Night out with the cats

The people of Madrid are famous throughout Spain for their nocturnal lifestyles, earning them the nickname “Los Gatos” (The Cats). Duncan Rhodes summons his stamina and joins some young Madrileños for a dusk ’til dawn night on the tiles. Photography by Miguel Pereira

21:30
EL CARAJILLO BAR, DOWNTOWN MADRID
"I once met a couple of models, one from Ukraine and one from Estonia,” says Ivan, a 26-year-old TV scriptwriter with impressive Wolverine-style sideburns, when I ask him about Madrid’s reputation as a nocturnal city. “I arranged to meet them at 7pm, just for a coffee, but they arrived with high heels and their hair done and begged me to take them partying. It was bad. I knew they didn’t want to have dinner – they were models – and so I had to make them a tour with all the bars empty and all the clubs closed. Clubbing doesn’t happen till the morning in Madrid.”

It’s rare that meeting two eastern European stunners spells a disastrous night out, but here in Madrid there are forms and etiquette you should try to follow if you want to make the most of the city’s notoriously late night scene. Even by meeting at 9.30pm we’re in danger of peaking a little early ourselves (especially at the rate Ivan is ordering drinks for the table). We’re at El Carajillo, a bar that serves some of the tastiest tapas in the city – the best way to line our stomachs.

As plates of beef and brie, sweet potatoes and beans, and morcilla and scrambled eggs are placed in the centre of our table I eagerly portion off my share only to find out one is supposed to eat directly from the main dish, using the smaller plate just to catch what falls off the fork. That’s one lesson learned already.

00:30
RUSTIKA, CALLE LIMON
Our bellies full, our minds enlightened, we make our way through the breezy avenues to our next stop – an Egyptian-themed cocktail bar on “Lemon Street” called Rustika, a favourite with the capital’s hip 20-somethings. We are ushered into a back room surrounded by hieroglyphs, tapestries and caskets of fallen pharaohs. It’s here that I meet Fermin, a 25-year-old new media guru with a rockabilly haircut and bright turquoise loafers. Fermin has lived in Madrid his whole life and tells me with typical honesty why he loves his home town.

“For me, Madrid is particularly about life at night. The people here are really cool, they are open-minded and they are always partying. Madrid is not a really beautiful city but it is a great place to party and enjoy life.”

Ever since General Franco popped his zapatos back in 1975, Madrid has been one of the most hedonistic cities in Europe, leading to the locals’ “Los Gatos” sobriquet. So it’s no wonder after so many years that some sort of regulation has come in. “Three years ago all the bars closed at 5am or 6am, and the discos at 8am or 9am. Now all the bars are closed at 3am, and clubs have to close at 7.30am or 8am,” Fermin laments. Those of us plagued by much earlier opening hours at home are unlikely to be too sympathetic!

02:47
THE PENTHOUSE BAR, ME HOTEL
We hit the streets once more and it’s clear that Madrid is finally coming alive. Throngs of partygoers are making their way to clubs across the city and Chinese hawkers are offering cut-price cans of beer to those who need a top up. I’m distracted by a stormtrooper guarding the entrance to the Bourbon Café, but we are heading to Plaza de Santa Ana and one of Madrid’s swankiest venues, The Penthouse bar atop the neoclassical ME Hotel. After eliciting a somewhat reluctant nod from the bouncer we ascend the lifts and alight to spectacular views over the square.

We pass a clutter of cool cats making shapes on the dance floor, and crowd into a booth on the roof. I stifle a yawn and ask one of the girls, Marta, if she isn’t beginning to feel tired yet? “Tired? She’s barely getting started,” translates Ivan, managing to convey Marta’s horror. Yet I’m close to settling down for a catnap on the booth’s comfortable cushions when the other girls Angela and Maria cry “Vamos chicos!” and it’s time to hit a club.

04:03
OCHO Y MEDIO, UNDERGROUND CLUB
As we slink back into the night, the streets are the busiest yet. Aside from fellow felines we pass more traders, this time selling bocadillos in silver foil, and wave to hobos swigging sangria in the squares. The queue to Ocho y Medio is snaking around the corner but a word from our snapper Miguel and we are ushered downstairs into the sweaty, sticky, student-filled interior, where the crowd is rocking to indie and dance hits.

I claw my way to the bar for a much-needed vodka, and am soon accosted by a loquacious chica wearing black braces over an “I [HEART] New York” T-shirt, who delivers me a 10-minute monologue in Spanish, despite my protestations that I can’t understand a word. I promise with hand gestures, to meet her on the dance floor, and give my number to a friendly guy called Roberto. “He probably wants to get in your pants too,” says Angela with a wink! Anything goes in Madrid.

05:59
THE STREETS OF THE CITY
We emerge from Ocho y Medio to find a man in a mini-skirt and blonde wig straddling a grill, à la Marilyn Monroe, while nearby a busker belts out The Corrs’ So Young, backed by a chorus of sauced-up señoritas. Fermin mentions a club called Sala Sol, and although I dutifully follow the group I’m secretly relieved when we find it has already closed. Not that I’m allowed to go home just yet. “Time for breakfast,” Ivan says cheerfully.

06:19
SAN GINES, CHOCOLATE TIME
When we arrive at the historic Chocolateria San Gines I’m shocked to discover the place heaving with hungry clubbers, hipsters and even some respectable-looking folk. We snag the last table and greedily dunk the sweet doughy churros into mugs of hot chocolate. I ask Ivan what time he will be getting up tomorrow. “Tomorrow there is no clock. You get up when you get up, and everybody understands that,” he says. “My mother never calls me because she knows I am sleeping – she is probably sleeping too. She is 51 but still comes home from partying at 5am.” There must be something in the milk!

07:01
BED!
As dawn breaks it’s finally time to part company with my fun-loving Madrileños. Back at my hotel, I’m about to hit the sack when I catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. “Christ,” I say. “I look like something the cats dragged in.”

THE VENUES
EL CARAJILLO
73 CALLE SAN BERNARDO
TEL: +34 915 326 428

RUSTIKA
11 CALLE LIMON
TEL: +34 915 421 567
WWW.RUSTIKACAFE.ES

THE PENTHOUSE
14 PLAZA DE SANTA ANA
TEL: +34 917 016 000
WWW.MEMADRID.COM

OCHO Y MEDIO
13 MESONERO ROMANOS
TEL: +34 915 413 500
WWW.TRIPFAMILY.COM

CHOCOLATERIA
SAN GINES
11 PASADIZO DE SAN GINES
TEL: +34 913 656 546