Café - Restaurant Perro Paco

“Lord, make me chaste, but not yet”. Saint Agustine. In the Madrid of 1876 two great events took place: the first stone of the emblematic edifice of San Augustín Street no. 6 was laid, and while its construction lasted, Paco was born, Madrid’s dog. Paco the Dog, who has his own statue in El Barrio de las Letras, was the protagonist of Madrid’s lively and joyous 19th century life, and a symbol of a cultured, refined and unfettered Bohemian scene. This prodigious dog, who blazoned his condition as a street mutt, was a friend to artists and writers and had an existence that reflected his restlessness and sybaritism. Paco was bathed daily by the city’s hose crews and attended theatrical premieres, especially those which starred Julián Gayarre, the great Spanish tenor, of whom Paco was a devotee. He alternated between the Fornos Café, Lhardy, the Swiss Café and the time’s best tables and enjoyed processions and parades, being witness to the changing of the Royal Guard multiple times. Paco’s greatest passions, however, were horse races and bullfighting. He had a reserved seat in the now defunct ring in Felipe II Avenue. This hobby cost him his life. Paco lived as a king and died as a hero. He never gave up his freedom despite the many offers he had to relinquish his role as a street dog. This space honors Paco the dog and in it one will find all that made him happy: the best food, singular experiences and the deepest emotions. Music, theatre, gatherings, art… all joined by the most delicious delicacies, all made for you to enjoy. This historic space from the 19th century, which’s vaulted underground ceilings will be the stage for many singular experiences, hosted the mythical Samovar Club in the mid-twentieth century, run by the Great actors José María Rodero and Elvira Quintillá, which became the gathering place for the most important artists of the time. In the twenty-first century, it is the gathering place for the Nanaists, an artistic and literary movement that exhibits many of its creations in this space.