Chris Pearrow
Great venue and night spot
El Intruso is a great music venue and bar located between Madrid's two most lively neighborhoods: Chueca and Malasaña. Most of the acts that play there are local acts but you can sometimes catch up-and-coming international acts, especially those that don't really fit into a lot of the other genre-specific venues in the city. The venue has room for two hundred or so people and the small stage is only raised a few centimeters above the floor so the experience is really intimate.
After the shows, El Intruso stays open until 5 or 6 in the morning playing classic hip-hop, funk, soul, and roots music. Sometimes the DJ's are a bit corny (Spain isn't exactly the best place to hear good African-American music), but they're usually good and there's ample space to dance. The place itself is divided into several smaller rooms and there are booths and sofas scattered around which add to the intimate, almost speakeasy-like vibe.
Finally, El Intruso is one of the few late night spots in Madrid that serves decent liquor. That's right, the bottle of Jack Daniels behind the bar is actually Jack Daniels, not a Jack Daniels bottle that the manager refilled with cheap bourbon to make more money. Trust me, it happens a lot in Madrid, so El Intruso is a refreshing change. Anyways, when the bars close and you're looking for a chill spot to have a few drinks and hear some good music, El Intruso is the place.
Read more
