La Esperanza

La Esperanza sits on Calle del Olmo behind the Cine Doré, on the seam where Lavapiés meets the Barrio de las Letras. Owner Javier Moya and chef Ferrán Blanch built it as a seventies flashback, spherical lamps, a marble bar, upholstered stools and amber Duralex plates.

Madrid blog Te Veo en Madrid framed the opening as the seventies returning to Lavapiés, and the room plays the part without turning into a theme bar. The crowd is the proof, pensioners and millennials sharing the bar over vermouth at noon.

The kitchen works the whole Mediterranean, patatas bravas, Mallorcan coca bread with roasted peppers and sardines, the Bomba de la Barceloneta, and a Valencian fideuá with squid and prawns. Time Out gave it four stars and praised the original menu at fair prices.

This is a bar to eat in, not a cocktail room. Vermouth and cañas carry the order, the service runs warm and devoted, and the noise level climbs with the evening, loud is part of the contract.

Come at noon on a weekend for the vermouth hour at its most local. For more of the city, see our Madrid pubs guide, the Madrid wine bars guide, and the full Madrid bar guide.

Weekend vermouth hour from noon to 2pm is the institution, arrive before 1pm for bar seats. Lunch rolls straight into the afternoon.

Weeknight dinners run calmer and the kitchen has room to stretch. Book through the bar's site for tables of four or more.