Spanish-style hot chocolate: where to get it

This week I’ve written a post on Iberian hot chocolate over at my dear friend Erin’s site, La Tortuga Viajera. Make sure to head over there to learn how to tell your suís from your chocolat mousseux, as well as just how crazy Madrileños went for chocolate back in the day. And don’t forget to check out Erin’s fun entries on everything from traveling in Istanbul to obsessing over Spanish grandpas.

But getting back to the sweet stuff, here are my favorite places to sip hot chocolate around Iberia.

Madrid

Chocolatería San Ginés is the classic old place, mentioned in Ramón del Valle-Inclán’s famous play Luces de Bohemia. Established in 1894, the chocolatería still retains its marble table tops and brass art-nouveau light fixtures. Its proximity to the Joy Eslava nightclub and loooong opening hours make it surprisingly popular in the middle of the night (I myself have stopped by at 4 am a time or two). And the churros are hard to beat.

Chocolatería San Ginés, Pasadizo de San Ginés 5. Open 9:30 am-7 am weekdays; 9 am-7 am weekends.

Everyone else will tell you their number two for chocolate con churros in Madrid is Valor (Postigo de San Martín, 7). But I prefer Chocolat, over in Barrio de las Letras. They don’t pump out churros all day long, so go in the morning or late afternoon when they’re fresh. This bar is much more local, the guys are super-nice, and, personally, I think the chocolate’s even better than San Ginés’.

Bar Chocolat, C/ Santa María 30. Open 7:30-21:00; closed Tuesday evenings.

Barcelona

C/ Petritxol, in the old quarter, is Barcelona’s chocolate street, and here you’ll find Dulcinea (number 2) and Granja Pallaresa (number 11), among other places. But my favorite spot for a suizo is Barcelona’s oldest milk bar, Granja M. Viader. The old-school vibe and the deli case in front, filled with every kind of dairy product imaginable, provide a pleasant setting for me to dig into that mountain of whipped cream melting all over my hot chocolate. Their ensaimadas are really tasty as well, and perfect for dunking if you have as much of a sweet tooth as I do.

Granja M. Viader, C/ Xuclà 4-6. Open Mon 17:00-20:30; Tues-Sat 9:00-13:30 and  17:00-20:30. Closed Sunday. http://www.granjaviader.cat/

Bayonne, France

Okay, not Spain, but it’s in the French Basque Country, which I think counts for something. Rue Port-Neuf is lined with many of the city’s original chocolatiers, and all of them sell delicious chocolate. For drinking, Cazenave is the place to go. Here you can sip a frothy hot chocolate under a stained-glass skylight in the salon de thé behind the shop. So French, so elegant, so delicious.

Chocolat Cazenave, 19 arceaux Port Neuf. Open Tues-Sat 9:15-12:00 and 14:00-19:00. http://www.chocolats-bayonne-cazenave.fr/

Hot chocolate at home

If you’d like to make your own Spanish-style hot chocolate at home, make sure to look for “chocolate a la taza” (“drinking chocolate”). You can find it online at places like The Spanish Table.

And remember, go check out my guest post over at La Tortuga Viajera!