El Alfiler del Callejón

El Alfiler del Callejón, chef Javier Muñoz-Calero’s new tavern, is opening its doors to revive a way of approaching the restaurant industry that is part of Madrid’s identity. Its concept is based on honest cuisine, with a bar serving as a gathering place and the freedom to enjoy a good meal while sharing.
Open from 1:00 p.m., the project celebrates Madrid’s traditional hospitality through a menu featuring house-made preserves, fresh seafood, and timeless classics of home-style cooking. A perfectly poured beer, Russian salad, and the tapa of periwinkles with pins stuck in a cork—which give the place its name—are poised to become the symbols of El Alfiler, the first of several projects through which Muñoz-Calero aims to restore the prominence of his city’s classic bars. These are spaces without reservations or formalities, designed to become the neighborhood bar.
The interior evokes the atmosphere of those neighborhood seafood restaurants that were a fixture on Madrid’s streets for decades. The dark wood, the blue tiles of the open kitchen, and the nods to the maritime world create a recognizable, unpretentious atmosphere, designed so that the important moments happen around the bar. It features high tables and a small terrace that welcomes visitors at the end of the alley.