La Venencia — Restaurant in Madrid

The sherry wine is delicious. The free olives are great. The ambiance is awesome. Unfortunately, the owners have a bad vide and are not very polite. As I've seen others comment, we too were basically kicked out! Let me explain: Fist time we went there, we arrived on a Friday at about 11:30 p.m., and by 12:30 we'd already bought a couple of bottles (12€ each). At 12:25 we asked for two more bottles and they sold us the two bottles. We were three at our table. 7 minutes lates, they told us the bar was closing! But, wait, you've just sold us 2 bottles knowing the bar would be closing in 7 minutes?! What's up with that?! To this one must add: you can't take the bottle home if you don't finish. So we had to start hurrying it up. 3 minutes later (that is, 10 minutes into pour first glass of the 2 new bottles) they turned off all the lights!!! (As some others have commented.) Now they were really kicking us out! They then turned on ALL of the lights again, so as to say: Hey, get the * out! And, again, turned them all off. By now, we were downing both bottles like water, really doing anything but enjoying our 12€ wines... we just wanted to get out and never come back! So this was basically the worst thing they did: sell us two 12€ bottles when they knew they where closing in 10 minutes and well knew we couldn't even drink one of them in that time; and, then, throwing us out like vermin! But before this we had already had an issue with them. The bar says "No Photos!" everywhere. OK, I can understand they don't want tourists coming along and taking photos and not drinking... But, really, nowadays, you have a group of 4 friends around a table who want to take photos of each other (not your bar!) and you come to bother them and scream at them: "No photos! No photos!"... well, that just seems absurd! But the worst part is that even after we told them that we didn't want photos of the bar, just of each other, and that we wouldn't take any more photos, even of ourselves, if the bar was in the background, when we were leaving, we all got on the street for a selfie, with the opposite wall as our background (that is, no part of the bar was visible, as it was effectively behind the camera) and the guy came out screaming, once again, "NO PHOTOS! NO PHOTOS!". That just seems to me to be a rather Medieval, closed-minded way of thinking. And very impolite! They don't own the street in front of their bar, nor do they own the opposite wall. When we said we weren't even taking a photo of his place, he sort of hissed at us... I'm currently living in Madrid, and I'm saddened to lose such a place but, really, I have no intentions of going back where I'm treated like this. Dear sirs of La Venencia: we're in the XXI century! You've got to start acting more civilised, no matter how "vintage" or, rather, how old-and-crusty...

In a world that seems to be divided in political and cultural terms, some tend to forget that we may actually learn much from those who oppose our views.  In the least, we may further define our own social and moral convictions.  Entering La Venencia in Madrid, one appreciates timelessness and an apparent impulse to maintain tradition and history without external pressures which may be reactive rather than well-informed.  You enter a historical milieu replete with values that are upheld and unaccompanied with hypocrisy or ulterior motives in meeting all your needs- spiritual, literary, social and gastronomic.  To begin with, photos are not allowed, upholding a tradition from the Civil War struggles preventing espionage.  Then, we have a phenomenon that was also evident during General Peron's years in Argentina.  Tips or gratuities were and are not accepted.  Again, many in "contemporary" society have a lot to learn from these assiduous employees with impeccable work ethics intended to help their fellow man without a tinge of opportunism.  Some will say the menu is limited.  I say it is focused.  Sherry and a few tapas including the best anchovies I have ever consumed in any part of Spain, and I include the cities like Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona where seafood is prime.  Some have commented the anchovies here were better than any offering in Northern Spain, including Galicia, renowned for their sea products.  The incredible mojama was expertly hand cut by the VERY KIND and DIGNIFIED gentleman who also served me a fine sherry.  He also did not let me leave without offering some water as he sensed I ate a lot of dried fish that had the power to dehydrate on what was a stifling summer's day in the capital city.  I was moved by his kind gesture. It is no wonder Hemingway was inspired to write some of his best work by spending time in such a wonderful place.  If only modern day socialists had such...

I'm wondering if this bar paid people to write such raving reviews, but I'm confused because there are Sooo many. The atmosphere was nice, aromas amazing, and the sherry delicious. I speak enough Spanish to order at most bars/restaurants and have gotten along well enough during 2 weeks in Spain. The bar tender here was so incredibly rude, my husband wanted to walk out immediately but I insisted we give it a chance. When I asked which sherry's they had (in spanish), the man started yelling loudly and pointed at the wall behind us... why would I know it was there?? Most bars have the menu on the wall behind the bar. Then I asked if we could have one of each (also in spanish). He got more frustrated and got louder saying "no" and I didn't understand the rest of what he yelled, at this point people were staring. So my spouse walked over and pointed at two different sherrys on the menu. I tried to use google translate to ask what was wrong and he refused to look at it, waving it off. I know my Spanish isn't perfect, but in most places people have at least tried to communicate. This was so embarrassing and awful. It took everything in me to finish our drinks and not reciprocate the rudeness. I was so excited to visit this bar, extremely sad we did this on our last night in Spain... left such a bad taste in our...