This article about Madrid vegan came about more or less by accident. On the trip to Gran Canaria, my connecting flight in Madrid was pushed back twice in advance. It turned out that I could spend practically the whole day in Madrid. I visited two restaurants that I am going to tell you about here.

I was only traveling with hand luggage. But it weighed around 10kg, which is why I left it at the luggage storage at the airport and only set off with a small gym bag. By the way, you can get from the airport to the city center of Madrid in about 30 minutes by train or subway. It only costs a few euros. And at the ticket machines there are usually people from the transport company who will help you to get the right ticket quickly.

Madrid vegan – the breakfast

Around noon I was in the center of Madrid and walked from Recoletos across the old town to the Palacio Real, the royal palace. On the way I looked for a place where I could have breakfast.

You have to know that most restaurants in Madrid don’t open until 1 p.m., but they usually stay open until midnight. Some take a break between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Of course, cafés open earlier, so my choice fell on the Chillin’ Café in the northern part of the old town, not far from the Plaza de España.

Chillin’ Café

The Chillin’ Café is a small restaurant with an Asian touch, which is otherwise furnished in a more industrial style. In the front area, which is a bit wider, there are a couple of smaller tables to the right. On the left is a shelf with coffee and other products that one can probably buy for the home.

In front of the large counter in the left, rear part there is a slightly larger table with high chairs (see photo at the top). Along the wall opposite the counter you will find small wall tables with two barstools each (see photo).

The food at Chillin’ Café

You get primarily small dishes such as toasts and sandwiches, pan cakes and cakes, but also dishes that can be described as lunch. The latter includes the gyozas, the Korean vegan chicken and the Japanese salad. The lunch menu between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. includes 8 gyozas, miso and a sponge cake for 9.95 euros. Prices are perfectly fine. I have not seen a single dish that costs more than 10 euros.

As you have already seen, many of the dishes have an Asian touch. Especially Korean or Japanese. Toasts are very popular in Spain, and like sandwiches and pan cakes, they appeal to an international crowd.

What is there to drink?

Of course you can also get your coffee at Chillin’. In addition to the classics, there are also exotic variations such as the rose or black sesame latte and a cold brew coffee.

A handful of soft drinks from water to a smoothie and a beer are on the menu as well as a few selected specialty teas.

And that’s what I chose for breakfast

The drink was a Cortado, which is very typical for Spain. In Austria they would call it Kleiner Brauner. In principle, it is an espresso with some milk and milk froth, i.e. a small cappuccino. Incidentally, the cortado is often served in a glass. In the Chillin’ Café it was served in an espresso cup and since the theme is Madrid vegan, of course with plant milk (see previous photo).

To eat, I ordered the Wendy’s sandwich with toasted sourdough bread, cream cheese, bacon, sliced avocado with seeds, and nutritional yeast. And because I like to make scrambled tofu at home, I really wanted to try it. Everything can be seen in the photo.

I liked it and the coffee was delicious too. The scrambled tofu was very different from how I make it. Much smoother and also less flavorful. That is of course a matter of taste.

Conclusion

As the name suggests, the Chillin’ Café is a great place to chill. Good for breakfast or lunch. The coffee is delicious and the service is very friendly.

A good place to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city and work on your laptop or use the free WiFi to send vacation photos to loved ones.

Chillin’ Café – Info

Address: C. de la Estrella, 5, 28004 Madrid, Spain

Opening hours: Mon + Tue, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. // Wed – Fri, 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. // Sat + Sun, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Phone: +34 691 53 59 46

www.chillingcafe.es

Payment in cash and by card. WIFI.

Madrid vegan – Lunch

As mentioned before, lunch in Madrid starts at 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. and goes on until around 5 p.m.. For this I chose the Mad Mad Vegan restaurant in the Chueca district. By the way, this is the most important gay district in Madrid.

Mad Mad Vegan

Interestingly, Mad Mad Vegan isn’t all that different in style to Chillin’ Café. Except that both the wood and the walls are darker. Otherwise there are also metal elements, resulting in a rustic industrial style.

The Menu of the Mad Mad Vegan

Basically it is a burger restaurant or a diner. The menu fits on one sheet including drinks. This makes it clear and you can order faster.

The appetizers are primarily finger food like the tequeños (Venezuelan sticks filled with cheese) or the cauliflower buffalo wings. But you will also find a Cesar salad and even Berlin curry sausage.

