One of the great pleasures in Madrid is having a coffee at one of the hundreds of coffee shops. You can try anything from your the typical café con leche (in a glass, small cup or large cup) and café solo through to café con hielo (coffee on house) and café cortado. Coffee is ground in front of you and made in the huge, usually Italian, coffee machines. The whole café resounds to the sound of coffee machines, grinders, orders being shouted out and coffee saucers being banged down in front of your eyes. What a treat!

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The Cervecería Santa Bárbara in Madrid´s Plaza Santa Bárbara is one of Madrid´s more famous drinking establishments. The main beer on tap is a local lager called Mahou, you can also get a dark beer and alcohol-free lager from the same company. The bar was established in 1947 and is well-known for the huge range of shellfish and other fish which it sells. You won´t get tapas in this bar but can buy its delicious shellfish from a separate bar – cockles, prawns (shrimps), mussels and my favourite boquerones (white bait in vinegar).

I’m not a great chocolate fan but even I was impressed by Cacao Sampaka. This establishment, just off the Plaza Santa Bárbara in c/ Orellana, combines a chocolate shop with a coffee shop. In the shop you can view all sorts of chocolate, from many different countries and of different types. The chocolate is displayed in glass cabinets, much like in a museum, and you can purchase boxes of it from the counter. Other items on display include recipe books and books on the history of chocolate, cooking utensils and even chocolate candles and incense!! The coffee shop sells thick cups of chocolate – a hot favourite (oops!) in Madrid at this time of year and various chocolate cakes and desserts.

Metro: Alonso Martínez

The Museo del Jamón is an institution in Madrid. The Museo del Jamón, like so many Spanish bars, has a huge numbers of hams dangling from its bars – and a wonderful selection it is – from the standard to the expensive (like Pata Negra) and from different provinces in Spain. They also offer good menus and tapas. For people who would like to know the process of curing the ham, take a look at their website (in the section ‘Proceso de Elaboración’). This site contains all their locations in Madrid and useful pictures (under ‘Menus’) to let you know what the dishes are.

Rodilla has to be one of my favourite “Fast Food” restaurants in Madrid. It offers a huge range of sandwiches, from foie gras to prawns. My favourite sandwich just has to be ‘ensaladilla’ – which have tuna, mayonnaise, peas and artichoke. Their sandwich bars can be found all over Madrid, including Puerta del Sol, Plaza de Callao, the Goya area and Argüelles. They also do nice salad bowls, too.