Chris Pearrow
Hidden rooftop bar near Sol and Gran Via
The Jardin Secreto de Salvador Bachiller is a oasis of peace, flowers, and cold drinks hidden out of sight on a rooftop on Calle Montera, one of Madrid's busiest streets which runs from Gran Via to the Puerta del Sol. If you're wandering around the touristy heart of Madrid and need a place to cool off or grab a drink, I'd recommend the Jardin Secreto. The bar is located on the rooftop of Salvador Bachiller, a high-end Spanish store mainly selling small home furnishings, luggage, and ladies' bags.
As you reach the top, you enter into a quiet and charming little cafe that seems miles away from the sweaty hustle and bustle happening on the streets below. Chill music plays and the walls are covered with ivy, potted plants, and flowers. Overhead, a jet of cooling mist shoots out of an artfully hidden nozzle. The menu is pretty basic, with a small selection of beers, wines, teas and cocktails, as well as a couple tapas-style snacks. Although I'm an avid beer-drinker, I almost always order the "green tea mojito" as it's one of the most refreshing things I've ever tried. Basically, it's smooth green tea with mint and lime served in a pint glass with tons of ice. It's just the thing to get you feeling refreshed and reinvigorated for another few hours trudging around the hot and congested streets of downtown Madrid.
For the life of me I can't understand why the place isn't more crowded. The store even puts a big sign out on the street advertising its rooftop bar but in the three or four times I've been there, there hasn't been more than five or ten people in the place! I shouldn't complain though, as that means that you can pretty much always get a great table at this cute and friendly little rooftop bar.
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