Nightclub entertainment in Madrid
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Teatro Joy Eslava
The only things guaranteed at this grand old Madrid dance club (housed in a 19th-century theatre) are a crowd and the fact that it will be open. (The club claims to have opened every single day for the past 29 years.) The music and the crowd are a mixed bag, but queues are long and invariably include locals and tourists, and even the occasional famoso.
reviewed
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B
Palacio Gaviria
A recently renovated palace converted into one of the most popular dance clubs in Madrid, this is the kind of place where the crowd can be pretty young and boisterous and the queues long. Thursday is international student and house music night – international relations have never been so much fun.
reviewed
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Adraba
This nightclub has history. It was one of the most famous nightclubs of la movida madrileña until it burned down (killing 81 revellers in the process) in 1983. It finally reopened to much fanfare in 2010 and has rapidly re-established itself as one of the city’s best. The designer decor is stunning, the safety provisions second to none and there’s five nights of dancing with a sophisticated crowd. Thursday night is ‘Vanité’ (which comes with the attached subtitle of ‘The Most Fashion Night’ and is devoted to glamour and lounge-bar sounds), while Friday and Saturday take you through the last three decades of dance tunes. Bookends to the rather long Adraba weekend are prov…
reviewed
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C
Nasti Club
It’s hard to think of a more off-putting entrance with Nasti Club’s graffiti and abandoned-building look. Its staple, appropriately, is a faithfully grungy approach to the 1970s (pop, rock and punk), both in terms of music and decor. But it’s not as nasty as it sounds and the crowd can span the full range of 1970s throwbacks from a Who’s Who of Madrid’s underground to some surprisingly respectable types. Above all it’s a place with attitude, and as its own publicity says, it’s not from Barcelona, it doesn’t play electronica, people who come here are cool and no one’s ever heard of the live acts who appear here until they become famous two years later. Says…
reviewed
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D
Cool
Cool by name, cool by nature. One of the hottest clubs in the city, the Phillipe Starck–designed curvy white lines, discreet lounge chairs in dark corners and pulsating dance floor are decked by gorgeous people, gorgeous clothes and a strict entry policy. Thursday is given over to ‘Sunflower Dance Sessions’ (house music and a fashionista crowd), Friday is ‘Stardust’ (electronica and techno), while Saturdays are called ‘Royal’ with new house music and a predominantly gay clientele. Things don’t really get going until 3am.
reviewed
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E
Sala Flamingo
One of the most ‘in’ places in Madrid for many years, Sala Flamingo is famous above all for its Friday night ‘OchoyMedia’ session, which seamlessly blends indie rock with electronica to create its own genre, rockotrónica – this is the night when local celebrities flood through the doors. For a complete change of pace and clientele, ‘Darkhole’ on Saturday is all black and Gothic, while Thursday kicks it all off with ‘Playback’, where dressing down seems to be the only requirement.
reviewed
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F
Stella
If you arrive here after 3am, there simply won’t be room and those inside have no intention of leaving until dawn. The DJs here are some of Madrid’s best, and the great visuals will leave you cross-eyed if you weren’t already from the music in this heady place. Thursday and Saturday nights (‘Mondo’, for electronica) rely on resident and invited DJs, while Friday nights (‘The Room’) is usually the preserve of Ángel García, one of the celebrated stalwart DJs of the Madrid night.
reviewed
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Pachá
This megaclub is one of the international chain of clubs that earned its fame in Ibiza and became a major Madrid club during la movida. As serious clubbers have moved on, the oh-my-gosh, barely out of school set turns up in droves for the fun mixture of house, Latin and Spanish music, and mixes it with 30-somethings who never grew up. The name still has a certain cachet on the Madrid nightlife scene, so the odd celebrity turns up here.
reviewed
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H
Kapital
One of the most famous megaclubs in Madrid, this massive seven-storey nightclub has something for everyone: from cocktail bars and dance music to karaoke, salsa, hip hop and more chilled spaces for R&B and soul, as well as a section devoted to ‘Made in Spain’ music. It’s such a big place that a cross-section of Madrid society (VIPs and the Real Madrid set love this place) hangs out here without ever getting in each other’s way.
