Indian businesses and services in Madrid, Spain

Ask where to find South Asian food in Madrid and the answer is almost always Lavapiés. This old working-class neighbourhood in the Embajadores area, south-east of the Puerta del Sol, has become the most diverse corner of the city. Calle Lavapiés in particular is lined with Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants, while grocers selling rice, lentils, spices and fresh produce are found in the surrounding streets. The neighbourhood is reached on Metro line 3 at Lavapiés station, and it is liveliest in the evenings and at weekends.

Many of the businesses are Bangladeshi-run, alongside Pakistani, Indian and Nepali ones, and the Indian community itself is varied. Spain has an older Indian trading presence, largely Sindhi, whose families traded for decades from the free ports of the Canary Islands and from Ceuta and Melilla, and many of whom moved their business to the mainland from the 1980s. More recently Madrid has attracted Indian professionals in technology, finance and consulting, as well as students, and these families are spread across the city and its suburbs rather than clustered in one district.

A gurdwara and an ISKCON temple serve the community in Madrid, alongside groups that meet in modest premises in residential areas. Diwali and Holi are marked by temple and association events. In smaller shops, expect a long break in the middle of the day, and remember that Madrid eats late: restaurants in Lavapiés often fill up only after nine in the evening.