It's more than just love for churros - you come to San Ginés for the love of history and tradition. It's well known that, when coming to Madrid, you could not avoid, in fact, should not avoid stepping foot in the most famous chocolate shop in the city.
The reputation that San Ginés possesses is highlighted in its history, as it opened in 1894 (more than a century ago) and was always very busy when people left the theatre after seeing a performance; I think the famous Teatro Real is situated one block away from the chocolate shop. Since then, it's the only chocolate shop that is open 24 hours of the day, 365 days of the year, serving freshly-made churros every single day.
There have been numerous artistic and historical figures who have visited San Ginés over the years, and many an important contract has been closed here during its over one hundred years of trading.
With regards to the shop's decor, you will see countless photographs of all the celebrities who have visited over the years. However, with being a foreigner, I struggled to recognise many of them, but Javier Bardem certainly didn't escape my attention.
The interior of the establishment architecturally mirrors the beautiful city of Madrid, and the fact that it has not been modernised allows you to admire the wear and tear of the years of trading that have passed, without modifying even a little aspect of the chocolate shop itself. The interior of the shop is dimly lit, with green adornments on the walls, but with an elegant touch of white marble on the bars and tables. The shop has two floors: the first is the main room, and the basement, which acts as a games room (it gets very hot down there).
What can you expect from the service of a chocolate shop that's over a century old? From the moment that we ordered, our churros didn't take very long to arrive at our table, but given that they make more than 4000 of them daily, they must be more than used to the demand that they receive. I must admit that I like churros from my country (Mexico) more, because, unlike those in Madrid, we sprinkle ours with sugar, which gives them a much sweeter taste.
The churros at San Ginés don't have sugar on them, but they are usually soaked or served with chocolate that has a quite a bitter taste to it and is relatively thick (it's a secret recipe, apparently). There are several customers who order some of this chocolate to take home with them, and they are very much willing to stand in a large queue to participate in this unwavering tradition.
If you come to Madrid and you end up visiting the Royal Palace, the Teatro Real and the Plaza del Sol, San Ginés is located just a few short metres away from these three monuments, so it would be inexcusable for you to pass up the opportunity to enjoy a slice of some of Madrid's extensive history.
What are the prices like?
Fortunately, its ever-growing fame has not caused a sudden rise in prices. 6 churros and a mug of hot chocolate costs 3. 60€ (roughly around $4. 60), which I consider to be a reasonable price, given the quality. You can also buy the chocolate separately, as well as the churros, for that matter.
How do you get there?
The chocolate shop is located between Opera and the Plaza del Sol (although it's closer to Opera, if we are being precise), so you can take the metro (the red line) and alight at Opera, before walking in the direction of Sol and turning down a very narrow street, Pasadizo de San Ginés.
What are their opening hours like?
The chocolate shop is literally open all the time: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.
Where to eat Madrid,
Madrid,
Spain
