Café Comercial
Encyclopedia
The Café Comercial is a café
located at the Glorieta de Bilbao
in central Madrid
, Spain
. It is one of the city's oldest cafés, founded 21 March 1887 in the era of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain
. It was a center for literary tertulia
s in the period following the Spanish Civil War
. A remnant of Madrid's golden age, it was also one of the first Madrid cafés to employ women among those serving tables.
facing onto the Glorieta de Bilbao. Large windows provide a view of the café from the street and vice versa. There are two floors; the upper floor is home to a chess club
, the Club de Ajedrez Café Comercial, and chess boards are always available there. The café also has a full bar on each floor. The present configuration reflects a major remodel in 1953. The café is famous for its hot chocolate
with churro
s and its picatostes
(a type of fried bread).
on the property of Paulo Chaquías. The coffee served there was much praised at the time. Marcial Guareño composed a schottische
whose lyrics ran, in part:
Business meetings in that era gave the café its name. The café is strongly associated with the intellectual circles of Regenerationism
who hoped to reform Spain after its 1898 defeat in the war versus the United States.
The café passed to the Contreras family in 1909 and continued as a famous Madrid institution. Don Antonio Contreras was a native of Havana
. It is said that during the Spanish Civil War
the café was taken over by its own employees. After the war, it was frequented by the journalists of Arriba
, the official organ of the Movimiento Nacional
and later of the Franco
regime.
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
located at the Glorieta de Bilbao
Glorieta de Bilbao
Glorieta de Bilbao is a star shaped roundabout located in Madrid, Spain; named after the city of Bilbao. The roundabout is famous for being a cross of famous streets: Fuencarral , Carranza, Luchana and Sagasta. Glorieta de Bilbao is also between two of the most historical districts of Madrid:...
in central Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is one of the city's oldest cafés, founded 21 March 1887 in the era of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain
Spain under the Restoration
The Restoration was the name given to the period that began on December 29, 1874 after the First Spanish Republic ended with the restoration of Alfonso XII to the throne after a coup d'état by Martinez Campos, and ended on April 14, 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.After...
. It was a center for literary tertulia
Tertulia
A tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Iberia or Latin America. The word is originally Spanish, and has only moderate currency in English, in describing Latin cultural contexts....
s in the period following the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. A remnant of Madrid's golden age, it was also one of the first Madrid cafés to employ women among those serving tables.
Characteristics
The café has two entrances, one of them a revolving doorRevolving door
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they prevent drafts, thus preventing increases in the heating or cooling required for the building...
facing onto the Glorieta de Bilbao. Large windows provide a view of the café from the street and vice versa. There are two floors; the upper floor is home to a chess club
Chess club
A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs provide for both informal games and timed games, often as part of an internal competition or in a league.-Organisation:...
, the Club de Ajedrez Café Comercial, and chess boards are always available there. The café also has a full bar on each floor. The present configuration reflects a major remodel in 1953. The café is famous for its hot chocolate
Hot chocolate
Hot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...
with churro
Churro
A churro, sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, is a fried-dough pastry-based snack that has disputed origins. Churros are also popular in Latin America, France, Portugal, Morocco, the United States, Australia, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. There are two types of churros in Spain....
s and its picatostes
Picatostes
Picatostes are slices of fried bread, from loaves fried with lard or olive oil. They are typical of Madrid, Spain. They are usually sweetened with granules of refined sugar on the outside. They are most commonly eaten for breakfast or a light lunch , accompanied by coffee...
(a type of fried bread).
History
The Café Comercial first opened 21 March 1887, according to the license granted to Don Antonio Gómez Fernández. The Glorieta de Bilbao then had the famous Pozos de la Nieve which stored snow from the Sierra de GuadarramaSierra de Guadarrama
The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara...
on the property of Paulo Chaquías. The coffee served there was much praised at the time. Marcial Guareño composed a schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
whose lyrics ran, in part:
| Quiere usted tomar | If you want to have |
| un café rico, | a rich coffee, |
| acuda al Comercial | go to the Comercial |
| que es exquisito | which is exquisite |
Business meetings in that era gave the café its name. The café is strongly associated with the intellectual circles of Regenerationism
Regenerationism
Regenerationism was an intellectual and political movement in late 19th century and early 20th cemtury Spain. It sought to make objective and scientific study of the causes of Spain's decline as a nation and to propose remedies. It is largely seen as distinct from another movement of the same time...
who hoped to reform Spain after its 1898 defeat in the war versus the United States.
The café passed to the Contreras family in 1909 and continued as a famous Madrid institution. Don Antonio Contreras was a native of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. It is said that during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
the café was taken over by its own employees. After the war, it was frequented by the journalists of Arriba
Arriba (newspaper)
Arriba was a Spanish daily newspaper. It was founded in Madrid 21 March 1935 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera as the official weekly newspaper of the Spanish Falange. On 5 March 1936 it was suspended by the government of the Second Spanish Republic. The suspension continued through the Spanish...
, the official organ of the Movimiento Nacional
Movimiento Nacional
The Movimiento Nacional was the name given to the nationalist inspired mechanism during Francoist rule in Spain, which purported to be the only channel of participation to Spanish public life...
and later of the Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
regime.