Tablao Flamenco 1911

Tablao Flamenco 1911

This legendary flamenco tablao, located in Plaza de Santa Ana, dates back to 1911, when it first opened as a restaurant serving typical Andalusian fried fish on the site of a former chocolate mill. In the 1920s, it became the most popular venue of the time, and thanks to the flamenco singer Antonio Chacón, originally from Jerez, it became the mecca of flamenco in Madrid, a meeting place for veteran maestros to come together with up-and-coming new artists of the genre. Having been closed for two years, in April 2022 it reopened its doors under the artistic direction of flamenco dancer Antonio Canales. In September 2022 it changed its name from Villa Rosa to Tablao Flamenco 1911.

Easily recognisable by its impressive, tiled facade, great flamenco dancers and singers have graced its stage over the years, and it has been frequented by huge names from the world of arts and showbusiness, including Ernest Hemingway and Ava Gardner; famous bullfighters such as Luís Miguel Dominguín; and even members of the Spanish royal family, including King Alfonso XIII.

The extraordinary exterior dates from 1927, covered in tiles and relief work created by the great ceramicist from Seville, Alfonso Romero Mesa, who was also responsible for the tiles we can see in Madrid’s famous bullring, Las Ventas.

The performance space is set within a series of columns and rounded arches, inspired by Granada’s Alhambra, in the Andalusian Moorish style. Its tiled panels depict stories from Madrid, bullfighting scenes, and flamenco images, preserved intact since their creation by the city’s finest ceramicists. The beauty and quirkiness of this venue make it a unique space to create scenes for film, art, music, and television. It has been used as a location for major film directors such as Pedro Almodóvar in High Heels, Fernando Trueba in The Queen of Spain, Manuel Gómez Pereira in Why do they call it love when they mean sex? and Emilio Martínez-Lázaro in Spanish Affair 2.