A visit to Madrid would not be complete without trying the popular breakfast of churros with chocolate.
Finding the best churros in Madrid is not just choosing the most popular churreria, there is also a preference for the dough and chocolate served.
After living here in Madrid for close to ten years, I know how to look for the best churros money can buy like a local.
In Spain, most people are ‘team sweet’, and they love a sweet breakfast, so starting the day with ‘churros con chocolate is somewhat of a tradition here in Madrid.
Yes, they are delicious, and Madrid has been serving up churros with hot chocolate for well over a century. If you are ever in town, you need to try this traditional Spanish breakfast at least once, twice, or three times.
Sure, you have seen frozen churros in a supermarket, or maybe you found a food fair selling some sprinkled with sugar, even with some fillings, but the Churro originated here in Spain (exactly where a hot topic of local contention) and you will not find the same anywhere else in the world.
A little bit of History about churros
Some believe that churros are descendants of a Chinese pastry known as youitao. This Chinese pastry is also fried in oil and resembles two long breadsticks joined together, but is not sprinkled with sugar granules and dipped in yummy warm thick hot chocolate like the Spanish churro we all know and love.
As the story goes, on their expeditions, Portuguese explorers brought the youtiao back to Spain, and over time it took on its star-edged shape and sweet taste we recognize today.
Other stories say as a replacement for bread, Spanish shepherds mixed and fried a dough made from salt, four, and water with a little butter and also eggs which morphed into the churro we know today.
The name has also been related to the native Churra sheep, and the distinctive shape of their horns which add, but no matter where Churros originated, one thing we are all in agreement with is that they are delicious!
Churros are also alike the morning McDonald’s, the hangover food of choice here in Madrid, so if you have had a few too many, don’t go looking for the nearest kebab, instead, sway your way to one of these establishments I will talk about and grab yourself a mug of thick hot chocolate and few of these yummy pastries.
So now we know a little more about Churros with Chocolate, let me tell you exactly where in Madrid you will find some of the best examples of this Spanish breakfast staple. This list is not in any particular order, so no matter which one you choose to visit, you will be eating a really good quality churro.
First, we will start with the best churros in the center of Madrid, as most of us that come here on holiday will more than likely be staying somewhere close, but I will also mention some other places further away from the center for those of you that are little more adventurous.
What is the difference between a Churro and a Porra? (Baton)
Most of us by now know what a churro looks like, or at least the version of it we have seen in our own respective countries. Even burger king has had a go at these in London where I am from, but after living in Spain for so many years, I can tell you with great certainty that not all churros are created equal.
You may have seen them short, tall, fat, curly, stuffed with a myriad of fillings, but when in Madrid you will see what a real churro is supposed to look like. But another lesser-known counterpart here is the Porra, which is similar to a churro, but much bigger and thicker.
The main difference as mentioned is the size difference. A Churro is slim and dandy and has a cute bow shape, but a porra (aptly nicknamed after a baton) is pretty much as thick as and resembles a baton.
Another difference is what they are called depending on where in Spain you are.
If you are in Valencia, the churro and porra are collectively known as “churros, the same goes for Andalusia and Castilla la Mancha, so keep that in mind depending on where you are ordering. But here in Madrid, they are named differently.
So when you are in a café about to order some churros, if you see a much thicker one, it is not a deformed churro, it’s a porra, and you should definitely give it a go. Insider Tip, if you order a porra, try and ask for the middle (el Medio de la porra) because this piece is always a bit doughier and has a bulb of the dough on the end piece, it’s the best piece of the porra believe me.
The best Churros in Madrid near Plaza Mayor
Plaza mayor is right in the center of Madrid, and a lot of the places I will mention here are within a few minutes’ walk of here. Plaza mayor also has an interesting history with the inquisition and whatnot, and if you are interested, I have covered that in a separate post, but this one is all about yummy stuff.
So without further chit-chat, let us get to the sweet stuff. Just to mention, all of these churro shops are also very close to Plaza de sol, so if you are looking for Churros close to Sol, then this list is also for you.
Los Artesanos 1902. Chocolatería y churrería
This café has been serving up churros for over a century, and the creator is a fourth-generation churro maker. Originally, Don Gabi began selling the churros he made with his wife Carmen on the streets of Madrid with a burner he made himself and simply used wood and coal to heat the oil and fry his churros.
The quality of the churro here is top-notch, and everything you eat here is handmade, you can see this all for yourself as it takes place behind the counter in front of your own eyes, no frozen churros here.
