Behind cafe Gijon’s wall there are too many stories that still keeps secrets and confessions. Some of them had been reflected in best-sellers that will rest for ages others will continue being saved by the cafeteria and protagonist memory.
A magical place full of history
“Café Gijón”, also known as “Gran Café Gijón” is one of the most representative and emblematic restaurants of Madrid History. Opened in 1888 by Gumersindo García from Asturias, choose to be placed in a good location, Paseo de Recoletos 1, near the capital center. A great place to have a coffee and some Spanish churros, also with diverse menus of typical Spanish cuisine.
Even though it started as a small and modest place, it became more than a simple restaurant. As the time went by, the cafetería started to be a great space to hang out, to have great conversations that as a result became the best known “tertulias del Café Gijón” where the most creative, intellectual, artistic people meet every afternoon to talk about politics, literature, art…etc.
It was the golden era for the restaurant as more tertulias more people came to participate and hang out. Full of thoughts, opinions, letters, poems, and stories was a big inspiration for huge personalities such as: Valle-Inclán, Pérez Galdós, Gerardo Diego…
Although the civil war was an important event that affect lots of restaurants, Café Gijón continue being one of the most visited places. Various generations passed by, and with them different stories were written and told. The best known novel “La Colmena” written by Camilo José Cela was inspired, and created at this restaurant.
A magical place where wherever you decided to sit, it could be where Garcia Lorca announced he was going to publish “Bodas de Sangre” or where Dalí was talking about his new creation. For the 27th generation was the started of a space to go whenever they wanted to scape from reality.
A walk into memories
Once you enter in Café Gijón you can distinguish that good smell of a good prepared coffee that is all around the place. On the walls, paintings and old photographs decorates the whole restaurant, that also continues being the same space where lots of personalities spend their time.
The red velvet sofás are still untouched, and the marble tables still keep the memory of thousands of writings.
It makes your hair stand, once you sit down and you ask for your coffee meanwhile you start thinking about every corner that has a significant meaning in such a small space, that one day used to be one of the most crowded places of Madrid.
If you are lucky enough you will be attended by a white hair man, José Bárcenas, who has been working there since 1974. If you want to know more about Café Gijón history, you must ask him he will happily answer you and tell you lots of stories and anecdotes about famous personalities that cross the restaurant's doors.
He remembers every single artist/writer/intelectual that appeared there among his 45 years working as waiter, manager and the restaurant's memories keeper. Pepe, as they usually call him, highlights that the first person he attended was Pilar Franco, the dictator Francisco Franco sister, a lonely and old lady he remembers.
Pepe said he sometimes was amazed by the intellectual and philosophical,"tertulias", chats that happened every afternoon. For him this small cafetería is full of thoughts of different opinions, as he remarks that before the civil war most of the people who came where from left-wing, what they used to call "rojos", however after the war lots of them went into exile or died so the café went through a new era were new personalities from the francoism regime visited the Gran Café Gijón.
The person who most astonished this waiter in all his years of work, was Severo Ochoa who always came with his wife to have some green beans. He describes that you could see the great love Severo Ochoa got for his wife, and how they still came even being very old.
When it comes to talk about the most inspirational one, he describes that Buero Vallejo was one of the most destacables, Pepe will never forget the speech he gave at the meal they gave to celebrate Gerardo Diego's Cervantes awards, with a quote that was unforgettable: "como escritores tenían el deber de comprometerse, denunciar y despertar la conciencia y la ilusión de los demás".
Nowadays Pepe has a good relation with personalities such as Arturo Pérez Reverte and Manuel Vicent that are good clients that come very often to Café Gijón.
A place you will never forget
This place is perfect whenever you want to have a hot coffee in winter or whenever you want to scape from the hot summer. It is full of history and it is not only a cafetería it is also treasure chest were still you can hear the bustle of lots of conversations taking at the same time.
Not need a time machine to come back in time, only sitting in their red velvet you can feel all the stories that are saved there.
Especially if you need inspiration, this is your place such a good space to hide from reality and to create. You will definitely be passed on all the philosophical and reflexive thoughts you need to develop your creativity.