This battered old bar with its tiled walls, zinc bar top, overflowing sink and glasses stacked on wooden slats has become the Chueca meeting-place par excellence, thanks to its...

Once an Irish bar, Areia has been transformed beyond recognition into a chill-out space that has all the angles covered: by day it's somewhere to get lunch or a snack, in the...

A super-cool terraza set in its own small park. The plentiful tables in the front bar are filled by midnight and the overflow swells on to the surrounding gentle slope of...

A very surreal place, probably unique in Spain as drinking experiences go. If Balmoral Castle had a cocktail bar, it would look something like this, with stags' heads and...

A former brothel, Bar Cock is pricey and very stagey, furnished in what Spaniards think to be the style of an 'English pub' (red-velvet curtains, embossed leather armchairs and...

This is the emblematic Malasaña hang-out, packed at weekends and drowsily mellow in the afternoons, with a tiled bar and engraved mirrors, nicotine-stained walls and lazily...

Also known as Taurino or, more commonly, 'that bar on Salitre', the San Lorenzo has no sign. Stained-glass windows and furniture that could have been found on the street lend...

Wednesday is firmly established as hip hop night in Madrid, and judging by the turnout these clubs get, Thursdays must see a massive drop in Madrid's productivity thanks to...

The grubby upstairs bar is a hit with cocky latino rent boys and their older prospective patrons and plays host to some of the best cabaret shows in town. Downstairs things...

By day a quiet, mixed haven to duck into and catch your breath: curl up with a book and sample one of the teas. After sundown, sip a cocktail, sink into a deep sofa and admire...

Featuring cosy, mismatched-on-purpose furniture and bold-coloured walls, this small haunt would be unremarkable if not for one thing - silence. Just a stone's throw from the...

Still the classic Madrid bar, with its original battered brown leather seats, revolving doors and marbled walls. A nod to the modern age comes in the shape of the internet...

Often frequented by three golden labradors, the best pavement tables for a Sunday vermouth are at Café del Nuncio.

An elegant shrine to Isadora Duncan, with a chequered floor, marble-topped tables and an eerie collection of prints of 'that scarf', alongside frequently changing exhibitions....