This café is divided into two floors, and has three distinct spaces. It is not just a place for a sweet breakfast, but they also have afternoon tea and they also provide lunch and dinner menus, but honestly, I only ever come here for the churros so I will have to come back for dinner and give that a review sometime.
Other than the amazing Churros they make freshly all day; they also make the thick hot chocolate they serve using 3 different cacaos’ from south America. The chocolates are gluten-free and also vegan, sugar-free and lactose-free options are also provided. They also have their own signature “Floreta”, which is a fritter that you can get with chocolate, honey, or sugar and cinnamon.
Of all the places to try churros in Madrid, make sure you pop into Los Artesanos, you will enjoy everything about this place.
Chocolatería de San Ginés
This one will show up on all the top lists of churros with chocolate in Madrid, and for very good reason, they are super yummy. It is located just off Calle del Arenal on Pasadizo de San Gines, but if you have any difficulty finding it, it is behind the San Gines church, or literally, anyone you ask will know how to get here from Plaza Del Sol.
San Gines just sings of tradition, with the white marble décor, tiles covering the bar top, and the décor that takes you back to the late nineteenth century. I do love sitting down in this place. The waiters are all traditionally well dressed, everything moves in an old-fashioned way but so efficient, there are shouts of the orders across the bar, the sound of the coffee mugs and plates clanging in the background, you can’t beat it.
Traditionally, it is open every day of the year. If you are around Puerta del sol on new year’s eve, this is where many people choose to eat their first churro and have their first hot chocolate of the year.
San Gines was originally built as an inn, or a guesthouse, but converted to selling churros a few years later in 1894 with their own special technique, and boy are we glad they made this choice, as they do offer some of the best churros with chocolate you will ever taste. This place possibly has the most famous churros in Madrid, has been referenced in numerous literary works, and has been given honors by the local council of Madrid as a historic tourist center.
It is possibly the oldest chocolate shop in Madrid and is also locally known as “La Escondida” (the hidden one) due to its location, being tucked away behind a church, under an arch at the end of an alley.
Another cool thing about this place is the photos on the wall. It is covered all over with pictures of famous people of the past and present that have enjoyed their amazing churros with chocolate. Stevie Wonder, Naomi Campbell, Bridget Nielsen, Ronaldo, Pele, and the list goes on.
The main things served here are churros or the thicker Porras with chocolate. They also sell ice cream, several pastries, biscuits, turrones, and good coffee!
San Gines has everything you would expect to find in a Spanish bar, but we all know why we are coming here, the churros, so dip in and enjoy.
I know I owe a few pounds of weight gain exclusively to San Gines.
If you like the chocolate, I would also advise you to grab a packet, as you can make the chocolate they sell there in the comfort of your own home on a cold day, but as far as the churros, now that’s an art I am not sure we can all pick up so quickly.
You can reserve a table if you want to go there, sit down and take it all in, but if you just want to sample the churros with chocolate here in Madrid, you can also just jump in the queue and grab some to take away.
https://chocolateriasangines.com/
Chocolatería Valor (Postigo de San Martín)
Another café in Madrid will also show up in all the top places to eat churros with chocolate in Madrid. Chocolateria Valor has been going strong ever since it was founded by Valeriano Lopez back in 1881.
The family originally made their world-renowned chocolates using a mill and donkeys, and thanks to electricity and modern production technologies, over the years, they have improved this process, and now produce and sell their chocolate products nationally and worldwide.
Valor pays attention and takes pride in the quality of its chocolate. And in 2011 received the Candy Kettle Award which is the most prestigious award in their sector and even had a personal visit from the King of Spain himself.
Now let’s get to the churros with chocolate, the reason you are here right. They have many locations in Madrid, but we will be talking about the one closest to Plaza Mayor. This chocolateria Valor is located on the corner of Calle Navas de Tolosa and Calle Postigo de San Martin just off Plaza del Callao.
The churros here are just as delicious as everywhere else, but they have something a little different. They are crunchy as you would expect on the outside but have more of a spongy texture when you bite into them. Add to that some of the best hot chocolate you can find anywhere in the world, and oh my is it a little bit of heaven in a bite.
In most places that serve churros with chocolate, you have one option of the hot chocolate, but here at Valor, you can have chocolate with cream, without sugar, with milk, dark, I mean they are chocolatiers after all so they have many options of hot chocolate here.
And if hot chocolate is not your thing, they even have cold chocolate beverages, so however you would like to enjoy your churros, they have an option for you here.
