In Madrid’s elegant Chamberí neighbourhood, Càlido is rethinking the neighbourhood café. Dreamed up by digital entrepreneur and Paris-trained pastry maker Mariale Briceño, the all-day spot is her first foray into the physical world; a space where design, hospitality and great coffee collide.
Aided by gastronomic consultants Ansón y Bonet, Briceño has created a setting where community comes together to connect, get inspired, and express itself. Furniture is crafted entirely from five sheets of recycled plastic and a single slab of terrazzo made from wood residue, delivering a palette that’s bright, minimal and unmistakably modern. Industrial steel surfaces and soft limewash finishes round out the space, giving it clarity without clinical coldness.
At the heart of the café, designed by Carlota Gallo, an L-shaped bar in marbled recycled plastic draws a bold line through the room. It separates the kitchen from service, allowing guests to watch as sandwiches, salads and French-style pastries are plated to order. High stools around the bar offer the best view of the action, while smaller side counters provide a more transient resting spot.
Outside, a slim bench hugs the façade, offering a place to sit and watch Chamberí move on by. A reversible bar connects the interior with the street, acting as both threshold and an invitation to check out the goods on offer. Inside, light bounces off the stainless steel and polished surfaces, reinforcing a sense of openness and space.
Càlido may be small, but as the saying goes “good things come in small packages.” There’s no Wi-Fi password scrawled on a blackboard, no playlist churning out Coldplay in the background, just good coffee, made with care, in a setting where the day-to-day life of the neighbourhood continues in and around it.
Càlido Madrid Photography, David Zarzoso.