The burgers are partly with Beyond Meat and there are two chicken burgers. I went for The Mad Signature, which is made with Beyond Meat, vegan cheese, fried onions, and the special Mad Sauce. The regular fries and the Cajún fries are included with every burger at no extra charge. I chose the latter and can only warmly recommend it to you. I haven’t had fries this good in a long time. They are made with a special blend of spices. You pay an extra 50 cents for sweet potato fries, as well as for jalapeños as an extra to the burger. If you want grilled pineapple, double cheese or Vacon extra, it costs 1 euro each.

Two specials (Toronto Wraptor and The Mad Tacos) round out the offerings, and if you like it sweet, you’ll also find a few desserts like tiramisu and brownies.

The dishes are all vegan, some can also be prepared gluten-free. These are marked with a GF, but can still contain traces. Talk to the staff if you have special requests!

You can find a link to the menu in the information below.

Beverages

Mad Mad Vegan has its own beer. One blonde and one dark ale. Of course I had to try it. There is Estralla Gallicia available as well. They also offer red and white wine, some of which are even organic and all come from Spain. And if you need a schnapps after dinner, you’ll find it too.

The non-alcoholic drinks include organic kombucha, natural juices and also organic coffee and tea.

Conclusion

The burger was very tasty, the Cajún fries were awesome and I also liked the blonde ale. So a clear Madrid vegan recommendation. And afterwards you feel good because you know how much water, CO2 etc. you have saved compared to a beef burger (see picture at the top).

Mad Mad Vegan – Info

Address: C. de Pelayo, 19, 28004 Madrid, Spain

Opening hours: Mon – Sun 1 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Phone: +34 914 44 20 77

www.madmadvegan.com

Menu in Spanish and English

Payment in cash and by card. WiFi.

Incidentally, Mad Mad Vegan has a second restaurant in the southern city center on Calle Lavapiés 16. The opening times are the same.

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Galicia is apparently the center of seaweed processing in Spain. This starts in the region around La Coruña and practically goes all the way to the Portuguese border. We made our next stop in the city of Vigo at Capitan Alga.

Who founded Capitan Alga?

The company was set up by Sergio García Gil 5 years ago. At first, wholesalers were mainly supplied in Italy and France.

In addition to Spain, Capitan Alga for end consumers is now also available in Germany, France and Italy.

Sergio is very energetic and bursting with ideas. As a second mainstay he sells boats and is a skipper.

Sergio studied International Trade and Capitan Alga came about as a “school project”. Added to this was his love for Galicia, good products and cooking.

Where and how is it harvested?

Capitan Alga seaweed comes from the Rias Baixa region north of Vigo. Sergio told us that around 500 kg of seaweed is harvested per day. It takes three people about two hours to do this.

Sergio’s company processes 40-50 tons of seaweed per year. For comparison, according to Sergio, the total harvest in Spain is 600 tons. It is controlled and sustainable, since government approval is required for harvesting.

How is the seaweed processed?

Fresh seaweed has a shelf life of around 14-15 days. In salt and refrigerated it keeps for 6 months. In order to make it last longer, some of the seaweed is also dried at Capitan Alga. This takes place at a temperature of 45°C and lasts 12 hours. For this, by the way, a machine is used that is normally used to make banana chips. The drying capacity is currently 10 kg per day.

Until now, the packaging has been done by hand, which limits the capacity to 100 packs per day. In the future, this will be done automatically, which should increase the capacity to 500 packs per day.

The seaweed in the jar is pickled in brine and has been pasteurized. This extends the shelf life to 4 years.

Where can you get Capitan Alga products?

Bulk buyers come first, followed by the Horeca sector (i.e. gastronomy, etc.) and end consumers in third place.

In Spain, for example, you can find Capitan Alga at Corte Ingles and smaller stores. In France, the consumption of seaweed is already more widespread. And in Germany you can get the products mainly in organic shops.

You can also find Capitan Alga at major trade fairs in Paris, Nuremberg or recently at the Feria Alimentaria and Biocultura in Barcelona.

What kind of products do you get at Capitan Alga?

As already mentioned, part of the production is delivered to resellers in large bags.

Seaweed comes in a variety of forms for consumers.

