YOUR NEXT DESTINATION / December
A storefront in the Malasaña district
Madrileños’ favourite sport
is hanging out with friends
me that the crisis also released a wave of creativity
in gastronomy.
‘Madrid is always buzzing. Imagine a city with
Spaniards coming from every part of the country:
Gallegos, Andaluces, Valencianos, Murcianos. They
are proud of their origins, but Madrid is the place
where they can express themselves freely,’ says
Zamora. The fusion of regional cuisine with East
Asian and South American influences characterises
these young daredevil chefs. But old Spanish recipes
are also being revived, recipes that bring back child-
hood memories. This is the philosophy at Celso y
Manolo: hearty callos stew, wooden boards with
perfectly thin slices of jamón ibérico, bocadillo de
calamares (the calamari sandwich that’s a favourite
local snack). The dishes are simple tavern classics
but refined to the level of perfection.
Madrileños’ favourite sport is hanging out with
friends. After finishing work as late as 9 pm, locals
head to neighbourhood bars – their extended living
rooms – to mingle till the wee hours. In terms of go-
ing out, Madrid sounds great for millennials, whose
life revolves around socialising. However, it’s not all
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just fun and games. As Leah, the 33-year-old author
of the madridnofrills.com blog tells me, local mil-
lennials are still struggling to get into the job market,
and now there’s a new problem taking its toll:
Airbnb. ‘Landlords and investors are taking homes
off the rental market and converting them into apart-
ments exclusively for tourists, thus causing rents to
skyrocket and pushing those on a low income out
of the city,’ she explains. Madrid’s city hall is equally
agitated, blaming the holiday-home platform for
expelling residents. The government’s new plan
stipulates that tourist apartments rented out on a
professional level must obtain a license; other restric-
tions will considerably limit the number of vacation
homes in the central part of the city.
Leah is originally from Newcastle in the United
Kingdom and moved to Madrid five years ago,
inspired by an unforgettable weekend she had had
when visiting some friends here. They took her to
Bar Cruz in the La Latina neighbourhood, and that’s
where she saw her first rubbish-strewn floor – an
indicator of an authentic bar. Now she writes about
places that are not ready-made for naive tourists,