In C/Montera, just steps from Puerta del Sol right in the heart of Madrid, there's a beautiful urban oasis in the form of a secret garden. If you want to discover it for yourself, you'll have to go up to the fourth floor of the Salvador Bachiller shop, resisting those leather bags, suitcases and vintage-style interior café with comfy chairs and sofas you'll walk past.
Go up to the roof of the building, and you'll be rewarded with this wonderful place. Colourful hydrangeas, vines, young trees, and plants with a rainbow of flowers welcome you to a tea room that looks out of a fairy tale. Alice of Wonderland fame herself would feel at home in this cosy space decorated with great taste and with the utmost care for details.
It's tough to choose where to sit among so many inviting wooden tables, wrought iron chairs, a charming table under the shade of a tree, and even a rocking chair. The menu is brought to you inside a birdhouse by a friendly server dressed like she just stepped out of an ad for air travel in the 1960s. You'll find hot and iced teas, smoothies, cocktails, breakfasts, snacks, light bites... the offering is simple but more than enough for the surroundings.
We fell in love with their vintage cups and teapots, the detail in the drinks decoration and even the curious ice that glowed from inside our mojitos. Even better, once we were drunk with delight, we realized that the prices are not bad at all, and so we ended up swearing eternal love to this idyllic garden.