Opened as a taberna in 1856, Viva Madrid spent over a century as a neighbourhood drinking hole before Diego Cabrera transformed it into a cocktail destination without stripping the history from the walls. And what walls: hand-painted ceramic panels depicting pastoral scenes and allegorical figures, the finest tilework interior of any bar in Madrid. Cabrera's programme builds drinks that reference Spanish ingredients without reducing them to novelty. A vermouth cocktail beneath tiles that predate the telephone connects modern craft to the room's original purpose. Minutes from Salmon Guru — history here, spectacle there.
Location
Barrio de las Letras, Madrid
Map
Insider Intel
A Spanish vermouth cocktail — the room demands something rooted in tradition. The house Negroni variation built with Spanish ingredients. Anything seasonal that references the building's history. Study the tilework between sips; it is the most extraordinary ceramic interior in Madrid's bar scene.
Evening from 8:30pm when interior lighting brings the tilework alive and the room fills without crowding. A natural pairing with Salmon Guru on the same street — start here for history, walk to Guru for theatre.
Calle de Manuel Fernandez y Gonzalez 7, Barrio de las Letras. Sol or Sevilla metro. Cocktails EUR 10-14. The tilework dates to the original 1856 taberna. Diego Cabrera's second project in the Letras quarter. Walk-in; the room accommodates a good crowd. Cards accepted.