Pastry shops, markets, restaurants and more businesses in the capital celebrate the upcoming festivities with very original versions of the carnival sardine. This has been assured by the Association of Chefs and Pastry Chefs of Madrid (ACYRE), which announces the VI edition of El Cortejo de la Sardina, a gastronomic route that could not miss these dates.
Savory proposals from bars and restaurants
Whether smoked, marinated, pickled or accompanied with hot sauce, sardines have a place of honor in many restaurants and bars in Madrid during Carnival. These are the 13 outstanding ones participating in the 2025 route and their respective savory proposals:
- La Casa del Pregonero: sardines in vinegar and aioli potatoes.
- Egun-on: smoked sardine toast with avocado and black olive emulsion.
- Plademunt: glass coca with smoked eggplant hummus and cured sardine
- Rita: sardine on roasted leek and idiazabal bearnesa
- Taberna y Media: smoked sardine millefeuille with tomato sponge and salmorejo (gazpacho)
- Barco 7: cashew ajoblanco with white grapes and smoked sardines
- BarraCruda: smoked sardine toast with tetilla cheese and tomato jam
- Bunka: smoked sardine nigiri with eel sauce
- Latasia: salted torrija, marinated sardine and atomic butter
- Dpipo: sardine pizza with artichokes and sundried tomatoes
- Restaurante Koma (Collado Mediano): sardine ceviche madrileña style
- MiniZulu: anchovied sardine tapa with spicy tomato compote
- Arrocería El Trato: salad of roasted peppers with anchovied sardines
Sweet stops along the route
Sardine-shaped chocolatinas are another invention of the Madrilenians to give a touch of satire to carnivals. They are usually sold in tins very similar to those of real sardines. Over the years, the chocolatiers of the capital have managed to perfect their technique to turn this sweet appetizer into a laborious artisanal dessert.
This year, many establishments have given a twist to the original recipe to surprise their diners: Pastelería Luzón, with eighty years of experience in the Salamanca neighborhood, will prepare its Sardina madrileña de pistachos; the chocolate shop 24Onzas will design a sardine bonbon; Chocolates El Indio will develop the musical sardine and the hotel Box Art Alpino will add a chocolate sardine with toasted goat’s milk foam to its menu. Other mythical businesses such as Formentor or Casa Mira have opted for the classic recipe.