Since 1836, generations of Madrid’s establishment and jeunesse dorée have been quietly inducted into the Casino de Madrid. Housed in a grand old pile in Calle Alcalá, the private members’ club has only ever allowed public access to its restaurants – the rooftop aerie of executive chef Paco Roncero being both the club’s crown jewel and a chance for nosy interlopers to peek into its grand interiors.
After 30 years of continuous service, La Terraza del Casino restaurant, a high-ceilinged space comprising a series of bright rooms linked by arched doorways, has become a modern classic.
The designer Jaime Hayon who redesigned its interiors 10 years ago has just returned for a spruce-up. In 2007 he intruded lightly on the historic space, injecting quiet moments of youthful levity and humour through his trademark love for geometric shapes. He set the scene at the reception by hanging a chandelier of polished metal and bulbs that, on second glance, morphs into the shape of a smiling face. From there, the Spaniard riffed off harlequin themes with black and white chequered marble floors, coloured glass, and canary yellow seats in a sea of white drapery.
For La Terraza del Casino redux, Hayon has brightened the palette considerably, transforming the greys and whites of the original design into a vivid tropical palette of blue and yellow accents set against a pale green interior. New ceramics, vases and objects and banana leaf palms were selected to add energy, combining to create an upbeat sense of glamour.
The result is a vivacious yet sophisticated room that allows Roncero’s conceptual menu – think chicken with molé and truffle, and hake kokotxas with spinach curry and pil-pil sauce – to shine without ever looking pretentious. Consider us duly impressed.
ADDRESS
Casino de Madrid
Alcalá 15
-
Shigeru Ban’s mini Paper Log House welcomed at The Glass House'Shigeru Ban: The Paper Log House' is shown at The Glass House in New Canaan, USA as the house museum of American architect Philip Johnson plays host to the Japanese architect’s model temporary home concept
-
Artist Mickalene Thomas wrestles with notions of Black beauty, female empowerment and love'Mickalene Thomas: All About Love’, a touring exhibition, considers Black female representation
-
New Phaidon book celebrates the world's best designersDesigned for Life: The World’s Best Product Designers by Phaidon celebrates the rich contemporary landscape of product design
-
Hotel Arbaso in San Sebastián blends bespoke design with nods to Basque heritageHotel Arbaso, which sits next to San Sebastián’s storied Buen Pastor Cathedral, boasts interiors by Spanish architecture studio Fiark
-
Portella is a noble hotel in Palma de Mallorca’s old townPortella occupies a 17th-century house renovated by interior designers at Festen and architecture studio Gras Reyné
-
Spa experiences in superlative surroundings, to revitalise mind and bodyThese spa experiences offer the ultimate in wellness and relaxation in serene settings around the world
-
Newly opened Nobis Hotel Palma is filled with 1,000 years of historyNobis Hotel Palma brings together the best of both Scandinavian and Spanish designs in a former 12th-century medieval Muslim palace
-
Restaurant Tramo in Madrid embraces a more responsible future, bite by biteRestaurant Tramo, co-designed by SelgasCano and Andreu Carulla, is an exercise in eco-conscious gastronomy and hospitality
-
Mallorca hotel Can Auli is full of laidback allureA haven of relaxation in the heart of Pollença, Mallorca hotel Can Auli embraces its locality
-
‘Where To Now’: Zara and Wallpaper* launch offbeat travel guidesZara and Wallpaper’s ‘Where To Now’ travel guides launch with five off-the-beaten-track adventures, from California to Naoshima, for armchair and actual explorers, available to buy now
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
