I stumbled into Pastelería Mallorca with a friend while looking for something light to hold us over…read morebefore a pedicure, and this spot ended up being one of my favorite spots during my recent stay in Madrid. I grabbed a mini croissant-style puff pastry with turkey, tomato, avocado, and pesto, plus a mini brioche bun with crab, pink sauce, and lettuce. The seafood bun was solid, but that turkey pesto croissant was ... excuse my language ... the f****n' truth! No exaggeration THEE best croissant I've ever had. It was so good chile, I came back the next day and got a full-sized one for lunch and it was still just as good. The space inside is clean and room with lots of comfy furniture; in addition, they also have free WiFi and clean bathrooms which is always appreciated while out and about in the city on vacation. If you're in Madrid (or Mexico City or Japan where there other locations are) this place is a must try! PS: The have a rewards app and will give you a free plain buttery croissant for joining.

The tarta de queso fundente (melting cheesecake) is one of the best desserts I have ever tasted!…read more I actually sought out Pastelería Mallorca because I read somewhere that the Fismuler cheesecake was available there. But from what I can gather, the tarta de queso fundente is a completely different dessert. I was not disappointed! According to their website, the cheesecake has a "thin and crispy cookie layer, a creamy interior, and a flavor blend of cream cheese, fresh cheese, and premium parmesan." I admit I'm a parmesan fanatic. This cheesecake has such an interesting, intense flavor. The texture was indeed "melting" - gooey on the inside, a little bit more set toward the outside. It was rich but not overly sweet, and had a savory kick from the parmesan. I will be dreaming about this cheesecake until I hopefully make it back to Madrid again one day. I came here for dessert and coffee after lunch at the Mercado de la Paz. I also got a lovely café con leche to go with the cheesecake. They have other food and desserts as well, but this cheesecake was so delicious, I wanted to leave a review just to spotlight it.

I am convinced this might be the best dessert spot in the city. There are so many choices of…read morebeautifully crafted desserts. From cake to crepes, they have alllll the sweets you could dream of. I went in on a Saturday at 1. They looked like they were just finishing their rush. The inside is cute and antique-y. They have a lot of their desserts on display so you can look before you order. What I ordered: I wanted a ratatouille, but they were all sold out. It looked like they were sold out of a couple of things. I got a Brie and tomato sandwich and the healthy cheesecake. The sandwich was okay, but the cheesecake was a stand out! I WILL be back.

This a fantastic bakery created by Alejandro Montes, one of the top pastry chefs in Spain…read more We ordered a raspberry croissant, a classic croissant, their bretzel arandanos, a latte and an americano. The raspberry croissant was decadent and flaky. It was excellent. The classic croissant was not as good. It was not as crisp or flaky. The Bret always was interesting. It tasted like a heavily fried and dense version of a palmera and was covered in glaze, chocolate and filled with raspberry. It was a little much for me. I would only order the raspberry croissant again but it alone is worth returning for. Everything looks amazing.

This little bakery was right across the street from the hotel I stayed in. Not wanting to try the…read morefabulous continental breakfast at the hotel, we decided to try this place. It's a small space but offers a lot of different sweets, pastries, sandwiches, and more. I decided to try the ham & cheese empanada while hubby went for the chorizo empanada. They gave us nice big & delicious servings that kept us full until dinnertime. We topped it off with cafe con leche and were off to exploring the city! Seems like they are popular with the locals as there was a line the entire time we were there. Long line, but never a long wait - the 2 women working here were quick and efficient with smiles on their faces the whole time. I also noticed that they knew the names of a bunch of regulars. Also, they sell cheap bottles of water that you can take with you on your walks.

This very unassuming bakery was across from our hotel and we made it our go to snack place. Very…read morefriendly staff and everything was made on premises and all was delicious. Definitely a recomendable place if you're in the area.

