Indeed, why change a winning format? Since its foundation in 1902, Café Barbieri in Madrid‘s historic downtown has become quite an institution. Many of the city’s classic watering holes have gone out of business and closed, especially during the past pandemic, and at one point, Café Barbieri‘s loyal fanbase rightfully feared it would end with a similar fate. But luckily, it’s still around. Initially situated right next to Teatro Barbieri, hence its name, on nearby Calle Primavera, the café moved four years later to its current location on Calle del Ave María. As of late, the storied premises have been entirely revamped, giving the venue a new lease on life. The new owners of Café Barbieri tapped local design and architecture practice Mayice to create a new interior design.
Given the café’s inimitable splendour, unsurprisingly, most of its ornate original features have been retained and meticulously restored, including all the furniture pieces. Interestingly, the premises see a new colour scheme that enhances the many architectural features, ranging from sand hues to grey, and from deep red to petrol blue, and it’s particularly evident in Café Barbieri‘s main room. Here, the large wall mirrors have been adorned with decorative fan-shape brass light fixtures that complement the overhead light spots and existing plaster sconces. Furnishings comprise benches, clad in red velvet, paired with wooden tables with marble tops and wooden chairs. Café Barbieri‘s menu includes various coffee variations, including iced versions, beers, and smoothies, in addition to Italian dishes, such as pastas and pizzas, and a wide range of cocktails.
Café Barbieri
Calle del Ave María 45 (Centro)
28012 Madrid
Telephone: +34 91 7246572
Mon 12pm-midnight
Thu 12pm-midnight
Fri 12pm-2am
Sat 9am-2am
Sun 10am-midnight
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
