Bocadillo de calamares
A crusty baguette stuffed with hot fried squid rings — Madrid's improbable, beloved street sandwich, eaten standing around Plaza Mayor.
The bocadillo de calamares is exactly what it sounds like: calamares a la romana — squid rings in a light flour batter, fried to order — packed into a crusty barra of bread, usually naked, maybe with a squeeze of lemon or a swipe of alioli or brava sauce if the house allows it. That a landlocked capital made a fried-squid sandwich its street-food emblem is part of the charm; the bars in the streets around Plaza Mayor sell them in enormous numbers, and arguing over which one does it best is a Madrid pastime.
How it's served
Hot and immediate, standing at the bar or on the street, classically with nothing but bread and squid — lemon, alioli or brava sauce are the accepted extras. A caña alongside is practically mandatory.
Regional variation
The debate is less regional than doctrinal: purists insist on dry bread and squid alone, modernists add alioli, mayonnaise or brava sauce. Some newer bars swap in squid-ink alioli or brioche — traditionalists disapprove.
- Origin
- Madrid, Spain
Frequently asked
Why is a fried squid sandwich famous in Madrid, a city with no sea?
Madrid has long been the hub where Spain's coastal catch arrives, and fried calamares became cheap taberna food. Packing them into a barra of bread made it portable and iconic — now it's the classic snack of the Plaza Mayor area.
What goes on a bocadillo de calamares?
Traditionally nothing: just crusty bread and hot battered squid rings. A squeeze of lemon is fine, and many bars offer alioli or spicy brava sauce — but the purist version is bread and calamares alone.
Related terms
- Calamares a la romanaSquid cut into rings, dipped in a light flour batter and deep-fried — the golden calamari of Spanish bars, and the filling of Madrid's bocadillo de calamares.
- Soldaditos de PavíaStrips of salt cod in a golden batter, fried crisp and classically paired with a ribbon of roasted red pepper — an old-school tapa of Madrid's tabernas.