Vermouth on a Sunday is the single most Spanish way to spend the middle of the day. It is cheap, it is public, it is short, and it is the fastest way to see how comfortable someone is doing absolutely nothing at all. Whether or not a person can sit quietly with you for ninety minutes on a terrace on a Sunday tells you almost everything you need to know before date three.
In Madrid, the classics are Bodegas Rosell, Casa Camacho and La Ardosa in Malasaña, plus Bodega de la Ardosa in Chamberí. In Barcelona, Quimet & Quimet in Sant Antoni is essential, alongside Bodega Quimet, La Puntual in the Born and Bar del Pla for the more design-conscious crowd. In Valencia, Café Madrid and La Pilareta have been serving the same crowd since well before your grandparents were born. In Málaga, Casa Lola and Antigua Casa de Guardia hold the ritual together.
The order is almost always the same: a vermut de grifo (on tap) served with an olive, an anchovy skewer, a small plate of crisps, and — if the bar is generous — a slice of orange on the rim. Talk. Don't check your phone. Order a second one only if the conversation is flowing. This is the whole point.
Suggested pairing: a museum visit at 11:00, vermut at 13:00, then a slow walk home in time for a very late Sunday lunch. Do this once with someone new and you will know exactly whether it is worth planning a fourth date.
"The lowest-pressure, most-Spanish date ritual there is. City by city."
Written by the Best Dating Spain editorial team and reviewed before publication by a relationship coach based in Madrid. We test every app ourselves and never accept sponsored placements.