Conde Duque is the neighborhood in Madrid that has been absorbing all the people that tourism in Madrid has brought to the city Malasaña has been throwing out. Its boundaries are not clear, but it is all that surrounds the barracks that gives name and essence to the neighborhood. Built between 1717 and 1730, the then known as Real Cuartel de Guardias de Corps, it later took the name of the Count of Lemos and Duke of Berwick and Liria, who would later baptize the Zone.
Both the conversion of the barracks into a cultural center and the layout of its car-free squares, perfect for having a drink, as well as being in between several neuralgic areas of the city, such as Plaza España or Argüelles, have turned the neighborhood into the ideal place for the alternative, the cultured and the exclusive to converge.
Where to eat (and drink) in Conde Duque
Café Moderno
The Café Moderno is one of the most legendary in the Zone, and its history has been (and is) closely linked to that of the seventh art. Not for nothing was it the setting chosen by Pedro Almodóvar to shoot part of his film Madres Paralelas. Patricia García Méndez, one of the owners of the restaurant, points out that this Zone is “like a small town in Madrid”.
The Plaza de las Comendadoras itself has been the setting for other film and television productions: it was the scene of El cochecito (Marco Ferreri, 1960) and the Kramer (the premises adjacent to Café Moderno) and its surroundings have been the setting, for example, for feature films such as Lucía y el sexo (Julio Medem, 2001), Noviembre (Achero Mañas, 2003) or Cinema Verité (Elena Manrique, 2013).
Plaza de las Comendadoras, 1
Delish Vegan Doughnuts
Delish Vegan Doughnus is an experiment that worked out well for its creator, Sumera, a vegan baking enthusiast. He started selling online and now has two stores in Madrid, one of them in Conde Duque. In addition to being vegan, they are artisanal and made with natural ingredients. Whether you’re vegan or not, if you pass through the neighborhood it’s hard to resist eating one.
From 3,5 €
3 Cristo Street and 12 Corredera Alta de San Pablo Street
Wang Wang
does the best chinese restaurant from the center of Madrid? These are big words and for such a statement we would have to try them all, but for the time being: we neither confirm nor deny. His letter is a bible: because it is necessary to profess it and because of its dimensions. There are dishes that also deserve to be revered, such as lamb with cumin, rice pasta with Korean sauce or sautéed snow peas. Dishes that you didn’t know existed and that you might not order (like the sautéed intestine) but are a real treat.
Around 15€ per person.
San Bernardino Street, 6
The Secret Garden
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It is one of the restaurants with the most personality in the capital: not in just any restaurant can you find the same luminous teapots and cups hanging from the ceiling as teddy bears, hot air balloons, curtains of lights and plant details. To pass through the doors of El Jardín Secreto is to enter another universe.
The visit is more than justified just to live the experience of such a particular space, but it is also a good option for lunch or a snack. It tends to fill up easily, so we recommend going early or making reservations.
Around 20€ per person.
Calle del Conde Duque, 2
Prohibited fruits
Good, nice and vegan. Forbidden Fruits is the ideal place to enjoy local and bio artisan products at any time of the day. Its natural light and the atmosphere of the premises, decorated with plants and wooden tables, evoke a pleasant natural environment in which to spend a quiet afternoon enjoying its gastronomic offer. Among its regulars, one of the most recommended star dishes is its vegan eggs Benedict, but it is one of those few places in Madrid (like Mad Mad Vegan) that have followed in the wake of vegan burgers and do it excellently well.
Around 20€ per person.
26 Conde Duque Street, 26
MICA Restobar
MICA is tiny. Just a few tables inside, complemented by a coquettish terrace in front of the Centro Cultural Conde Duque in the Plaza de Guardias de Corps. MICA’s menu is also tiny, but so big in quality that it becomes the restaurant to come back to until you try everything.
Their pizzas will catch your attention , but we strongly recommend ordering a couple of focaccias to share. This bread takes on its full meaning here when, opened, it is filled with pesto and pistachio mortadella (Dalla) or with pumpkin cream, flambéed guanciale, salvacremasco cheese and walnuts(Zucchetta). In addition, its wine list is surprising and focuses on natural and organic wines.
Around 35€ per person.
Calle del Limón, 30.
Where to have coffee in Conde Duque
Unfltrd Coffee
A Cuban person comes from Miami to Madrid, falls in love with the city, goes back to Miami and when he returns, he sets up a coffee shop in Conde Duque Madrid. In a nutshell that’s the story of Ricky, the person behind the bar at Unfltrd Coffee and self-described “hat guy”. Specialty coffee warm aesthetics and sober but strong dishes to make a good meal brunch o breakfast. A more than pleasant place to spend hours and hours and enjoy a good coffee.
