Cafe Populart: Jazz, Blues and Beer

Café Populart is one of Madrid’s most well known old school jazz cafes. It holds its place in the middle of raddled Huertas, the street chock full of live music venues and cocktail spots, none of which stand as a threat to the consistently popular café. Clean, classy and dependable, it opens its doors to live music acts every single night: one act from 22:30 to 12:00 and another from 12:30 to 1:30. A large drawing of the famous character from The Jazz Singer—you may not know the movie but you’ll recognize the pop cultured image easily—covers the café’s entrance, which upon entering feels like the inside of a New York jazz place somewhere in the 1940’s.

The inside holds a long bar on one side and a row of small chairs and tables that continue down the somewhat narrow corridor until reaching the small stage where jazz and blues performances are continually happening. Behind the stage, right before reaching the stairs for the toilets, is a small squared area with three more tables for seating—if you see the café is crowded, walk to this area and you may find yourself a seat. Although you may only see the band’s backs in this area, one of its perks is its great wall decoration: it is filled, though in an orderly manner, with pictures and posters which display the obvious coolness of jazz. If anyone with you claims to know much of the genre just ask them to name the names on the wall—almost all of them are there.

The ambiance of the whole place, in fact, aims to be like the one displayed in these posters. The chairs and tables are dark wood and the light comes from big beautiful round lamps that recall the street lamps from black and white Hollywood classics. There are even old brass tubas and saxophones hanging from the walls. Behind the bar drinks abound, but it’s not a good place to drink the night away unless you’ve got a lot of bills in your pocket—because there’s no cover charge the drinks get pricier. Beers are 5 euros while mixed drinks are 7 to 9 euros; if you are going for beer you’ll get more value for your money if you order the 8 euro pints than a normal brew.

If you plan to go with a group of people or definitely want a seat for the shows then it’s essential that you arrive before ten thirty. Weeknights, though also with an audience, are more relaxed, but any night between Thursday and Sunday will have enough people that it’ll be a trek to get from one side of the place to the other. Depending on the night you will find classic big band, modern or vocal jazz; same with the blues: you may come into an animated honky tonk scene or a slow and sad delta blues. Though artists come and go there are a couple of bands that have been regulars for a while at Populart, notably the big band style Canal Street Jazz Band and the jamming Ñaco Goñi & Amar Sundy Blues Band, especially good with harmonicas and guitars. Here people will lower their voices when the music gets low, which shows you what kind of place Populart is.

Cafe Populart
Calle Huertas, 22
914 298 407
Metro: Anton Martin
Hours:  seven days a week from 21:00 p.m., closing hours vary from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.

By Daniel Sznajderman