free and Vegan Friendly place while checking out the other Only You Boutique Hotel in Madrid in Chueca area. One word, YUM. Heaven for me!
Celicioso - Gluten Free and vegan friendly Bakery, Café & Restaurant
Absolutely everything was gluten free and they had loots of vegan and sugar free options too, muffins, cakes etc vegan burgers, Acaii bowls, Smoothies. Quality homemade is the word.
It is actually also a part of the Only You Hotels, no surprise really.
I ate two muffins, one chocolate and one muffins. Wish I could eat there every day. Getting sugar free, vegan and gluten free baked stuff is raaaaare. They also had a few different raw cakes. My mother ate a banana chocolate raw cake which was indeed a real treat.
(You can also find Celicioso in Ibiza and Marbella as well and they even had Paris Hilton Visiting them ha ha, its at their Instagram profile, way too funny)
Food Market in Chueca Area
Only locals!
There was an ice cream stand downstairs serving raw vegan and natural ice creams. I ate a mojito tasting ice cream one day and the next day pineapple coconut milk. Both were amazing.
I also ate amazing fruits, sushi and potatoes here.
These are the places you MUST check out if you go and do do do stay at one of the Only You Hotels. You're in for a treat! Wish you all a wonderful day and thanks for reading!
Love,
