Madrigal

Style of place: Contemporary Bar

Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service

Best for: Intellectual, intense, artistic vibe in a superbly decorated locale

Worst for: Your presence always seems like an inconvenience. Uncomfortable chairs.

Calle 17 No. 302 (altos) entre 2 y 4, Vedado

(+53)7831 - 2433

6pm-midnight Tue-Sun; 6pm-4am Fri & Sat

Café Madrigal is the sort of place that Hemingway would have liked in his Paris phase–intellectual, intense, artistic. A gathering point, a meeting place rather than simply somewhere to get something to eat or drink. After a whole year of repairs and transformations to the original structure (which dates back to 1919), Rafael Rosales opened Café Madrigal. While the bare brick walls reveal the work of masons who materialized the architecture of the emerging El Vedado in the early 20th century, they disclose also the story of Rosales’s life through art and images, pictures and artefacts. Rosales has worked with Cuban cinema for over 20 years.

Our only gripe is that at times the management/staff simply don’t seem friendly enough, attentive enough or quick enough. You get that look you might expect the third time you ask your girlfriend to get another beer out of the fridge – a) Why are you drinking so much and b) Do I look like your personal slave catering to your every whim!