Clubs, Madrid

Kapital nightclub on Calle Atocha is probably the largest nightclub in Madrid. As a matter of fact, it's one of the largest clubs I've been to period. There's about 7 levels and a huge dance floor below. There's a variety of DJ's spinning various club music genres.

The cover charge includes one drink. You have to purchase tickets to buy drinks there, which is annoying. The people watching is good and there's plenty of intimate areas to sit back and watch if you're not participating on the dance floor.

Dress Code: No sneakers and you must wear pants...No shorts.

To their countrymen the people of Madrid are known as Los Gatos (The Cats) for their nocturnal lifestyle. Many young Gatos will consider a week with less than two sleepless nights as a social wasteland and for them the weekend starts on Thursday.
Madrid’s nightlife can take a little getting used to. It is unusual to eat before 10, to go to the cinema before 10:30 or to enter a nightclub before midnight. Bars are open throughout the night, cafés are licensed to sell alcohol at all hours and at many restaurants you can book a table for two o’clock, or even three o’clock, in the morning.

Joy Eslava (Calle del Arenal, 33), with 6 bars distributed across 3 floors, is still the city’s most popular nightspot - on any night of the week it is a favourite queuing venue for both citizens and travellers alike.
Gabana 1800 (Velázquez, 6) is the flagship of the Madrid dulce vida and is a cocktail-sipping hangout for the city’s gorgeous people…and often a few Real Madrid futbolistas.
Ave Nox (Lagasca, 31) has a lively atmosphere and is another prime place-to-be-seen. Teatriz (Hermosilla, 15), set in a charming theatre, is a very popular venue that is worth visiting if only to check out the décor (by Philippe Starck y Mariscal).
Fortuny (Fortuny, 34) is an intriguing ‘disco-restaurant’ in a historic little mansion that has certainly seen the glittering footsteps of more than a few of the city’s brightest stars.

Whenever I am in the mood to go to a nighclub, Sala SOL will always be my number one choice. The place is simply great, the music always good, and the atmosphere simple and relaxed. No snobish stuck up people are ever around and people are just themselves. No dress code either. No stupid choosy doormen at the entrance either. The club closes at 6:30am.

There is an entrance fee but it includes a drink (can't remember exactly but I believe it's 8 euros per person) and it is highly worth it.

Dress Code: Absolutely none!

Sala Sol is a cool dance club that caters mostly to a 20s-30s crowd, more alternative than posh but for everyone. I really like the music there. I would describe it as hip 70s/funk/bossanova groove. It gets really crowded but if you go early (2.15am) you have more space to dance till it gets packed. Closes around 6am.
Its one of my favorite places to go because the music is great, its not so posh and everyone just has a great time.
There is a dj on fri and Sat nights during the week there are concerts of various styles.

Dress Code: No special dress code that I know of, you can get in with sneakers.

Le Cock is a nice place to start a good decent party night in Madrid. They have everything you can dream about: a selection of well mixed cocktails that would rise your alcohol levels in blood to acceptable limits, an interesting atmosphere created on the base of high ceilings and plenty of cigarettes smoke, waiters that will treat you as if you were a piece of dog *** placed under their shoes, unreasonable high prices, a noise level that would make it impossible to maintain a conversation below the shouting level... errr, I guess the only reason I have for recommend the place is because of its cocktails: they really deserve the rest of the inconvenients ;-)

Dress Code: ...

I typically am not impressed by clubs, but I must admit I have never seen anything like Kapital in Madrid. There are seven floors, and the place is laid out in a way that you never really know what floor you're on or what you're going to find, but you will love whatever it is you run into. It's a bit pricey to get in but WELL WORTH IT. On the main dance floor, the ceiling is extremely high, and its very crowded and hot. But that's ok, because about every three minutes, a huge, cold jet of white air shoots down several stories between go-go dancers that surround the top of the dance area, into the crowd, cooling you off (and waking you up!). Add some confetti, balloons, bubbles, and the occassional extravagantly scientific-looking laser show, and you've got the best dance party I've ever seen. On the other floors, you'll find a variety of bars, vip areas, white tents filled with white couches and crystal chandeliers, rooms with black couches and dozens of large, flat-screen tvs, pool tables, more couches and lounge areas, and some smaller dance areas as well. Even if you don't like clubs or dancing, I highly recommend Kapital as an experience you can't miss in Madrid. Stay until the early hours of the morning, then pick up some churros as the sun rises before your walk back home. A great experience.

Dress Code: I don't think there was a dress code, but people seemed to be slightly dressed up.

This tip is for night creatures, that will not even glimpse the Spanish intense sun during their visit to Madrid (trust me, there are lot of people like that visiting us) ;-) If you're in the mood for dancing until the sun is high in the sky, Capote is your place. The DJ that they have during the Saturday nights has simply become my musical guru. He always surprise with new and diverse rhythms (Latin, Brazilian or just plan and simple techno). Just one advice: Avoid the drinks there. They have the horrible custom of mixing your spirits with rat poison... just kidding, but they certainly wont serve you scotch whiskey when you ask for one. That's what we call "garrafón".

By the way, the name of the bar has nothing to do with bullfighting. It's just a homage to Truman Capote.

I'm afraid I could not be objective at all about this bar; I love the place, the owners are good friends of mine, the DJ always seems to know what music is the more suited to my mood and I know many of the local crowd.

Delic is a nice trendy club in Plaza de la Paja, near the Segovia street, just 10 minutes walking from Plaza Mayor.
It is decorated in red with some arabic/moroccan stuff. Nice place for a frist drink.
In summer they have a nice terrace in Plaza de la Paja.

Intriguing title, isn't it? The funny thing is that I could not summarize better the decoration of Oliveira, a fashionable cafe in the Chueca neighbourhood that zumodemango suggested us during the past VT meeting. The red sofas part is easy to explain, as the bar offers some quite comfortable and cosy sofas. The eyes of her mother... well that could be explained by saying that the owner decided to decorate the place with pictures of his own mother. Quite an occurrence, if you ask me.

Dress Code: Dress code is quite open, as it usually happens with the bars I like to go.