Then they have savory treats, chocolate sundaes, fruits dipped in chocolates, cakes, and fondue, I mean you can really get your sugar high on in here, but before getting all excited about that, make sure you try the churros with chocolate first, this is the first step, then you can indulge in the rest Valor has to offer.
Chocolat
Chocolat is one of the newer kids on the block and has been offering fresh churros with chocolate made daily since 2003. Something nice about this place is the décor.
Although it is a lot newer than most of the places to eat churros on this list when you enter the shop, the decor is kept as simple as the old times, the bar top is white marble as are the tabletops, and there is also a large terrace outside for the days where you can enjoy the sunshine, which is over 300 days of the year here in Madrid.
Chocolat is located in the famous,” Barrio de las Letras” neighborhood known also as the Art triangle due to its previous residents that are known to be some of the greatest literary minds in Spanish history, the museums and covenants, and just a beautiful area of Madrid littered with history at every turn of a corner.
Juan Alfonso is the owner of this fine establishment, and in a relatively short time has been able to create one of the most famous cafes in Madrid that serve up churros with chocolate. Everything is made fresh daily from the dough to the artisanal chocolate and everyone that eats here knows to expect some of the highest quality churros Madrid has to offer.
The atmosphere is great, the waiters are young and friendly, an amazing environment for family, and just an all-around pleasant experience.
They too offer several other sweet delicacies, but I would advise you to get yourself a mug of their delicious hot chocolate, a couple of churros, a couple of Porras, sit by the bar, and just dip away and don’t stop until you see the bottom.
This one is a little bit further and is probably a 15 min walk from plaza mayor, but I just had to mention this one here on the list, because it is worth a visit.
Madrid 1883 Churrería
So this is the oldest café on the list that serves churros with chocolate located in the Malasana district, and has recently been refurbished, but nothing has changed in the quality of the service or the food. The refurb is pretty cool because there are a lot of modern elements, but they still have the century-old iron lamps, and a giant glass window that opens into the kitchen so you can see the whole process of how the churros and chocolate are made, it’s really cool.
The store opened back in 1883 and is still at the same address serving the same churros to the public with the same recipe and quality as always. Even throughout the war, when it was hard to obtain materials, and just work day to day, they continued to walk the streets of Madrid and serve up their signature churros and Porras with hot chocolate through the streets.
They even delivered to the majority of the hotel industry so thousands of people had their churros for breakfast in the center of Madrid daily. Through all the difficulty, they even managed to open up a few more storefronts around Madrid and have just gone from strength to strength to the current day.
There uses to be more than 10 cafes that served up churros and chocolate in the Malasana neighborhood, but Madrid 1883 is the only one left, so after 133 years, and more than 4 generations of churreros having kept this business alive, in 2016 the café was refurbished to how it now looks today.
Now to the main point, the CHURROS ARE DELICIOUS! I mean after 140 years of perfecting a recipe, you expect it to be pretty good, and my oh my are they just that, and they are seriously cheap. I am always in a debate about all of these churros, but the chocolate here is possibly in my top 2 (I can never commit to one choice, they are all so good).
The staff here are really friendly, you will not have a great experience, everything about this place is just lovely, take your friends, and family, and enjoy some of the best churros with chocolate from the oldest churro shop in Madrid.
https://www.churreriamadrid1883.es/
La Antigua Churreria
This one is just around the corner from Manuel Becerra metro station, and not that far from plaza mayor, still a good 25-minute walk, but it is worth the walk and you also have less guilt because you will have burnt a few calories on the way.
Another centurion on the list, La Antigua Churreria has been one of the best places to eat churros in Madrid for over a century, and for good reason. This dynasty started with Julio Quiroga who set up a stall on the bridge of Ventas where he perfected the recipe for his churros, the same recipe has been passed down for generations, and the churros are now sold in many cafes throughout Madrid.
I am a sucker for décor, and I love the old white marble tabletops and seeing the dough being dropped into the hot oil behind the counter. Watching the chocolate being mixed right there in front of your eyes, then seeing the churros dropped onto a giant aluminum pan and sprinkled with sugar, just gives you a different vibe.
What distinguishes the churros in La Antigua for me is they are a little crispier, a little sweeter than the churros I have eaten in other places around Madrid, the chocolate is just as good as everywhere else in the city, and the staff is very nice and friendly and they serve great coffee too.
