Irish Pubs in Madrid

In our short three day stay in September 2013 we found and, more importantly, patronized two Irish pubs.  The first, disingenuously named International Brewery Bringas was just off the Plaza Mayor and did have Murphy’s Irish Red on tap and Magners cider although in a bottle.  Unfortunately, the bartenders were both native Spaniards and not Irish and, unbelievably, there wasn’t a Guinness to be found in the bar.

The menu was Spanish food, not Irish and the décor had a more wood-paneled western US, rocky mountain bar feeling than being Irish pub-like.   The bartenders were friendly enough when addressed in Spanish and the place was enjoyable enough for us to return to again.

So using our previously discussed rating system the International Brewery Bringas receives 1 point for ambience, 0 points for the bartenders’ non-Irishness, 1 point for having Murphy’s Irish Red on tap (although I’m tempted to give them a demerit for not having a Guinness in the house and for having Cruz Campo on the primary tap), we didn’t try the kitchen but people enjoyed their orders so we’ll give them 1 point for food quality and because the bartenders were friendly and there was the appropriate futbol match on the television we’ll give them and additional 2 points for entertainment. 

So the rundown is this:

Ambience                                 1 point

Bartenders                                0 points

Taps                                         1 point

Food                                        1 point

Entertainment                            2 points

Total for International Brewery Bringas is 5 points which puts them in a distant second behind Hannigans.  Congratulations to International Brewery Bringas for being the second Irish bar we have found in Spain.

In spite of the lower point total, if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood of Plaza Mayor in Madrid and in need of refreshment we would absolutely recommend this establishment as a quality option.

A short footnote: we found another, very Irish looking bar on our walk through Madrid from the Brazilian consulate.  We were very disappointed to find only Spanish beer available on tap, a Spanish bartender, a Spanish menu, a Spanish ambience inside and no entertainment (although it was during the day).  Because of this we took no photos, and cannot for the life of us remember exactly where it was located or the name of the place but if you find it, don’t hesitate to patronize the place because we enjoyed it. 

That does it for this edition of Irish Pubs Abroad by Marilyn and Mike.