Madrid · Spain
Chocolatería San Ginés
A practical guide to Chocolatería San Ginés in Madrid: what to order, churros or porras, its real hours (it's no longer open 24 hours every day), when there's no line and what to avoid in the alley.
Worth it early in the morning: thick chocolate, the 1894 room and no line. At midday or in the small hours on weekends it's a different place.
Chocolatería San Ginés is Madrid’s most famous churrería, tucked into a stone alley behind the church of San Ginés, two minutes from Puerta del Sol. It has served chocolate and churros since 1894 in the same room of green banquettes and marble counter, and it’s at once a workers’ breakfast, the last stop of a night out and a stop for every tourist.
Our experience
It was our breakfast on Saturday, May 23, at 8:33, before Plaza de Oriente and the guided tour of the Royal Palace. We had the house chocolate with café con leche. We picked that time on purpose: on Saturdays it’s open all night, so the door was guaranteed, and our notes said there’s no line at 8:30 but there is by 10:00. It also mattered that the cocido at La Bola was waiting for us at 13:00. It’s in our day 14.
A bit of history
The building opened in 1890 as an inn and became a churrería in 1894. Back then churros were made by hand with the “a hombro” technique: the churro maker squeezed the dough through a cloth bag braced against his shoulder. For years it was the stop for people coming out of the theater, and during the Second Republic it was nicknamed “la escondida,” the hidden one, because the alley kept it out of sight even when it was full.
Valle-Inclán put it in his 1924 play Luces de bohemia as the Buñolería Modernista, and Galdós also mentions it in his novels. In this century the family opened branches in other countries, but the original didn’t change its recipe or its menu: chocolate, churros, porras and coffee.
Good to know
Reviews are split. Many locals prefer other chocolate shops and call it a tourist trap; its defenders point out that the price is fair. Nearly all the complaints, about cold or greasy churros and rushed service, come from midday, evenings or the busiest tourist months.
What to see, in order
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The alley and the green facade
The shop is in a stone alley behind the church of San Ginés. If you're on a regular street, you're in the wrong place.
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Chocolate with churros
About 200 ml of chocolate so thick it's for dipping, not drinking. The churros are thin and ridged: dip the tip, count to two and eat.
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Porras
Thicker and fluffier, about a third more food. If a cocido is waiting for you at lunch, stick with churros.
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The room
Green banquettes, a marble counter, antique mirrors and black-and-white portraits. They've been touched up, but they're from the original fit-out.
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The bar
It's the best seat in the house, with no terrace surcharge.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- It's no longer open 24 hours every day: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it closes at 23:30 and Wednesday at 23:45. Only Thursday to Saturday is it open all night.
- In the alley people move single file, and that's where pickpockets work. Keep your bag zipped and in front.
- Some rooms in the annex next door hand out a picture menu with higher prices than the bar's chalkboard. Order at the bar or ask for the regular menu.
- You don't drink the chocolate from the cup like coffee: it's for dipping.
Do
- Arrive before 9:00 on a Saturday: the churros come out fresh and there's no line.
- Finish with a café con leche, the way locals do.
- If you want to compare, Chocolatería Valor and Los Artesanos 1902 are a few minutes away.
Don’t
- Don't pay anyone offering to skip the line: there's no such thing.
- Don't order sandwiches or toast: that's not what they do well.
- Don't let the alley "photographer" take your picture: he charges after the shot.
Frequently asked questions
Is San Ginés open 24 hours?
Only Thursday to Saturday. Sunday to Tuesday it's open 8:00 to 23:30, and Wednesday until 23:45.
How much is chocolate with churros at San Ginés?
About €6 for chocolate with six churros in 2026. With porras, about €6.50.
Churros or porras?
Churros are thin and crunchy; porras are thick and heavier. For breakfast, most locals order churros.
Is there a line?
At midday, in the evening and late at night on weekends, yes. Before 9:00 or between 16:00 and 18:00, hardly ever.
Is it a tourist trap?
It's the most debated churrería in Spain. The price is fair and early on the experience is good; complaints about greasy churros and brusque service cluster at peak hours.