One more place for you to visit to try some of the best chocolate with churros when you are in Madrid, but check out their website, as they do have other locations so you may be closer to one than you think.
https://laantiguachurreria.com/
Churrería cafetería Llorsan
Ok, so I lucked up so much with this one, because it is literally a stone’s throw away from my house, and was even reviewed in el Mundo, a Spanish national newspaper in the top ten best places to eat churros in Madrid list!
I cannot tell you how much I love eating churros here. I do not know a whole lot about the history of this churreria, but I have been going here for 15 years, and my GF’s family has been buying churros from here for at least another 30 years before that, so it has been here for a while, and for all the churros I have eaten and pounds I have put on over the years, this place is one of the reasons.
The atmosphere here is amazing, there are all sorts of people in this little café, workmen, families, groups of old ladies, young people, and after-party people. They have a few seats inside, and a terrace where you can sit outdoors.
The waiters who are also the owners, I presume they are all related because of the way they behave with each other are always dressed in a white shirt and black blazer, are very traditional and just so friendly.
I remember when I first moved here, and I was scared to go in and order because I didn’t speak a word of Spanish back then, but they always did all they could to make me feel welcome and pointed me to a list on a wall where I could point to what I wanted.
The kitchen is at the back where you see the churros and Porras being made freshly, then they ask if you want it with or without sugar, the chocolate is poured and warmed up right there on the thick white marble counter, and the waiters are all shouting orders at each other over the noise of the morning conversations being had.
So when asking yourself where you can get some of the best churros in Madrid, if you don’t mind traveling a little, Cafetería Churrería Llorsan is a place you need to try.
But a note to add is, do not be shy and scared to order, they are busy in there, and if you just stand around you may get overlooked, so get involved, walk up to the bar, stick your arm out, just grab their attention the Spanish way and you will be welcomed with a warm smile and even better churros with chocolate.
https://www.desayunosadomiciliollorsan.es/
Chocolatería Churrería Antonio
Another churro shop getting close to its 100th anniversary, just in case you were wondering about the popularity of churros in Spain. If you make a good churro, you will be in business for a very long time, and they do make a lovely churro here. They serve up some of the best churros in Madrid here every day of the week apart from Mondays.
I found this place by accident on a weekend bike trip. I always take a bike ride wherever I can on a Sunday, and on one of these rides, I took a detour through the neighborhoods instead of sticking to main roads, and I found this little gem of a place. If I see a somewhere that sells churros and has the classical look this bar has, I will almost always stop and try the chocolate and churros, I am an addict.
The storefront is very classical with the golden framed windows, and a basic sign stating it is a “chocolateria and churreria”, as soon as you walk in, you see the stainless steel topped bar and are welcomed with a great smile from the lady behind the counter, and the men who I can only imagine are related as they look so alike.
The first time I came here I just had a churro and a coffee, but I went back with my kids a few weeks later, and we had a feast. We got churros, Porras that were really thick and crispy, and gorgeous hot chocolate, and not to mention the Banuelos they also had, another really popular sweet pastry eaten here in Madrid for breakfast.
So without a doubt, a great addition to my list of the best chocolate in churros in Madrid, a family ran establishment so if you are in the area, be sure to visit and support this place as they deserve to stay in business for a 100 more years. It is also very close to the Vallecas Park, so you can go and walk off some of those calories right after.
Bar Café Rocamar
As I said at the start, these cafes are not in any particular order, as it is so hard to point out who has the best churros in Madrid, and everyone has their personal favorite, and this little churreria always comes up in local conversation as a candidate.
Located close to Plaza De Chamberi, a short walk from Alonso Martinez metro station, they have been serving churros made freshly here on the spot since 1967, and as a bonus, they also make a delicious tortilla de patata here (Spanish omelet).
The décor in here is also a mix of old and new, the churros are also amazing, but they have something that sets them apart. They also sell chamberosquis, which are like a churro, but instead of the well-known bow shape, are short and chubby.
Another thing setting them apart is the rechupetes, which are a porra split down the middle sprinkled with sugar, and then a splash of herbal brandy is added. The rechupete, also known as little frogs were something hunters in Madrid used to eat for breakfast before heading out to the mountains as a morning stimulant.
Conclusion
Well, my conclusion is that churros with chocolate are yummy, and you should all try them. I have done my best to steer you to some of the best churro shops in the center of Madrid and a few others that deserve that moniker.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I have done and will continue to do so.
More places serve up great churros for sure that I am yet to discover, so if you do get there before I do, please just drop me a line, leave a comment, and I will happily go there and try them out for myself and let you all know how it goes.