A Chueca café institution since the 1990s, Café Acuarela on Calle de Gravina has the exuberant décor of a baroque antique shop — religious imagery, old paintings, elaborate chandeliers, theatrical candelabras — and operates as a gay-friendly café from mid-afternoon to the small hours. The atmosphere is camp, welcoming, and quite unlike anything else in central Madrid.
It serves cocktails, wine, and coffee in roughly equal measure; the food menu is secondary. Good for a long late-night drink before a club, or simply for the interior, which is worth seeing regardless of agenda. Metro Chueca.