A calamari sandwich (bocadillo de calamares) is a fried squid sandwich you can buy in Spain and is especially popular in Madrid. It’s actually just pieces of battered squid that have been fried and placed in a bread bun. You normally get some mayonnaise with it, but nothing else. A calamari sandwich is just squid and bread.
The first time I tried calamari was a few years ago in Valencia. A Spanish friend told me it was lovely and suggested I try it. I’ve had it a few times since then and always found it okay, though it never blew me away.
Up until I tried one in Madrid, I’d never eaten a calamari sandwich. I bought it at the Plaza Mayor. That’s a very touristy area, most of the restaurants around the square will sell you a bocadillo de calamares and the price seems to be fixed at €6. There may be cheaper options, but I never noticed any. I had a tinto de verano with my fried squid sandwich and the overall total was €10.50. I think that’s expensive. There’s no getting away from it though. The calamari sandwich I ate in Madrid contained the best calamari I’ve ever tasted in my life. It was also much crispier than the calamari I’ve eaten elsewhere in Spain.
So, if you’re in Spain and want a good Calamari sandwich, the Plaza Mayor could be the best place to go. I ate mine at La Torre del Oro, but I’m presuming most of the other restaurants around the Plaza will have Calamari sandwiches that are of a similar quality. However, La Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) is an interesting place to visit. It’s an Andalusian bar. If you go inside there’s a lot of bullfighting memorabilia on the walls.
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