Tucked into a narrow alley between Puerta del Sol and the Teatro Real, San Ginés has been serving churros con chocolate around the clock since 1894 — Madrid's definitive version of the ritual.
The building itself dates to 1890, originally an inn; it converted to a churrería in 1894 and has operated more or less continuously ever since, in the same spot in the Pasadizo de San Ginés. Its location — roughly halfway between the old Teatro Real (now the nightclub Joy Eslava) and Puerta del Sol — meant it caught theatregoers looking for a late-night treat on the way home, then, as Madrid's nightlife shifted, clubbers doing exactly the same thing decades later. It's stayed open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, for over a century — which is precisely why it became a meeting point for both early-morning workers and the last stragglers from a night out.
There's really one order here: churros (or the thicker, ring-shaped porras) con chocolate — chocolate so thick a spoon can stand upright in it, meant for dunking rather than drinking. It's traditionally a breakfast or very-late-night food in Madrid, not an afternoon dessert, though San Ginés serves it at all hours regardless.
Green-panelled walls, marble-topped tables, and a downstairs room historically known as a gathering spot for writers and artists lingering over their chocolate — the sense of having stepped into an earlier Madrid is part of the appeal, alongside the churros themselves.
Expect queues at conventional breakfast hours and mid-morning, when tour groups arrive. For the more local experience — and shorter waits — go either very early or genuinely late, in the small hours, when the after-club crowd takes over.