• Fresh: That means washed and packed in 100g packs: sea spaghetti, kombu, sea lettuce and wakame. That’s an amount for two people. Keeps refrigerated for approx. 14 days.
• Salted: Similar to the fresh seaweed. However, the salt makes them last longer. They can be kept refrigerated for 6 months. There are sea spaghetti, kombu, codium, sea lettuce and wakame varieties.
• Dried: So dehydrated and therefore preserved for a long time. When using it, be aware that the seaweed absorbs a lot of water and swells. So well suited for soups, sauces, stews, etc. There are the varieties codium, sea spaghetti, kombu and wakame.
• Frozen: Sergio told us that this is a peculiarity of Vigo. The port is focused on frozen products and there are also trucks for long-distance transport of frozen products. As a result, frozen seaweed is also delivered to Italy, France and Germany. In the beginning, bulk buyers were supplied. For consumers nowadays available are sea spaghetti, kombu, codium, sea lettuce and wakame.
• In brine: In the jar in brine there is sea lettuce, wakame, kombu and sea spaghetti. Just drain and enjoy. The seaweed in the jar lasts 4 years.

Recipe tip from Sergio

Sea spaghetti in oil and garlic is a very quick dish.

For more recipes go to Capitan Alga’s homepage. You can find the link in the info box below. A tip from me. Use Google Chrome! There you can have the page translated into English.

I tried Sea Spaghetti Alio Olio. So that it didn’t become a snack, I combined it with classic spaghetti. It’s very easy and very tasty. The sea spaghetti gives the dish a light sea note. Try it!

What are Sergio’s plans for the future?

In river estuaries in Galicia one often sees platforms floating in the water on which mussels are farmed. Sergio has something similar in mind for seaweed. He wants to grow them on ropes using these platforms.

Conclusion

Sergio, the founder of Capitan Alga, is insanely dedicated and has built a company with a variety of products in a short period of time.

The products are natural and of organic quality. An enrichment for our diet.

In our opinion, seaweed is a product that brings us one step closer to the nutrition of the future.

Info – Capitan Alga

Address: Av. do Aeroporto, 45, 36206 Vigo, Spain

Phone: +34 986 630 577

E-mail: info@capitanalga.es

Website

Social media links of Capitan Alga

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With the voucher code VegansAndFriends you get a 10% discount on your next order.

The Café Anna Blume in the middle of the Prenzlauer Berg district in north-east Berlin is an institution. It has existed at least as long as I have been in Berlin and is above all one of the top breakfast locations in Berlin. You can also enjoy lunch and dinner or just a coffee or a glass at Anna Blume. Have fun discovering!

The style of Café Anna Blume

The café impresses with its historical Art Nouveau charm. Large windows let in lots of light. You sit at marble tables with metal feet bearing the emblem of Anna Blume. On the ceiling you will find old chandeliers. I would say it’s a mix between a French bistro and a Viennese coffee house.

When you come in, you are standing directly in front of the large cake display case and in the classic coffee house. It gets a little more intimate on the right in the back of the séparée (see photo at the top). The ideal place for a tête-à-tête with your new flame.

Inside there is space for around 90 guests. Even more, namely 120 people, can be seated on the terrace in front of the café. There you can sit wonderfully under the big trees and the huge awning, especially in summer.

You may have wondered where Anna Blume’s name came from. The famous title of a heartfelt love poem by Kurt Schwitters that is more than a hundred years old gave the café its beautiful name.

Café Anna Blume Breakfast

For me – and I think most other visitors too – breakfast is the most important thing at Café Anna Blume. You can have breakfast from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. The highlight is clearly the Anna Blume breakfast tray (see photos). You can get these for two or more people and they are also available in a vegetarian and vegan version (price per person €13.50 – as of 10/2022). At the time I wrote this article, the vegan version was not even on the official menu.

If you don’t want it quite so opulent, you can of course also get various other breakfasts. The cornflower (Kornblume) is the vegetarian and the sundew (Sonnentau) is the vegan. But you can also just order a croissant with jam and butter or one of the various egg dishes. If you want it healthier, I can recommend the fruit salad (see photo at the top) or the homemade granola.

Lunch and dinner

The rest of the menu is available to you from 12 p.m. There you will find salads, soups, wraps and sandwiches. The dishes from the weekly menu are available from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. There you will find mainly seasonal dishes. In autumn, for example, pumpkin soup and onion tart. The menu remains varied and a visit at lunchtime or after a busy day is highly recommended.

Cakes and pies

I have to mention the large selection of cakes and tarts. The best thing to do is to choose something directly from the large cake display case. There are also a few vegan varieties. In addition, Café Anna Blume also offers ice cream from Eismanufaktur Berlin.

Drinks at Café Anna Blume

Coffee and tea take up about four pages of the menu. As befits a good coffee house, there is something for every taste. You can get everything from a simple espresso or coffee to Viennese cappuccino, flat white and coffee variations with alcohol. There is also a large selection of teas. They have got several black and green teas and even a white one. The selection of fruit and herbal teas is just as extensive.

