Salmon Guru

Like the fish that lives in ice-cold water, leaps up in the air and swims against the stream, mixologist Diego Cabrera is forging his own path with Salmon Guru, a speakeasy-style destination in Madrid's Literary Quarter.

- Terry Zarikian

When it opened, it immediately caught the city's attention and the word spread like wildfire. As one enters, a sensation of having arrived somewhere special takes over, in a space filled with shelfs containing vintage bottles, shakers and bartending paraphernalia. Past a small vestibule door is the first seating area, a rectangular '60s lounge with red banquettes and body-hugging black velvet chairs. Then comes a superhero-inspired room with leather booths, multicolored neon lightning bolts and comics-inspired art. The last space, in the back, is dark and very red, a place to be romantic, to seduce and be seduced.