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Templo del Gato, Calle de Trujillos
This small facade on a quiet side street turns out to be a large upstairs American-style rock bar. The atmosphere is strongly driven by the black decor, neon signs, pinball machine, pool table and chicken-wire fencing; these give the place the feel of a theatre set were it not for the full-on US rock music, which makes the place lively. This is all a great antidote to the proliferation of pretentious bars with pretty barmen and modern club music, and is not to be missed.
As with other places that are pure-play bars - i.e. no food - things get going after midnight and carry on until three or four in the morning.
The next Friday night we found Templo del Gato in weekend mode, with the pool table covered up. Needless to say, it was pretty lively and provided for plenty of small-hours drinking, shouting over the live music and getting our clothes soaked in smoke. Well, it seemed like a great idea at the time.
The next time, a Tuesday night at about 11 p.m., it was almost completely empty, and a lot worse off for it. It seems that the music and decor alone do not make the atmosphere here. Still, we enjoyed a few games of pool, the only downside being that €2 a game is quite a lot if you are fast.