In addition to lemonades, there are also numerous juices and nectars among the non-alcoholic drinks – including somewhat more exotic varieties such as sea buckthorn and mango. For many, myself included, a good breakfast includes a freshly squeezed juice. At Anna Blume you can choose between orange and grapefruit. Not exactly cheap at €4.90 for 0.2l and €6.90 for 0.4l. The milkshakes complete the range of non-alcoholic drinks.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Because even with the cocktails you will find some non-alcoholic variants. Of course there is also a small, fine selection of alcoholic cocktails. Just like long drinks, aperitifs and digestifs. I think there is almost no wish left unfulfilled.

Of course, Café Anna Blume also offers you Prosecco, sparkling wine, champagne and cremant. These can also be mixed, for example as Aperol Spritz or Hugo. You can get wines by the glass in 0.1l, 0.2l and 0.5l or you can order a bottle right away. But beer lovers don’t miss out either. The only draft beer comes from Veltins. In bottles, however, there is a lot on the menu from Flensburg Pils to Bayreuth Helles.

Conclusion

The Café Anna Blume is a Berlin coffee house as it is written in a book. Stylish and cozy. Breakfast is the star, but you can also have good lunch and dinner. The large selection of cakes and tarts naturally invite you to a coffee break. The selection of drinks is huge and leaves nothing to be desired. The service is generally very friendly and fast, even when it’s really busy.

For me one of the top cafés in Prenzlauer Berg. I can really recommend you.

Info – Café Anna Blume

Address: Kollwitzstraße 83, 10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

Opening hours: Mon – Sun, 8 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. (Breakfast 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) (Status: 10/2022)

Phone: 030 – 440 487 49

E-mail: info@cafe-anna-blume.de

www.cafe-anna-blume.de

Payment: Cash, EC-Card and all major credit cards

Social Media Links

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Our journey continued to Spain. More precisely, along the north coast across the Basque Country to Galicia. Algae seems to be a big issue in northern Spain. Our first visit was to the company Algas La Patrona.

Who is behind Algas La Patrona?

The company was founded by Cristina Garcia. She comes from Madrid and discovered her love for the sea at an early age. Cristina studied environmental sciences and aquaculture and put all her experience into the Algas La Patrona project. It’s been four years since they started production in Cambados. Initially, there was support from the EU, which took up the cause of promoting the production of algae. The reason for this is the high proportion of important nutrients. These include proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins (A, B1, B2, B9, B12, C, E) and minerals (iodine, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, calcium).

How is it harvested?

Cristina is also a qualified diving instructor, which can come in handy when harvesting. There are two ways Algas La Patrona gets its algae. Either Cristina and her team harvest themselves at low tide or fishermen do the harvesting and dive for the algae.

With the first variant, around 500 kg of algae can be harvested per day. The 10 fishermen with whom there is a cooperation manage up to 2,000 kg in one day. Harvest time is during the growth phase of the algae. Sea lettuce (Ulva sp.) is harvested in autumn, kombu (Laminaria ochroleuca), wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and sea spaghetti (Himanthalia elongata) in winter and spring. The fifth variety, by the way, is green fork algae (Codium tomentosum). You can find an overview in the picture.

This means that the entire annual production is harvested in a few weeks. Preservation is therefore important. More on that in the next section.

Incidentally, all algae are cut by hand. This way they are preserved and can grow back. Because sustainability is very important to Cristina and her team.

How is the seaweed processed at Algas La Patrona?

From a daily harvest of 500 kg, about 340 kg go into the drying room. There they are dried at 40°C for 48 hours. Algas La Patrona developed the process for this itself. Apparently there was nothing comparable and many attempts were necessary before the drying process was perfected. Incidentally, the algae contain 90% water.

The rest of the 500 kg is pickled in salt. These are the two ways algae are preserved.

What products does Algas La Patrona offer?

Part of the production is sold to resellers in large sacks. The algae come to Germany via a dealer in Belgium.

Cristina’s company also offers products for consumers. This includes dried algae, sorted or mixed in compostable bags (see picture at the top). And there are different products in the jar. You can find a few examples in the following images.

The newest product, and not yet on the market when this article is published, is “Fumet de Algas – Umami Taste”. This is the cooking water of the algae, which is produced during blanching. It can be used in soups or just to drink.

Last but not least, you can also buy Algas La Patrona products through crowd farming. If you’ve never heard of it, click on the term for more info. It is a kind of direct sales of agricultural products to end users. In our case here, you basically adopt 1 square meter of Ria and get algae for it. This works particularly well with Germany. The harvest is then shipped twice a year for a certain period of time.

