Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Madrid for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Madrid for grown-ups.
Salmon Guru on Calle Echegaray in Madrid is Diego Cabrera's neon-lit cocktail room (2017), the World's 50 Best Bars regular with tiki-style drinks.
Signature drink: Tikki-style cocktails by Diego Cabrera
Food: Small plates
Tip: Closed Mondays. Book the back-room tasting flight (4 cocktails for 40 euros) three days ahead; bar takes walk-ins.
1862 Dry Bar on Calle del Pez in Madrid's Malasana is the speakeasy-style cocktail room since 2014, named for Jerry Thomas's 1862 bartender's guide.
Signature drink: Classic Sazerac and Daiquiri
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in but the room is small (35 seats). Closed Sundays. The classic Sazerac (14 euros) is the headline order.
Macera Taller Bar in Madrid's Malasana infuses its own gins, vodkas and rums in glass jars at the back of the bar, with rotating fruits, herbs and roots.
Signature drink: House-infused spirits cocktails
Food: Snacks, tapas
Tip: Walk-in only. The cocktails (10 to 14 euros) are the headlines; the infused-spirit bottles sell to take home.
Del Diego near Gran Via in Madrid is the 1992-founded cocktail bar by Fernando del Diego, the canonical Madrid coctelero, with the Del Diego eponymous.
Signature drink: Del Diego (vodka, vanilla, lime, mint)
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closed Sundays. Cash and card accepted. The eponymous Del Diego cocktail (12 euros) is the headline; classic Negronis are the second order.
Museo Chicote on Gran Via in Madrid is the 1931-founded cocktail bar by Perico Chicote, the Madrid cocktail pioneer. Located in Centro. Order the dry martini.
Signature drink: Dry Martini
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in. The art-deco room is the headline; the dry martini (12 euros) is the canonical order. Open daily until 02:00.
Viva Madrid in Madrid's Las Letras is the 1856-founded tile-fronted cocktail bar, with a long bar, gin tonic carte and the daily-changing tapas pizarra.
Signature drink: Gin tonic carte
Food: Tapas
Tip: Walk-in only. The terrace on Calle Manuel Fernandez seats 8; cocktails 10 to 14 euros, tapas 5 to 12.
Medium Club on Calle del Pez in Madrid's Malasana is the esoteric-themed cocktail bar with a tarot-and-occult interior, signature cocktails built on pisco.
Signature drink: Pisco-based signature cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in. Signature cocktails run 10 to 13 euros; the back room takes reservations for the listening sessions.
El Jardin Secreto in Madrid's Conde Duque is the rooftop garden bar at the Hotel Innside Madrid, with views over Plaza Comendadoras, a vermut programme.
Signature drink: Vermut tonic
Food: Tapas, small plates
Tip: Open April to October only. Walk-in until 21:00, reservation required after. The vermut tonic (8 euros) is the headline.
Azotea del Circulo on Calle de Alcala in Madrid's Centro is the rooftop of the 1926 Circulo de Bellas Artes art club, with 360-degree views over Gran Via.
Signature drink: Gin tonic
Food: Tapas, small plates
Tip: Entry fee 5 euros. Open daily 11:00-02:00. The sunset slot (19:30) is the busiest; book on Tickets.com to skip the queue.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana has poured the yayo (vermut with gin and seltzer, served from height) since 1928. Order the yayo (vermut, gin, sifon).
Signature drink: Yayo (vermut, gin, sifon)
Food: Bocadillos, tortilla
Tip: Cash only. Closed Sundays. The yayo is 3 euros, the boquerones 3, the bocadillo de calamares 4.50; nothing else on offer.
Masa near Plaza de Olavide in Madrid's Chamberi is the natural-wine bar from Antonella Tignanelli since 2023, with a selected by-the-glass list of European.
Signature drink: By-the-glass natural wines
Food: Seasonal small plates, tapas
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The 10-seat counter is the spot for the by-the-glass flight; vinyl-soundtracked back room from 21:00.
La Tape on Calle San Bernardo in Madrid is the wine-bar-and-tapas room since 2015, with 80 by-the-glass references, a focused daily-changing tapas pizarra.
Signature drink: By-the-glass wines
Food: Tapas, small plates
Tip: Walk-in. Closed Sundays. The corner terrace seats 14; the inside bar is the standing-room scene.