Eating in Madrid like Hemingway: Cervecería Alemana

In the heart of Madrid, a few blocks from the Atocha railway station is one of the Madrileño eating and drinking stalwarts, Cervecería Alemana.

Established in 1904, it’s a bar devoted to drinking beer and munching on tapas, the savory tidbits that always accompany beverages in Spain. Servers dress like it’s the 1920s in white jackets, black slacks, and black bowties.

It was one of Ernest Hemingway’s favorite watering holes in Madrid and still serves a very good selection of assorted beers. Hemingway mentioned it in a Life Magazine article published in September 1960 named “The Dangerous Summer, Part I” as “a good place to drink beer and coffee,” and also mentions that he shared the table and drinks with “the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Even now, the Cervecería reserves the table next to the window where Hemingway (at the time a Life correspondent) used to sit and drink.

But you don’t have to be a famous writer to enjoy a drink and munchies at the Cervecería. The place is still the meeting place for the city’s bohemian and literary elites.  

And, I don’t know about the coffee… I didn’t have any there!

We sat at one of the outdoor tables on Plaza de Santa Ana and ordered albondigas – little fried meatballs in sauce, patatas bravas, marinated boiled octopus in oil and vinegar, boquerones, and a few other tasty morsels to wash down with our cold draft lagers.

They have a very large variety of bottled European and especially German brews, but I still think a glass fresh from the tap is the best. You could also have a wine or a sherry there. When I’m Madrid, I will usually order an amontillado or an oloroso if I’m not having a beer.

We also ordered slices of various cured meats that came arranged on a plate: Lomo Ibérico, Jamón Ibérico, Chorizo, Salchichón Ibérico. The chorizo and the salchichón have the most flavor, while the tenderloin (lomo) is very meaty. Another classic, Tortilla Española, is thinly sliced potatoes and whisked eggs cooked in a pan as a round frittata and served on a plate or at the bar in wedges.

When you go, especially if you are sitting inside, try to find a table with a younger waiter. If you don’t speak Spanish, the older servers seem to be snooty because their English is almost nonexistent or very poor, and they do appreciate it if you at least try to order in their language. We had a much younger gentleman who said he appreciated our ordering in Spanish, but he wanted to practice his English.

The clientele around us varied from university students to elderly retirees to multi-ethnic tourists. Almost everyone had beer or wine and tapas. A few like us had the larger appetizer plates. And yes, there were some very beautiful women sitting at a table near us, bronzed Scandinavian or perhaps they were British blonds. Hemingway would have been in his element if he was sitting with us!