Villa-Rosa

Excelent atmosphere, great live music. The service is awesome. Located in a really cool place in…read moremadrid, la huerta. Would come here every night.

Unassuming venue that boasts of some high quality live music. It's a small place with great…read moreacoustics and friendly people that offers an array of drinks and a stage for artists to showcase their talents. Highly recommend this space.

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La Coquette

4.4(21 reviews)

0.6 km•Sol

We had a fun evening out at Madrid's La Coquette Blues Bar…read more Got there at around 7:30 pm - doors open at 8, and a line forms outside the relatively small place, so that timing was perfect. Settled into the very cool cavern-like subterranean space with rough stone walls, vintage blues show posters and a terrific Chicago blues soundtrack. A waiter who spoke English took drink orders, and everybody got bowls of sunflower seeds in the shell. It got crowded, but not ridiculously so, because they limit admission, letting a few new people in when others leave. They feature a rotating roster of blues bands who each do a three-night run. Check out their web site (it's their Facebook page) for who's playing. As usual when I see a music listing somewhere, I looked the group up on YouTube, to check out what they actually sound like. The combo we caught - The Maria Avilas Quartet - came on at 9 pm. It was a good-time Chicago-style blues band with guitar, standup bass, drums and a female singer, and we stayed for most of the second set as well. The crowd was really upbeat and friendly, and the beer was cold. Later in the evening, the waiter offered selected people (lucky us!) free mini-shots. Bottom line: we really enjoyed the place, and highly recommend it for a fun evening out.

Good, divey Blues Bar (live band) we found and jumped into after dinner. Got there around 11'ish…read more Had some beers, drinks, and listened to the live Blues Band which was pretty good. Good selection of beers and liquor... the bartender makes a very good Mojito (almost every table had one). Generous pours on all drinks. Decent beer selection. Seating is a little tight but it's not a big place. Looks like an old bomb shelter (cool look).

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Casa Patas

4.4(76 reviews)

0.3 km•Tirso de Molina

Flamenco time! Tell…read moreme it's a tourist thing to do, but entertaining and cultural nonetheless! I feel like the sounds of the tapping of the shoes, dancing and movement, expresses the self-interpreted story. I had an enjoyable show experience here! I'm sure you will too!

This place is legit! I am a long time flamenco student and my teacher recommended this place as it…read moreis one of the most highly regarded tablaos in Madrid. Came here for the 10:30pm flamenco show, having reserved online a few days in advance. 40 euros gets you in to the show and includes 1 drink. It may seem a bit pricey (there are cheaper options in the city for sure), but it is 100% worth it if you want to see authentic flamenco in an intimate space. The seating area is not huge, but best of all, seats are kind of on an angle. So even if you are near the back, you can see the footwork. This is really great, because so many flamenco tablaos I went to in Andalucia were really cramped and basically if you are not in the front few tables, you cannot see any of the dancers' feet. Anyways, the calendar on the website will tell you who is dancing and who is performing on guitar and cante (singing). They get a lot of excellent artists here. The performance had one intermission and went until ~midnight. The dining area is at the front and the stage and performance space are in a smaller separate room in the back. Servers bring the drinks to you so you don't have to get up to go to the bar. Like many places in Spain, once you sit down you get a little bowl of nibbles, such as nuts. Overall, an incredible and moving experience with top notch performers. Plus, the location is very central, just a few blocks from Puerta del Sol. Because of the location perhaps, there will be a fair number of foreigners in the audience, but rest assured that what you are seeing here is the real deal.

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Café Berlín

4.7(3 reviews)

0.8 km•Sol

Awesome venue open since 1909. Next to Tim Hortons…read more Buy tickets online - the seats and standing are the same price. It's open seating so show up 1 hour early to get the best seats. We arrived 20 minutes early and saw the line around the corner. Luckily we still managed to get seats. There is no mandatory drink minimum. Most people ordered beers-Estrella Galicia seemed popular. Seats were comfortable. Highly recommended! 12 Eros plus surcharge so 15 euros per person.

We spent a night in this bar, and it was a great party. Not fashion but very unique bar ( I guess…read moreit goes according to each type of party ). The big minus: The drinks: I'm a gyn & tonic person used to survive to three or more per night Without hangover the day after. Today after drinking only one G&T I have a big hungover... Guess next time will order just bottle beer. Consider my review as one person who has visited the place only one night.

Main area

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Decadente

4.4(8 reviews)

0.2 km•Cortes

I went to this place on a Sunday night so there might be less people than usual. I was the only…read moreperson in the entire restaurant, which is a little bit surprising given that it was only 8 PM. The food was very price and so were the drinks. A cocktail is easily 12 euros. Not many locals go here and it is on a busy street. I think atmosphere and food items are more geared towards north american people. But was nice. Unsure about this spot

Loved this restaurant. The girls were so nice, we sat outside for a couple of drinks and people…read morewatched. Then went inside to a wonderful restaurant and had two fabulous dishes Turbo and my spouse had steak. We started off with Iberico Jamon and it was out of this world! A must go to for a nice meal and even a relaxing couple of drinks.

