La Venencia

If Salmon Guru is the neon-lit future of Madrid nightlife, La Venencia is its dusty, unyielding past. Located on the very same street, this venue functions less as a bar and more as a preserved ecosystem from the Spanish Civil War. It is aggressively anti-modern: there is no music, credit cards are often frowned upon (though begrudgingly accepted recently), and photography is strictly prohibited—a rule enforced with swift, verbal hostility by the gray-coated bartenders.

The venue serves only one thing: Sherry (Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado). Do not ask for beer, water, or fancy cocktails; doing so marks you immediately as a tourist. The walls are stained with decades of tobacco smoke (historically), and the barrels behind the bar are functional, not decorative. It is a place for solemn drinking and hushed conspiracy, not celebration. The “service” is notoriously brusque, a feature designed to strip away the artifice of “customer is king” dynamics. You are here to drink sherry, eat roe or mojama (cured tuna), and leave.