Craft beer and top-notch tapas
I’d heard from several beer aficionados that ANIMAL was the Holy Grail of Madrid craft beer bars. They told me the beer selection was second-to-none and the food would knock my socks off. Top-shelf tapas and incredible beer – it was apparently as simple as that. So I trekked out to see what the fuss was all about.
Slick, minimalist and with some curious art on the walls (a backlit sign reads, “Food is ammunition. Don’t waste it!”), ANIMAL had me from the get go. A few couples were drinking at the tables, but the shiny red bar was empty. So I pulled up a pew, ordered a Mikkeller IPA and shook hands with Tibor, the chef-slash-sommelier-slash-craft beer convert ve helms this place. He’d lost his voice that day, so I had to lean in a little closer to hear what the man had to stay. But voice or no voice, Tibor’s passion for all things gastronomic was clear.
