This was the very first gay bar that Jamie W and I patronized in Madrid, and just to lend some perspective to my opinion, we had been to about a dozen gay bars on previous trips to Barcelona. My verdict? Pretty disappointed. We had high hopes because our walkabout in the lively Chueca neighborhood led us to believe we would have no problem finding a place to match our more mellow vibe. Not here though. We got here pretty early in the evening, and it was already pretty packed with a decidedly mixed crowd.
That's because the space transitions from a cafe to a bar lounge without any perceptible difference in menu or service. I was shocked that we landed a hi-top table for two. There was one bartender and one server for the entire bustling bar. The server was clearly overtaxed, and something was telling me we should've just ordered beers to avoid confusion. Jamie, however, looked at the cafe menu and ordered the 3€ Iced Coffee. Make it two, said I in a coattail mood. Big mistake at 6:30PM.
It was clear the bartender was in no mood to multitask because we ended up waiting...and waiting...and waiting for our order. We kept seeing other drink orders pass by us as if we were invisible. I had the unenviable task of reminding the harried server of our order to which he apologized but didn't do anything about it. We waited some more, and then our small plastic cups of Iced Coffee finally arrived (Photo 7). We downed them in seconds and got up to pay our check almost immediately. That was it.
COFFEE - 2.5 stars... nothing special, an economy class serving
AMBIANCE - 2 stars...crowded, loud, and not even drunk
SERVICE - 2 stars...felt sorry for the server but the bartender deserved a kick in the arse
TOTAL - 2 stars...taking a hard pass on this gathering spot
RELATED - Exploring Madrid? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/r2R5rHLVw_ read more