Amid new specialty coffee shops and restaurants designed solely for tourists, Madrid has just reclaimed one of those places that define a city better than any history book. After more than two decades of closure and years of restoration, the legendary tavern Los Gabrieles—popularly known as the “ ” the “Sistine Chapel of tiles”—which was once frequented by figures such as Federico García Lorca and Ava Gardner, reopens on Echegaray Street, right in the heart of the Barrio de las Letras, with a new culinary offering but the same authentic atmosphere as always.
Founded in the early 20th century as a dining hall and later a tablao, Los Gabrieles was for decades one of the most unique temples of Madrid’s nightlife: its halls were graced by bullfighters like Manolete, musicians, writers such as Valle-Inclán and Almodóvar, and a long list of figures who blended bohemianism, flamenco, and a touch of clandestine revelry. The venue closed in 2004 due to structural problems, and for years, its tiles—a collection of more than 300–400 m² of advertising and artistic ceramics, originally commissioned from masters such as Enrique Guijo, Alfonso Romero, and Federico Ribas for wineries in the Marco de Jerez region—remained hidden behind scaffolding and rubble, until the Heritage Department ordered their preservation and a long restoration process began.
Today, that work is finally on full display. The walls and ceilings of Los Gabrieles are a living museum of early 20th-century Andalusian tilework: large murals depicting works such as Velázquez’s The Drunkards, scenes of local life, wine-cellar landscapes, and allegories of wine, all framed by borders, pilasters, and panels that cover practically every inch of the tavern. Stepping inside is like slipping into a treasure trove: a Rosso Lepanto marble bar, columns, painted ceilings, and ceramic messages (“If I don’t sing, I don’t eat”) that recall its past as a flamenco tablao and artists’ hangout.
The reopening of Los Gabrieles
The reopening, set for April 20, is part of a project that divides the space into three zones: a street-level tavern, an underground restaurant, and a performance hall on the upper floor designed to revive the venue’s cultural pulse, with a lineup featuring flamenco, jazz, and other live performances. The architectural renovation, led by the Rehabilitar studio and the ECRA company, has been meticulous and has involved structural reinforcement, thorough cleaning and piece-by-piece restoration of the ceramics, a new lighting system to highlight the murals, and interior design work that adds comfort without erasing the soul of the building.
On the culinary front, Los Gabrieles aims to be more than just a pretty postcard. The kitchen is led by Ander Galdeano, former head chef at Triciclo, with a menu that draws on traditional Madrid and Andalusian recipes but with a contemporary twist: vermouths, finos, and tapas at the bar (gildas, pickles, salted fish, croquettes, Russian salad), and more elaborate dishes served at the table, such as tripe, oxtail, fried fish, or “patatas a la importancia”—potatoes stewed with Iberian ham and mushrooms and topped with grilled squid—in a nod to classic surf-and-turf. The seafood comes from top-tier suppliers such as Pescaderías Coruñesas and Pescados El Kiku, and the wine cellar pays homage to the houses of Jerez that, a century ago, financed much of the murals that still adorn the walls today.