The perfect mix

“Shaken, not stirred” will get you nowhere when visiting any of these creative cocktail bars whose imaginative drink recipes will leave you spoilt for choice. Cheers!

Published in esMADRIDmagazine in November 2022 (Updated Sep 2024)

“A Dry Martini, please.” Ava Gardner might not have even had to order her favourite drink after walking through the revolving door of a place she frequented, Bar Chicote. The barman surely knew her tastes well, since she would put in an appearance there almost every night.

The famous spot founded in 1931 by Perico Chicote, who had previously worked serving drinks at Los Mostenses Market, was the first cocktail bar to open in Spain, and it soon became, as Agustín Lara's chotis song Madrid goes, a meeting place for the “who’s who of the intelligentsia”.

From Hemingway to Ortega y Gasset, Orson Welles to Salvador Dalí and Charlie Chaplin to Eisenhower, upon arriving in Madrid everyone knew that it was the place to be. Although it’s been renamed Museo Chicote, it continues to operate at No. 12, Gran Vía avenue. Be sure to stop by!

Del Diego (No. 12, Calle de la Reina) and Cock (No. 16, Calle de la Reina) are two other classic cocktail bars not to be missed, with a single sip of any of their mixed drinks, you’ll understand why cocktails are enjoying so much success in the city these days. We recommend you to have an open mind; these places serve pure imagination in a glass... or in something else.

SALMON GURU

Echegaray, 21 SEVILLA / ANTÓN MARTÍN 91 00 06 185

“Liquid recipes are the heart of our space. Here, happiness is just one drink away, travelling in a cocktail shaker full of past and future stories. All orders are custom-made as long as you give us just one thing: your time”. This is how Diego Cabrera welcomes customers to Salmon Guru, which is positioned high up on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.

People head to this bar, in Barrio de las Letras (Literary Quarter), which is run by the Argentinian by birth—although he has adopted Madrid as his home—to enjoy cocktails along with… rock and roll! The “sours” are delicious, the “strong” cocktails are made to be kissed, not drunk, and the “refreshing” options are incredibly invigorating. But we like Diego's “crazy” cocktails the best because of their striking presentation.

INCLÁN BRUTAL BAR

Álvarez Gato, 4 SOL / SEVILLA Tel. 91 023 80 38

It was a desire to find the humorous and the grotesque in life's tragedies that gave rise to esperpento, a literary genre created by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán. This quirky bar, located in the same “Cat Alley” (Callejón del Gato) that appeared in his Bohemian Lights, pays tribute to the author.

The barmen use their cocktail shakers to create impressive mixes and put their artistry on display with the most daring of serving containers, ranging from the Joker's head to a strange black octopus. As the writer and bar’s namesake said, “wit and good humour never run out here”.

LOVO BAR

Echegaray, 20 SEVILLA / ANTÓN MARTÍN

This unique bar where everything revolves around Joséphine Baker, the first internationally famous vedette, has opened on the “golden mile” of Madrid’s cocktail bars, in Barrio de las Letras.

Baker represents freedom, a concept that’s particularly fitting for the drinks menu at Lovo. It’s is divided into two spaces: La Caza, which has a square bar, and the High Room Ball, which is for dancing.

Not sure what to order? The Jupe Banane, perhaps. It's made with vodka, yoghurt, strawberry, raspberry, lemon and banana, the fruit that the famous skirt worn by the bar’s muse was made from.

ANGELITA MADRID

Reina, 4 GRAN VÍA

Yes, it’s a restaurant and a wine bar, but hidden away in the basement of this establishment just behind Gran Vía, is a cocktail bar.

Here, Mario Villalón and his team surprise customers with drinks based on homegrown ingredients, all having a particular focus on wine and garden produce.

ISA

Sevilla, 3 SEVILLA / SOL 

A seductive, mysterious bar with a plethora of secrets to be uncovered, Isa is the cocktail bar at the Four Seasons hotel, which is located in Centro Canalejas Madrid, a complex created by transforming and rehabilitating seven historic buildings a stone’s throw away from Puerta del Sol.

It combines the Asian- and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, with a sophisticated drinks menu overseen by Miguel Pérez, one of Spain’s best and most innovative bartenders.

PUNCH ROOM 

Plaza de Celenque, 2 ÓPERA / SOL / CALLAO

You can get to Punch Room from the lobby of The Madrid EDITION hotel. Tucked away in a discreet corner, the soft lighting reveals an intimate space with dark oak panels, a basalt stone fireplace, armchairs and a copper bar.

This unique spot serves signature cocktails and redefines punch as a contemporary experience. A place where whisky and sherry meet pisco, cachaça, and agave spirits.

SANTAMARÍA COCTELERÍA

Ballesta, 6 GRAN VÍA Tel. 91 034 18 11

“Our secret lies in the small details” is the description given by this fantastic cocktail bar that understands bartending as an art combining precision and craftsmanship.

Here, they place importance on the quality of both the ingredients and the ice, which they make themselves using a 19th century technique. Watch as they make cocktails, it’s a real show!