Turbo with asparagus and Steak with frites.

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Café Central

4.1(40 reviews)

0.1 km•Cortes

Wow wow,, what an awesome place, wish we would have been here for the entire show.. small yet…read morepowerful place

Great location ! Great cofee.stop.after roaming around…read moremadrid !

Live music.

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La Negra Tomasa

3.8(42 reviews)

0.1 km•Sol

Went twice for Mojitos (which are good). Went again for music but was just fine. The Tamal Cubano…read morewas OK as well as the shrimp Tacos. Service was mediocre. Was sad.

I was surprised at the current menu after having been coming here for years. Gone are the frituras…read morede malanga, the fricasé de cerdo, and other truly well made Cuban dishes. Besides a couple of Cuban dishes, now they have items of Mexican, Peruvian, and Venezuelan origin. Nothing wrong with that, except that I expected a full range of Cuban dishes like they used to have. The mojitos tasted mostly of sugar.The staff was nice and efficient and the music was good.

Cuba in Madrid!!

Nice concept

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Not much ambiance

BarCo

4.0(18 reviews)

0.9 km•Malasaña

This is exactly the reason Madrid is a "night city." At first I didn't understand, but with events…read morelike Barco starting at midnight in the middle of the week. I get it. On the particular night I visited, Freshness was performing. It's a jam session, the group plays and sings as if it's improvised. The singer sings random things, random songs, sometimes make up the words, sometimes actual songs they wrote. Once he looked at his two guitarists and sang, "whaaaaaaaaat are you doing????" because they were totally lost. Freshness had a guitarist, bass, drummer, trumpet, keyboard. They play and accompany the singer, and they're very good!! A moment later, somebody from the audience asks, "Hey can I play the next song with you?" and swaps with the guitarist. Later someone swapped with the drummer. We had 2 other different singers as the main singer went to bar to take shots. The keyboard guy is cute, he got a solo and he's amazing. It's thanks to the singer (who's so lovely, I talked to him of course!!!), I find him really cute too and he's full of energy. It's thanks to him I want to take dance classes again! That is one highlight of Barco, but they have tons of other musicians play. Freshness plays every Wednesday. AND OH YES, you meet a LOT of locals here. But also a lot of tourists, because nobody really goes out Wednesday nights. (Back in Toronto, Wednesdays are study days) The bartenders are snobby. It's 5€ for a Mahou beer though. I for one had a lot of fun here, I got a cute guy's number (but we never chatted after hahaha), and the atmosphere is soooooo cool. I arrived at 11:45pm and nobody was there, I asked if there's a show? The show starts at 12:30am, intermission at 2, then starts again at 2:30am. Crazy huh? And these locals have work at 9 the next day! I LOVE THIS!!! You only live once! The bar got a LOT busier at around 1am. By busy, I really mean it! A lot of people!! Almost club-like! Ah, Malasaña you're so cool.

Every other Sunday they have a R&B Soul kind of band. The singer Christine is amazing. I could…read morehave listened to her all night. Its a jam session sort of feel and the band members swap out and all sorts of talents show up to participate. There were rappers, singers, dancers, instrumentalists. And my best friend that I was with got up there and tore the house down. Everyone loved her. It was amazing. There is such a welcoming spirit here. Another singer, Ginger, made sure we were introduced to people. Christina bought us drinks. People danced with me. I couldn't have had a better experience here. The decor is very urban, jazzy, blues-ie, and the crowd was so diverse. Definitely my kind of spot. Made our last night in Madrid a winner.

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Toni 2

4.5(19 reviews)

1.0 km•Chueca

Went to Toni 2 on our last night in Madrid. Got there around 935pm and there was already a queue…read more Toni 2 opens at be 10pm and has be a capacity of 120 people. If you don't get in in the first round, it may be midnight before you can get in. So that's the best tip for you. cover charge is 15 eur for the first drink. If you can find and know the be lyrics, get there and be the be first 50 people and maybe maybe be you get a place next to the piano. Very fun environment. Know your lyrics to sing along, otherwise hang back and be enjoy in people hanging a great be time at be Toni 2. Great vibes.

Super fun Karaoke bar, great ambiance and drinks! Fun place for groups to have a night out!read more

0.5 km•Lavapiés y Embajadores

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El Sur

4.5(970 reviews)

Food was excellent. Paella was very good as well as the pork cheeks. Also got the Tinto De Verano…read morewhich was very good and refreshing. As I look at other people's food, everything looks so good! Had to wait a little bit for a table but the waiter was super nice. You can also order at the bar if you want. Pretty decent bar decor? A little nicer than the places that I usually frequent! lol

El Sur is an unpretentious cafe in Madrid outside the main tourist areas in Lavapies. I enjoyed the…read morepork roast on a bed of potatoes. I also could not resist the cheesecake, which was freshly made. The pork was good and included a generous helping of meat. The cheesecake was outstanding, an unexpected bonus. The restaurant was lively with locals. Service was slower but more relaxing. This cafe was a find.