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 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...

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...

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....

Stacked to the rafters with board games, Café Manuela has been a hive of activity since the Movida days. Its handsome art nouveau decor and conveniently nicotine-coloured walls...

Originally founded in 1870, the much-loved Casa Antonio, which faces out on to the Plaza de la Puerta Cerrada, is one of the oldest vermut bars in Madrid.

Known as Jazzanova until recently, Castellana 8 remains a supremely smooth bar-restaurant-club, its black walls softened by clever uplighting, orange velvet cushions and a...

Famous for being Ernest Hemingway's daily haunt (his table, should you be wondering, is the one in the near right-hand corner). The decor is fin-de-siècle German bierkeller,...

Another on this strip of beerhouses (the most exotic brew on offer here is Guinness), this one was never frequented by Hemingway and is consequently cheaper. Two entrances lead...