Review: Alambique

What's the story here?
The first step to making real-deal Spanish food in your home kitchen is procuring the proper equipment, and the family-run Alambique, stocked with a variety of Spanish-made cooking utensils and dinnerware, is Madrid's best one-stop shop for your culinary needs.

What will we find inside?
Everything you need to throw an epic tapas party: paella pans, olive-wood platters, cocktail napkins printed with fans, and those dainty round earthenware dishes essential for making sizzling garlic shrimp. More ambitious cooks should check out the spherification kits, which turn everything from olive oil to fresh juice into caviar-like orbs, and the churro makers, fitted with hand-carved wooden plungers and made by a local tinsmith.

If money’s no object, what goes in the cart?
Impress your foodie friends by whipping out a hammered copper pota de pulpo—"octopus stockpot"—the next time you cook Galician-style octopus snipped into coins and drizzled with olive oil and paprika. Gleaming and clearly handmade, it's a terrific conversation piece and doubles as an attractive wine bucket.

What if we’re on a strict budget?
The abuela-approved terracotta dishes, called cazuelas, will bring a touch of the Spanish countryside to your dinner table. They come in a range of shapes and sizes and are great for baking, roasting, and braising.

Who else shops here?
Young foodies embarking on their next cooking project and discerning señoras who recognize sturdy kitchenware from a mile away.

What's most memorable about this place?
The swoon-worthy artisan items made in Spain, from engraved steak knives to wooden olive splitters to Macael marble mortars.

Any secret tips?Speak Spanish? Inquire about what cooking classes (held in the store) are on the docket during your stay.