Delicious tapas late at night. This was my first stop off a late flight from London, and since the…read morePlaza de Santa Ana comes alive after 11PM, there is no shortage of good late-night restaurants. I asked the server to bring out a cross-section of tapas, and each one was better than the last. I would highly recommend the pork tapas, as it has soft bread soaked in fat that has been mixed in with the actual dish. Some of the best meat I have ever tasted!

Best bakery we found in Madrid. Easy and convenient to where we were staying. Try a chocolate…read morecroissant they were great!

Very good chocolate croissants and excellent bread. The woman in the morning is extremely friendly…read moreand helpful. The girl in the afternoon is the total opposite. I suggest going early. Good coffee as well.

People in Madrid love carrot cake (tarta de zanahoria) and Cafe Mur is THE place to go for carrot…read morecake. Unless you have the appetite of Mike Tyson, plan on sharing one slice between 1 (maybe 2) friends. I've never had any of the other food, but given the lines I see on the weekends for brunch, I'm sure it's delicious too. Mur is super cute inside and well worth the visit. Come before 10pm and get the 'Gin-Cake' special, which is a GinTonic and piece of carrot cake for 10€. Given that the carrot cake is normally 4.90€, picking up a G&T for 5€ ain't a bad deal! Or if you aren't in the mood for alcohol, Mur has an awesome selection of Teas too.

Stopped by here for the sweet mini brunch after a long night and had a pretty decent experience…read more The inside on the downstairs floor is decorated and looks like a home with couches, comfy chairs, and warm lighting. Service was quick but took a longg time to bring our check which is pretty typical in Europe honestly. The mini sweet brunch was only 10 euro and included a hot drink (tea, coffee), cold drink, croissant, and choice of baked apples or yogurt with granola and chocolate chips. The croissant was warmed and yummy. The baked apples topped with whipped cream were served cold, but they definitely would've tasted better warm. Overall: cozy, affordable place near Plaza España for breakfast if you're not too hungry or in a rush

Please don't get paella here, is just not good, it has tiny crab, chicken, and peas in it. It's…read moremore like a stir fry than Paella. Blood sausage are way too salty. The shrimp in paella has fishy smell. The service are not bad, not good also.

This seems to be a rather popular chain restaurant in Spain. I actually didn't eat when I came here…read moreso I can't say anything about the food quality, but the restaurant does have relatively cheap beers and tintos (de verano) to enjoy. This restaurant is a nice place to meet up with friends, eat some snacks, and have a couple of drinks. Oh, in case you didn't figure this out already, there is a lot of ham hanging around everywhere. It was my vegetarian friend's worst nightmare. Hahaha.

A nice way to start our day…read more Yesterday was a travel day for us, our visit to Spain moving on to Barcelona. Looking for what we hoped was a quick and easy place to get some breakfast before we caught our train took us just a few doors down from our hotel. I found on display a large slice of Ham & Cheese Quiche and thought that would do nicely. The people were so nice and helpful, warming my quiche and my wife's food, getting us coffee, I also had a raisin roll, and we got some bottled drinks to go. The quiche was pretty good, thick with good flavor, not much crust. The raisin roll could have been sweeter, at least that's how I like it back home. The place is small, just a couple of small counters in the back if you wanted to dine in. We timed it right and got spots. It got busier while we were there and although I didn't understand the language, I could tell all these interactions were quite positive. Our visit was quick and easy, and we left fuller and happier than when we arrived, ready to take on the day.

I was walking around Madrid Centro and really craving an empanada. I saw the selection in the…read morewindow here and could not resist. They had a white variety of sweet and savory baked goods and I decided to try a few different things and actually sat down at the counter in the back of the bakery. The meat pie and empanada I ordered were good and they even heated them up for me. The mini doughnuts were not.. I wish I had been a little more hungry and I would have tried a wider variety of their baked goods. This place gives me the vibes that it is kind of classic 70s Madrid. It is not super touristy, not is it very expensive. Their were a few other people sitting inside eating with me that seemed to be on a lunch break from work or stopping in during a day out running errands. It did not blow me away but it definitely felt authentic.