reviewed
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Charada
Charada took the Madrid nightlife scene by storm in 2009 and has never looked back. Its decor is New York chic (with no hint of its former existence as a brothel), the cocktails are highly original, the clientele is well heeled and often famous, it’s the home turntable for some of the best house DJs in town. Thursday’s ‘Future Disco Jams’ (disco-funk) is our pick of the nights.
reviewed
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Moma 56
Two words: beautiful people. Get your Prada gear on and that studied look of sophistication, and join the small-time celebrities and owners of the flashy sports cars parked out front. The decor (red padded walls, red lighting) is as sleek as the too-cool crowd, who shake off their pretensions once the live percussion fuses into DJ house. There's nowhere quite like it in Madrid.
reviewed
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Siroco
One of the most eclectic nightclubs in Madrid, Siroco does everything from reggae to acid jazz, from 1970s to funk, house and hip hop. As such it gets a diverse crowd and queues can be long. The one unifying theme is the commitment to Spanish music (sometimes live); it's a good place to hear local music before it becomes too mainstream.
reviewed
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Serrano 41
If bullfighters, Real Madrid stars and other A-listers can’t drag themselves away from Salamanca, chances are that you’ll find them here. Danceable pop and house dominate the most popular Friday and Saturday nights, funk gets a turn on Sunday and it’s indie night on Thursday. As you’d imagine, the door policy is stricter than most.
reviewed
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M
Room Club
DJ Ángel García (on Friday) is one of Madrid’s best, and don’t even think about arriving after 3am – there simply won’t be room and those inside have no intention of leaving until dawn. The great visuals would leave you cross-eyed if you weren’t already in this vibrant, heady place.
reviewed
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Susan Club
It’s hard to know what sort of music you’ll find at the cosy little Susan Club, because the bar staff readily admit that they play whatever suits their mood. As a general rule, it’s quite funky and down-tempo early in the night with more frenetic and popular tunes as the crowd starts to sweat.
reviewed
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Supersonic
Madrid has nightclubs in the most unlikely places… On a quiet residential Argüelles street, this great little discoteca is one of the best places for indie music, from 1970s glam rock to everything that we loved to hate about '80s and '90s British pop (The Smiths, Oasis etc).
reviewed
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Vervet
If you could bottle the energy of Chueca with the sophistication of Salamanca, you’d end up with Vervet. The cocktails are first-rate and there seems to be a door policy of only admitting the beautiful people of Madrid. Café Olivier is the attached restaurant.
reviewed
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Taboó
With everything from pop to hard-core punk and a whole lot of house music in between, Taboó likes to keep its options open. Check out the website to see which way it’s leaning, and spend as little time as possible talking to the bouncers while you wait in the queue.
reviewed
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El Juglar
One of the most creative clubs in Madrid, El Juglar draws an unpretentious crowd looking for down-tempo jazz and soul beats, with fiery nods to flamenco at 10pm on Sunday and the first Wednesday of every month. There are more frenetic clubs, but none as agreeable.
reviewed
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Laydown Rest Club
Laydown Rest Club is whiter-than-white and completely devoid of tables – you recline with your drink (it’s also a restaurant) Roman-style on beds, served by toga-clad waiters with huge feather fans. The DJs ensure that there’s no danger of falling asleep.
reviewed
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Oba Oba
This nightclub is Brazilian down to its G-strings with live music some nights and dancing till dawn every night of the week. You’ll find plenty of Brazilians in residence which is the best recommendation we can give for the music caipirinhas.
reviewed
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Ohm
The DJs who get you waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care have made this club one of the most popular nightspots for Madrid’s gay community, although, typically, everyone’s welcome. The music never strays far from techno-house.
reviewed
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Why Not?
Why Not? is the sort of place where nothing’s left to the imagination (the gay and straight crowd who come here are pretty amorous) and it’s full nearly every night of the week. Pop and top-40s music are the standards here.
reviewed
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La Cartuja
A real mixed bag of styles, the three bars of La Cartuja make it a late-night Huertas favourite with many. The decoration is Andalucian, while the music is a mix of Spanish and Latin American tunes with salsa on Wednesday nights.
reviewed
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Stromboli Café
One of Chueca's best smaller clubs, Stromboli somehow manages to stay hip and happening with lounge, nu jazz and deep house beats from some of the best local DJs, who love the cosy lounge feel almost as much as the punters do.
reviewed
