MADRID
A first-rate food scene and lively late-night entertainment make the Spanish capital a stellar choice for events.
Combine flamenco classes and tapas tasting with product launches, client meetings and late-night networking parties, Spanish style
Spain has long enticed tourists to its palm-fringed beaches, secreted mountain towns and leisurely pace of life. While ideal for holidaymakers, event planners are more likely to be concerned with infrastructure, capacity and airline routes when looking for a meetings destination, although entertainment and cuisine will undeniably rank soon after.
A happy medium is the country’s capital, which provides all this and more. In May, Madrid joined the Best Cities Global Alliance, a prestigious partnership that aims to promote conference, event and association management between major cities such as Copenhagen, Dubai, Melbourne and Singapore. Madrid placed seventh in the 2016 International Congress and Convention Association rankings, and is home to over 2,000 multinationals and more than 700 hotels. Of the city’s venues and attractions, the best are those steeped in local culture, where delegates can become acquainted with home-grown assets including national dance and outstanding gastronomy.
One of the city’s newer venues is Florida Retiro, a property launched in October that offers five stylish venues in the heart of Retiro Park. A variety of functions can be arranged here, from casual cocktails with a special gin and tonic menu to blacktie banquets with cabaret and acrobatic performances. For informal sit-down meals, a tropical-themed restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating offers classic Spanish sharing plates, while interiors sport hanging ferns, rustic wooden bar stools and exposed brick walls, which add to the venue’s relaxed atmosphere.
Upstairs, DJs perform on the open terrace in summer surrounded by plush lounge furniture and parasols, while the cupola below provides a sophisticated space for standing receptions. If you’re nearby for a meeting, peek into the art deco-style market on the ground floor, where fresh salads, Iberian ham and seafood are served in take-out helpings from noon.
If you’re after a little more glamour, Platea claims to be Europe’s “largest gastro leisure space”, measuring 6,000 sqm. A glitzy venue decked out in colourful furnishings and jazzy neon lighting, this converted former cinema opened in 2014 across four floors with food stalls and bars in the basement and on the ground level, à la carte dining on the second and a cocktail bar on the top floor, with a nightclub hidden away above all this. The space is equipped for all sorts of events, having hosted concerts, fashion shows, awards ceremonies and product launches from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Twitter, HP and Mastercard. There are DJs and live music almost nightly, with sets ranging from electronic blues and jazz to funk and “flamenco pop”.
Of Madrid’s growing list of venues and attractions, the best are those steeped in the city’s local culture and entertainment
Flamenco fans will agree with the director of
Casa Patas theatre and restaurant, Martin Guerrero, when he says that “few artforms draw out the sort of reaction in an audience that flamenco does”. One of Madrid’s most prominent tablaos, a space where the national dance is performed, this venue is popular with locals as much as tourists, offering traditional comfort food and performances from some of the best flamenco artists from around Spain and the world.
The menu features only the best local produce – Guerrero recommends sharing plates of prime cured meats from the country’s Extremadura region, Manchego cheese, homemade croquetas, grilled octopus and braised oxtail, before heading into the 150-seat theatre to enjoy a nightcap during the show. On most nights, there is a male and a female dancer, a vocalist and a guitarist, with violinists and percussionists joining on special occasions. Guerrero says: “We attract the best artists to Madrid, and this is reflected in the quality of our performances. Each night when guests leave, I am often told that this was their best night in Spain because of how moved they were by the artists.” The tablao is linked to the
Casa Patas Foundation next door, which hosts flamenco classes and special events, with a number of venues available for corporate hire. Decorated with hand-painted ceramics and posters of celebrated flamenco artists, the spaces include a patio, theatre and bar area, accommodating 180 people for a standing reception. Teambuilding workshops are also on offer for groups interested in learning the rudiments of flamenco song, dance, percussion and guitar. For those keen to focus on local gastronomy,
Mercado de San Miguel is one of the city’s bestknown food markets, with stalls touting succulent cheese and Iberian ham, tureens of saffron-tinged paella, glistening tarts and pastries, and the best of Spanish beer and wine. Located just off Plaza Mayor, the market is compact and bursting with energy and colour. Stall managers cheerily hand out thimbles of sherry and slivers of jamon serrano, while tourists gorge on brimming bocadillos stuffed with tortilla and fresh tomato. Brands such as LG and Carrefour France have launched events and campaigns here, where a constant flow of people is guaranteed throughout the day and night.
Once appetites are sated, a visit to Museo Chicote is a must. Opened in 1931, this is one of the capital’s oldest and most illustrious watering holes, frequented by the likes of Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, Sofia Loren and Rita Hayworth. It continues to be the place to be seen among the global elite, with private booths lining the length of the bar, above which bronze plaques detail which celebrities sat there, once upon a time.
The bar was originally home to a “bottle museum” containing more than 1,000 spirits dating back to the early 20th century. Although many of these were lost or destroyed, a small collection remains in a glass cabinet at the bar’s entrance, where visitors can admire century-old bottles of Gordon’s gin, Ballantine’s whisky and a number of limited-edition liqueurs. After 9pm the bar is lit with a deep red glow, illuminating framed photographs of the bar’s most celebrated patrons. Try out the Edison, a dazzling cocktail made with white rum, rhubarb purée, pineapple juice, Boston bitters and syrup that comes served in a light bulb-shaped tumbler, giving off clouds of dry ice.