MÜR Café
A fireplace, a chester sofa in the stairwell, multiple armchairs, balconies overlooking a beautiful square… The homey atmosphere of MÜR Café is a true rustic fantasy; the perfect setting for devouring one of the most delicious best brunches in Madrid. The London-influenced menu includes Earl Grey tea, crumpets and the usual baked beans. Don’t leave without trying the cakes and homemade pastries, or you’ll be missing out on half the fun.
📍 Plaza Cristino Martos, 2
Shopping at Conde Duque
Panic
The first Panic in Madrid opened in Conde Duque. Here they sell a sourdough bread without much frills, but with a lot of foundation, hard crust and spongy crumb inside. Javier Marca, the owner, defends the fact that he was one of the first bakeries where bread is made to order, so that everything is always sold avoiding surpluses. Panic now has two more spaces: a stall in the Chamberí Market and La Nave, which only sells to the public in the mornings.
conde Duque Street, 13; Rosario Romero Street, 6 (La Nave) and Alonso Cano Street, 10
Cultivo Cheese Factory
Quesería Cultivo covers all steps of the production chain; they are cattle breeders, producers, refiners and distributors. In addition, they have made a commitment to introduce technologies to obtain unique cheeses, with character and typicity. At the same time, they maintain two traditional cheeses, Manchego and Gamoneu. One of its first stores is located in Conde Duque street.
cavanilles Street, 6; Carrera de San Francisco, 14; Conde Duque Street, 15 and Clara del Rey Street, 20
Sportivo
Sportivo is one of the best selection and most exclusive multi-brand menswear stores in Madrid. In addition to carrying brands that are hard to find in other stores such as A Kind of Guise, Marni or Universal Works, the owners’ eye and knowledge of fashion has set them apart from other stores in the area. If the prices seem too high, downstairs they usually have everything on sale.
📍 Calle del Conde Duque, 20
Mini Shop
It is right across the street from Sportivo, it is also focused on menswear, but with a more skater or urban perspective, in fact, they have a good selection of sneakers, but also quite a few luxury niche brands. You can also find the most alternative lines of well-known brands and a good selection of accessories.
📍 Calle del Conde Duque, 22
Misia
Misia is the confirmation that Conde Duque is not only a fashionable neighborhood, it is also where you will find the multi-brand stores with the bravest bet on fashion. You can tell that Candida Ledo knows well what she sells, each brand has a common thread between femininity, craftsmanship, care of materials, a romantic air and high prices.
📍 Calle de Amaniel, 19
Things to do in Conde Duque
Condeduque Center for Contemporary Culture
This neighborhood was born and takes its name from this former military barracks converted into a cultural center. Known as the ‘Conde Duque barracks’, it is named in honor of the Count of Lemos and Duke of Berwick and Liria (1718-1785), a descendant of the kings of England and married to a daughter of the Duke of Alba, whose family retained ownership of the land until 1943. It is now one of the three major urban cultural spaces managed by the Madrid City Council, along with Matadero Madrid y CentroCentro.
The building houses numerous institutions managed through the Directorate General of Libraries, Archives and Museums; the Directorate General of Heritage and Urban Landscape; and the public company Madrid Destino.
📍 Calle del Conde Duque, 11
St. Mark’s Parish
https://youtu.be/D5ePP-1VN7U
The Church of San Marcos is a building designed by Ventura Rodriguez dating from 1753. The architect and cultural disseminator Pedro Torrijos defines it as “one of the most important baroque buildings in the world”. He adds, “Ventura Rodriguez would not be thinking about the enormous traffic outside and this kind of silence inside, but it favors that experimentation of contrasts that is the essence of the baroque.”
📍 Calle San Leonardo, 10
Liria Palace
The official residence of the House of Alba is the largest private home in Madrid, and can be visited by anyone. The stately rooms of this centrally located mansion, where today the 19th Duke of Alba lives, are open to the public through guided tours that use classical music and other sensory resources to narrate the history of the palace and its inhabitants.
Sculptures, tapestries, furniture, porcelain and works of art by geniuses such as Goya, Velázquez and Titian, among many others, are distributed throughout the fifteen rooms of the tour (which includes a magnificent library and a fairytale ballroom) .
📍 Calle de la Princesa, 20
Cristino Martos Square
Perhaps the best known landmark of this square is the Fountain of the Afflicted (also known as the Fountain of the Staircase) that gives access from Princesa Street: a baroque fountain surrounded on both sides by a staircase, the work of Federico Coullant Valera.
The stairs lead down to the Cristino Martos square, where you can find a park and some of the most popular places in the area, such as the MÜR Café. In addition, it keeps a secret that not everyone knows: the facade of one of its buildings is covered with illustrations by Mingote, who is also remembered on a plaque: “To Mr. Antonio Mingote for teaching us life with humor and love”.
📍 C ristino Martos Square
This article has been written by Alberto del Castillo, María F. Carballo, Isabel Nieto, Lucía Mos y Elena French.