The Ritz garden becomes a flamenco tablao again for one night

The show will begin at 22:00 and continue until close to midnight. Juan Andrés Maya, artistic director of La Carmela, will lead a performance that will use both a conventional stage and the historic staircase in the hotel garden.

The first event, held on 23 July before an audience of around 120 people, aroused enough interest for its organisers to decide to repeat the experience. Reservations for September are already open and once again offer two very different ways to experience the evening.

The most comprehensive option costs 200 euros per person and includes the show, a set-menu dinner and a pairing of five wines. For those who would prefer to come solely for the flamenco, there is a 50-euro ticket with access to a high table and a glass of Moët & Chandon.

Dinner begins with seasonal tomato and watermelon gazpacho before moving on to several dishes to share. These include acorn-fed Iberian ham, Russian salad with tuna belly, Josper-cooked white prawn and free-range chicken skewer with roasted pepper jus.

The main course will be charcoal-grilled Iberian pork shoulder accompanied by ash and mushrooms. The finish will be fresh melon and flan, in a proposal that seeks to bring to the plate the same balance between tradition and renewal offered by the flamenco show.

The location is another of the plan’s key features. Jardín del Ritz remains hidden behind the façade of the historic hotel in Plaza de la Lealtad, a few metres from the Museo del Prado and the Neptune Fountain, and normally serves as one of its outdoor dining spaces.

For a few hours, that atmosphere will change completely. The sound of guitars and dancing will fill a garden accustomed to dinners and drinks, turning a September night into one of those unusual plans in which Madrid combines the luxury of one of its historic hotels with one of its most recognisable cultural traditions.