the Smallest bar in Madrid

Did you know that Madrid is probably home to the smallest bar in Spain? La Latina neighborhood is home to the oldest standing restaurant in the world: Casa Botin from 1725,  and also home to the smallest bar in Madrid: Bar San Roman (Calle de Segovia, 1, 28005 Madrid). We sometimes stop at the picturesque bar during our Madrid Tapas Tours  just to show our clients this unique and historical land mark of Madrid tapas. It’s a must see if you come to Madrid for some of the best tapas in Madrid.

Vicente, the owner, has been serving tap beer and delicious wines for over thirty years in Madrid. One of the things that makes this bar so special is that  it can legally only hold fifteen people at a time! Vicente does not mind if people hang out in the steps or even outside.

The second reason why local’s show up to this Madrid tapas bar is that Vicente serves up very delicious tapas, yes tapas, that marvelous invention of going out for beers or wines and eating delicious Spanish food along the way. In this case, the star tapa is the “tosta de lacón con salmorejo”, a slice of crunchy bread, with a garlicky tomato sauce with cooked ham on top, this tapa is basically free with every consumption.

When ordering a second round, Vicente changes the cooked ham for a Manchego cheese or any other type of Iberian cold-cut, you could spend an hour eating some of the best tapas in Madrid at Bar San Roman.

The third and last reason why the smallest bar in Madrid is so popular is Vicente’s taste for music. He blares flamenco music through his loud-speakers, sometimes so loud you cannot hear the people around you speaking. Vicente has had a few bad reviews because of the that, but he is a very kind and special person, once you get to know him. One of our tour guides Daniel Beers, has a very close relation with him and talks wonders about Vicente.

Check out the link below in Google maps for the exact location of the smallest bar in Madrid and do join us on one of our many Madrid tapas tours.