do you dance?
It doesn't matter if it's Monday, Wednesday or Saturday night, Madrid doesn't sleep. Madrid doesn't stop. Madrid is alive and walking through its streets any day of the week always makes someone throw the typical question into the air: Is it that tomorrow you don't work?
Yes, you work, but when the sun goes down, ties loosen, computers -although not all of them- turn off, bags get smaller, smiles get bigger and the city changes rhythm and gets hooked on the music of the afternoon and the afterworks.
The concept dine & dance –the dinner and drinks combo of a lifetime– finds in Madrid the best setting and in its people the best clientele and we, who are both from the bar below the house and from the place to be of the moment We decided to go to the place whose name is on everyone's lips right now: Bulla.
A fusion restaurant, a cocktail bar, an open and closed terrace and, to end the night, the club. Everything in the same place and without the need to step on the street now that winter is looming.
warm and eclectic
HERE WILL BE A LOT OF NOISE
The creators of Bulla are the same ones behind two spots that are already part of Madrid's nightlife: Sugarcane and Midtown.
Located at number 5 of Paseo de La Habana, Bulla means fuss, movement, uproar, revelry. Call it what you want, but you know what we mean.
But in addition, Bulla is also the name of an Italian town and the amulet that in ancient Rome they wore in great events and in battles.
Taking the Spanish and Italian meaning, Bulla bets on the concept of 'dinner and drinks' with a fusion cuisine restaurant with an Italian touch that also has a cocktail bar and a nightclub.
Chin Chin!
IN THE TABLE
The upper floor of Bulla houses the restaurant, which has a dining room and terrace and whose menu, devised by the chef Carlos Fernandez Miranda , we find a international fusion cuisine with French, Asian and Latin touches and with a clear Italian influence.
The masses of its pizzas, pastas and pitas are made on the premises with Italian flours while the vegetable section comes from local gardens and the vegetables are always in season.
Thus, we can enjoy dishes such as baby potatoes with siracha mayo and wakame , the finger baby back, the pizzas, the Creole meatballs and their –already known despite being just over a month old– Sexy Pasta.
Do not miss one of the star dishes: the Sexi Pasta
THE 'PLACE-TO-BE' AND THE 'PLACE TO SHOT'
A place to see and be seen must have an interior design at the height of the best snapshot and the study Archidom, project manager, more than meets the challenge.
A ceiling with wicker lamps and vegetation welcomes us and enters a space where the star is the natural elements.
In the decoration we find clear references to Indonesia, Philippines and Africa that coexist with European objects and pieces.
Lacquer cement, green stucco, microcement, wood from Colombia, rusty steel, old jars... A combination of elements that provides warmth while creating an eclectic, cosmopolitan atmosphere without losing the cozy point.
The Nuevos Ministerios area is shaken
STIRRED, NOT STIRRED
Behind the Bulla bar, and in front of the cocktail section, is the bartender Orlando Salas , which was recently included in the top forty of the World Class in 2019.
In Orlando's opinion, a good bartender has to be fast, skillful and flexible. “A barman must know how to adapt to different situations and also, have a kind of feeling regarding dealing with the client”, explains the Venezuelan bartender.
What does he like most about the profession? "Definitely, the opportunity he gives me to interact with people, to tell them a story through a cocktail or present an idea of mine”, Orlando tells Traveler.es
And he continues: “Besides, the world of hospitality is super wide, it gives you the opportunity from creating a cocktail to setting up your own bar. It is not just about being behind the bar, the mixological universe is very large and there is a lot to cover”.
Orlando Salas in charge of the bar
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE OF MADRIL DRINK?
“In Madrid they drink a lot of beer -says Orlando Salas- and when people go to order distillates they go directly to the gin tonic".
When we talk about cocktails, “The Spanish public, in general terms, is inclined towards sweet drinks, normally with a digestive profile. The palate is not so open to new combinations of flavors, although obviously there is a bit of everything”, explains Salas.
The cocktail maker tells us that in Spain, in the world of bartending, the trend that marks the north is followed: clarified drinks, with low sugar content, ways of working km. 0, commitment to sustainability...
“For example, it is take a product and use it as many times as possible , thinking both in terms of costs and the impact we can have on the environment”, she comments.
When it comes to drink profiles, the current cocktail bar is experiencing a sophisticated, elegant moment: “The trend is towards drinks with simple colors, transparent, spotless. Small and simple ingredients are used that provide complexity from simplicity. Less is more".
agitated please
THE BULLA BAR
Bulla's cocktail menu stands out for its fruity, sweet and refreshing proposals that give a twist –and in many cases several– to classics such as the Margarita, the Mojito or the Daiquiri.
“ Don't Mames , for example, is a cocktail inspired by the Resurrection, Made with tequila, egg white, passion fruit juice, almond and ginger cordial and the typical sour. It's like a Margarita but much more fruity and with a good alcoholic content”, explains Orlando.
For those reluctant to get out of the traditional combination but who want to try the fascinating world of cocktails, Orlando recommends the Spicy Cubanito “It's basically a mojito with a slight spicy twist and ginger ale,” he says.
There is also room on the menu for those who do not drink alcohol: “we make our own mint matcha soda, which we call Medication , and we combine it with orange juice, lemon juice and a mint syrup”.
The most instagrammable ceiling
“And we also have a section dedicated to cocktail , another trend on the rise. It's all about cocktails low alcohol content , As the Drive me Bananas , based on a mango shorp, banana liqueur, ginger ale and an orange foam.
And finally, cocktail experts. “Those who are involved in this world are usually open to trying new cocktails and combinations of flavors and I would recommend Delirio to them” , sentence Orlando.
this cocktail finds its inspiration in the old Sazerac , made from absinthe and was believed to cause delirium and blindness in people due to the amount of methanol it contains.
"To prepare our Delirio cocktail we use a blended malt whiskey -a Monkey Shoulder-, we mix it with a bitter that we make here with chilli, ginger and mint , a little blackberry liqueur and an Old Fashion reduction” , explains Salas, who confesses to having many pending places on his wish list of cocktail bars –such as the Dandelay in London and the Nomad in New York–.
And down the stairs... the club!
In Madrid, you can find Orlando having a Rye whiskey on the rocks in Angelita or Baton Rouge. Your referent of him in the world of cocktails? Andrés Merlo, his former boss: "He is the person who has accompanied me in my development as a bartender, he has given me a lot of tools, knowledge, tips."
We give you a little test: What real fictional living dead character would you like to prepare a cocktail for? "That's a hard question. He had never thought about it. Hmmm. I would love to make a cocktail for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of The Little Prince.”
What would he be like? “Something delicate, colorful, but strong, with quite an alcoholic content, which is why the book that seems innocent but is super complex encompasses. Something that at first you see as innocent but is very complex inside.
do you dance?
TO DANCE!
Going down the stairs we find the club, where a huge neon stands out that says: Bitch dont kill my vibe.
From 11 at night is where you start to hear the noise with DJ sessions until 4 in the morning.
You know, Madrid never sleeps, it just yawns from time to time.
First step: dinner
Address: Paseo de la Habana, 5, 28036 Madrid See map
Telephone: 911 03 35 70
Schedule: M, M and X: 11:00 to 1:00 J: 11:00 to 3:00 F and Sa: 11:00 to 4:00 D: 11:00 to 1:00