The Cava Baja in Madrid is one of my favourite ‘night-time’ streets. It is full of great little bars and restaurants and has a lot of character. The street is one of the oldest in Madrid, in the La Latina area and was known in the past as the pony in Madrid where post entered the city and where muleteers brought in coffee, hay, coal, wheat and much more. The street has quite a few posadas and one I particularly like is the Posada del León de Oro.

This place was totally refurbished in 2010 and the building itself dates from the 19th century. It houses a smart hotel, restaurant and bar (I have never stayed here but the bedrooms look fabulous). On entering the place it is well worth having a hick look around – notice the how the balconies look down on the restaurant and the glass floor displaying the old walls and an assortment of wine bottles!

Head over to the bar and view the wines that you can buy by the glass from all over Spain. Whatever your favourite Spanish tipple, you will probably find your needs catered to in here. Like much of Cava Baja it is also an ideal place to order some ‘raciones’ to share with friends or family. I would definitely recommend the croquets – they are delicious.

Directions

Address: Cava Baja 12, 28005 Madrid
Telephone: +34 91 119 14 94

Google Map

Terrazas in Madrid are one of the great summer experiences of the city. A terraza, in English, is a street (or open air) café which often open to the wee, small hours of the morning. Traditionally, the popular terrazas hve been found on the Castellana or the Paseo de Pintor Rosales but El Mundo has some alternative places where you can enjoy an evening tipple. They include Real Madrid’s ground, a terrace outside Torre Picasso (one of Spain’s tallest buildings), the Circulo de Bellas Artes and Madrid’s Hippodrome, Madrid’s horse track with 7 bars, 15 shops and ice cream parlour and 2 restaurants.

One tip: Madrid’s nightlife goes on to around 4-5 in the morning, so don’t go out too early – a 10 or 11 p.m. start is early enough!

Link
Madrid Terrrazas

It goes without saying that you will probably have little problem finding a bar to watch the World Cup over the coming weeks! For many Brits and Americans, the first port of call will probably be the Irish bars, but how about watching the games in a cinema?

The company Cinesa will be ‘televising’ the Spanish games, along with other important games (such as the final) on their High Definition, Giant Cinema Screens with Digital 5.1 sound at Multicines Proyecciones on c/Fuencarral 136. All games are free but there is obviously a ceiling on the amount of people who can watch the game.

A while back Ryan Opaz wrote an article on this site introducing tapas tours of Madrid. Well, since that time this has developed into a business, called Sabores Tours, with which I will be collaborating with closely over the coming months. Another member of the team at Sabores Tours is Janelle who has been living in Madrid since 2000 and has extensive knowledge of the culture, history and food of the city. Together they offer clients tours of some of their favourite secret’ Madrid bars, where their small groups can indulge in Spanish food and good wine. Here’s what you can expect from one of Janelle and Ryan’s tours:

Spend an evening with a small group strolling along the historic streets of Madrid with a knowledgeable guide while tasting Spanish wines and Spain’s culinary treasures. Visiting a city is more enjoyable and relaxing when you have a friend to show you around. That was the motivation behind creating SaboresTours, to offer travellers the opportunity to go where the locals go, eat what they eat and to have fun while learning something in the process. "Sabores" means flavour, taste. That is what we want you to experience on our tours. The flavors of the wine, the cuisine and the cultures present in Spain.

If you’d like more informaton on these Tapas Tours, please send me an email.

I’ve just been watching a programme on BBC 4 about Bob Dylan –
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home Parts 1 & 2 – and on a number of occasions they started discussing his protest songs. Well, this is my own little protest – if you come to Madrid, buy local not global. Don’t buy from burgers, coffee, chicken wings, and other such products from multinational companies. Simply buy from local businesses and take a break from what you may buy back home. You’ll be better off for it!

Let me give you an example. In the photo above you will see Starbucks (map) on the left and a local Spanish bar –Taberna los 4 Robles – on the right. Out of curiosity I popped into Starbucks to find out the price of their coffee – it was 2.30 Euros for their smallest coffee. On the other hand the price for a cafe con leche in the bar next door was 1.10 Euros. The latter place had a wonderful marble counter, beautiful tiling, great design  – and even the coffee is good! To me there is no contest.

So, when in Madrid, go Madrileño – you’ll enjoy the experience far more. End of protest.