One of the most anticipated terraces in Madrid reopens its doors

Maria Canales

Updated Saturday, February 17, 2024-00:03

One of the most coveted terraces in Madrid, located at the top of one of its most beautiful and emblematic buildings, reopens its doors to the public this Saturday, February 17. This is the enormous roof terrace of

more than 400 square meters on the sixth floor of the Palacio de Cibeles, headquarters of the capital's City Council, which has been closed since May 2023.

Azotea Cibeles

has just been installed there ,

a new space with incredible views and a leisure offer around signature cocktails and select distillates that can also be accompanied with small plates of the most traditional recipes to share.

This new meeting point for an aperitif, afternoon or evening, whose cocktail menu is signed by Luca Anastasio,

lands

with the help of

Grupo Azotea

, which already has other

successful

rooftops

in unique buildings in the city such as the Azotea from the Círculo de Bellas, Picalagartos Sky Bar & Restaurant or the Club Financiero Génova. Along with the new terrace, the restaurant company, which was awarded the management of this municipal

jewel

almost a year ago , is opening two other spaces at the same time: the

Cornamusa

restaurant , also on the sixth floor and with a huge terrace, and

Café Cibeles

, on the second floor.

The Cibeles Roof space.

"We had this location in mind for many years, but we began to consider it seriously two years ago. The last concession was for Grupo Adolfo in 2011, so since 2021 we were hoping that the City Council's competition would come out again, which in the end was not was until 2023," says José Manuel García, CEO of Azotea Group.

The group, which will manage the premises for the next 10 years, took possession in mid-June, when they began the remodeling and decoration of the three spaces. The interior design has been carried out by the studio of

Alejandra Pombo

, which has been inspired by the arrival of the mail to the city of Madrid, always respecting the essence of the spectacular building protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest.

Each of the spaces has its own identity, although with a common denominator: the clear commitment to gastronomy, to a greater or lesser extent, which is under the supervision of

Manuel Berganza

, executive chef of the group, and

Jesús Almagro

, "signed to lead the day-to-day running of this project in the kitchens of Palacio Cibeles," according to García.

Plate of Cornamusa chard stalks.

An "elaborate simplicity"

It is in Cornamusa where the cuisine takes center stage with

high-level dishes

in which the product is the star. Both chefs have developed a menu that is a

tribute to the best of Madrid gastronomy

, linked to the history and recipes of the city. "Manu and Jesús define it as a cuisine prepared with great simplicity," clarifies the manager.

Among the dishes (about 40), there is everything from a

sirloin of Guadarrama beef

with mustard emulsion, mushrooms and roasted bone marrow or smoked rice and goat cheese with roasted beet tendons to stalks of chard with importance stuffed with crab in a sauce of saffron and a black monkfish in Miraflores butter sauce. "In almost all of us we want to use an element that is a product of Madrid; we work with producers from the area, from the Sierra, also with the surrounding markets," says García. The menu is updated every 15 days with new creations using seasonal ingredients.

The terrace of the Cornamusa restaurant.

In addition to local food, Cornamusa also wants to pay tribute to the emblematic building that houses it, the former Palace of Post Office and Telecommunications, and which was its tenant for a long time. "The bagpipe is not only a wind instrument, but also the logo of Correos, which had its headquarters in the palace," according to García. Therefore, the restaurant experience is designed and linked to the history of the public company. Thus, for example, the team wears uniforms inspired by those of former Post Office employees, the menu is opened with a letter opener and the bill arrives typed on an old machine, among other nods.

Cornamusa restaurant bar.

The experience, with an

average price of between 60 and 70 euros

, can be enjoyed both in the indoor dining room (with capacity for 60 guests) and on its spectacular terrace with views (for 65 guests). Reservations are essential. For its part, the capacity for Azotea Cibeles is 180 people, while for Café Cibeles, where you can have everything from breakfast to an aperitif, daily menu or snack, thanks to its all-

day

concept , there is space for 110 diners.

To access this

rooftop,

different types of tickets can be reserved in advance. The simplest, called

Momentazo

, includes admission to the rooftop and a

soft

drink (from 10 euros). Other experiences are

Momento Glam

, with Iberian ham and bottle of Veuve Clicquot or wine (120 euros),

Momento Glam Glam

, with caviar and bottle of Veuve Clicquot (150 euros) or

Momento Pica Pica

, with bottle of wine plus tapas tasting ( 80 euros), among others.

Cornamusa, Azotea Cibeles and Café Cibeles (Plaza de Cibeles, 1), 6th and 2nd floor, respectively.

More information here