The tiled corner of Las Letras since 1908: cold canas, vermouth on tap, and the best anchovy canape in the museum district.
La Dolores has held the corner at Plaza de Jesus 4 since 1908, and its azulejo facade is the most photographed bar front in Barrio de las Letras. Inside sit a wood and marble counter, rows of dusty bottles, and a century of posters.
Time Out Madrid counts it among the city's mythic bars, and esMadrid credits the beer pull as the draw: cold, fast, and properly served.
Antonio Martin renovated the room in 1982 and kept the facade intact. The formula has not moved since.
The bar is small, loud, and standing room most evenings, with a handful of tables in back. Simple Spanish Food describes the scene as chaotic in the best way; come in pairs, not parties of eight.
The Prado, Thyssen, and Reina Sofia all sit within a ten minute walk, which keeps the mix half neighborhood, half museum traffic.
Order a cana and a canape; the kitchen builds them on slices of some of Madrid's best bread. The pincho de anchoa, salt packed anchovies over tomato and olive oil, costs about 50 centimos more than any other tapa and earns it, per Simple Spanish Food.
The house vermouth comes off the tap. Context Travel lists La Dolores among the right rooms in Madrid to drink it like a local.