El Doble
El Doble is named for its glass: a doble holds about twice as much draught beer as a 200ml caña.
Why go
Chefs send people here for the beer and the bar. The chef Pepe Rodríguez told Guía Repsol in 2020: Going to the bar at El Doble should be compulsory.
4 Sacha Hormaechea, the chef of Sacha, put it harder in 2017: If you don't go to El Doble you're nowhere.
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El Doble has two doors in Chamberí. The Puerto family opened the first room at Calle de Ponzano 58 in 1987 and the one on the corner of José Abascal 16 in 1990, according to a Madrid taverns blog in 2013.6 A Madrid blogger who stops at both on one outing wrote in 2024 that the second is the bigger, with the same old Talavera tiles.7 Lonely Planet sent readers on to their other bar
when one was full (2019).8
The chefs who name an address split between the two doors. The chef Óscar Velasco sends you to Ponzano 58: I think they serve the best beers in the capital, with cold dishes that go wonderfully with the best-pulled cañas
(Guía Repsol, 2025).1 Hugo Muñoz of Ugo Chan sends you to José Abascal 16, where Jesús runs the bar: I love that wonderful bar, how well they pull the beer, incredible shellfish and a marvellous salpicón
(GastroPlanet, 2025).2 Luis Alberto Lera, a friend of Jesús and his team, picked the same door in August 2026 as one of the most interesting bars there is, for its produce and for keeping that authentic, castizo character so tied to Madrid.
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Order a doble and it comes with a tapa: Lonely Planet got crisps with salty anchovies or pickled mussels
in 2019.8 Then spend what you like on food. Hormaechea's list runs depending on budget
from a spider crab down to camarones (small shrimp), king prawns or bonito salads.5 The tins, the cured fish and the raciones are on the card as well (Time Out, 2025).9 Lonely Planet warned readers in 2019 that you're expected to throw napkins on the floor and keep a running tally of how many beers you've had (you'll be asked when you pay).
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Order this / avoid
- Drink: a doble of draught beer. Time Out Madrid (2023):
Word is the best draught beers in town are poured here.
10 - Order: the salpicón at José Abascal 16, which Hugo Muñoz (2025) called
marvellous.
2 - Order: the ensaladilla,
a ten-out-of-ten ensaladilla
to Guía Repsol in 2020.4
What locals & experts say
- Time Out Madrid (2025):
a huge marble bar with the taps up front and always, always full of people.
9 - Sacha Hormaechea (2017): you drink your doble
with hubbub and racket.
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Good to know
- Where: Calle de Ponzano 58 and Calle de José Abascal 16, on the corner of Ponzano, both in Chamberí.7
- Timing: Ponzano 58 opens Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and again in the evening until late, and shuts on Monday (Time Out, 2025).9 Check @eldoble.jesus on Instagram for José Abascal 16.2
- Price: Time Out Madrid puts it in the cheapest of its four price bands (2025).9
Verdict
should-visit — Stand at either bar for a doble of well-pulled draught beer and the tapa that comes with it, then spend what you like on salpicón and shellfish. It's cheap by Time Out's measure, and it's always full.