Tips from Cristina

If you’ve never used seaweed, think of it as a new vegetable. You can use seaweed in salads, in omelets, for sauces or with pasta. You can find lots of inspiration on the Algas La Patrona Instagram account. Take a look at the info box below for the link.

An important tip Cristina gave us is that when cooked, dried seaweed expands by about 10 times its volume.

She also advised us to use about 5% seaweed in a meal. Your digestion may have to get used to it. So feel free to start with a little less.

Another tip was to add a bit of kombu to the bean cooking water. It reduces the flatulence effect.

On the next pictures you will find my first attempt to cook with seaweed. A vegetable curry refined with mixed seaweed. It was delicious and tasted like the sea. 😉

What is planned for the future?

The future should lie in the aquaculture of algae. This is currently being intensively developed. And as we have learned, there is a certain rejection in Germany regarding kombu algae due to their iodine content. Cristina said people are told to take an iodine pill rather than get it naturally. So there is still a lot of persuasion to do here.

Sustainability at Algas La Patrona

As we have already heard, harvesting is done carefully to protect the stocks. You have also read that compostable packaging is used. And in order not to waste any leftovers or rejects, they are composted and then given to the community.

Conclusion

Algas La Patrona was our first visit from an algae processing company. It was super exciting to get to know the process better and to see which algae there are in Europe that are suitable for our diet.

Cristina and her team have built an impressive business that already offers a wide range of seaweed products.

If you’ve never cooked with seaweed before, we highly recommend trying it out. Interesting new taste nuances and the many beneficial nutrients in algae speak for themselves.

Info – Algas La Patrona

Address: Poligono Industrial Sete Pias, vial 3 nave 2, 36635 Cambados, Spain

Phone: +34 986 54 40 65

E-mail: hola@algaslapatrona.com

Website

Social Media Links 0f Algas La Patrona

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The next stop on our journey through France, Spain and Portugal was a tip from Manon Boucand, the founder of Tyk Affinage. It’s Vegane de Bretagne, a small factory in Nantes run by Sandrine Marsaudon Mersch.

What or who is Vegane de Bretagne?

Sandrine grew up in a family of organic bakers. She has been a vegetarian since she was 18 and has been vegan for 6 years. Four and a half years ago she quit her job as board secretary and started making vegan products. It started very small, only in markets with freshly squeezed juices. Little by little Sandrine has developed her range of products and finally moved to Vegane de Bretagne’s current premises in Nantes 3 years ago (see address and map at the bottom). Production, a sales room and an office are combined there.

What products does Vegane de Bretagne offer?

First of all, it has to be mentioned that all products are made with organic ingredients.

The current product range consists mainly of sweet spreads. You can spread them on bread or put them on crepes and the like. These include the chocolate spreads (Pod’choco) made from cocoa, almonds and cashew nuts, a caramel spread (Pod’caramel), which is like the classic French caramel but vegan, and a lemon spread (Pod’citron, also known as lemon curd) and last but not least an almond spread (pod’amande).

A special highlight for us was the vegan butter (Beurvegan). It actually has the characteristics of a classic butter and is miles away from commercial margarine with its mostly numerous additives and hydrogenated fats. The vegan butter is available in natural and demi-sel, which means it is lightly salted.

Another classic Breton product that Sandrine also makes is the Quatre-Quarts Breton (Breton pound cake). A popular loaf cake, which of course she uses her vegan butter for. With this product Sandrine follows in the footsteps of her ancestors. The range of baked goods will be further expanded in the future. For example, Sandrine plans to produce vegan croissants and pain au chocolat.

Sustainability at Vegane de Bretagne

As mentioned before, the raw materials used are organic and fair trade. Wherever possible, ingredients from regional production are used.

The packaging and labels are made from recycled and biodegradable paper and are fully biodegradable and compostable. The foil in which the Quatre Quart Breton is wrapped is made of cellulose and is also compostable.

In all phases of her work, Sandrine follows the most environmentally friendly approach possible.

Conclusion

It is impressive what inventiveness Sandrine shows. And how she manages to produce vegan alternatives to traditional Breton products. This also includes the vegan butter (Beurvegan), which, as I said, really impressed us.

We wish Vegane de Bretagne every success and that the products will soon make it to Germany.

Info – Vegane de Bretagne

Address: 30 Mail des Chantiers, 44200 Nantes, France

Phone: +33 (0)7 69 79 28 15

E-mail: contact@veganedebretagne.com

Website

Social Media Links of Vegane de Bretagne

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