Átame Review

When you google “Átame”, you’ll find lots of results for Pedro Almodovar’s film “¡Átame!”, a dark romance. ‘Dark romance’ is an appropriate genre for a film with this name. It means “tie me up”! Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no bondage at Átame bar. It does, however, have a certain edge to it, setting it apart from other great gay bars (all in our Barcelona Gay Escape) in Barcelona.

While Átame is a very friendly, open and non-judgmental place to step into, it offers you a slightly different fun. You could actually say it is a ‘dark romance’, as it is literally darker than most other gay bars. It makes you feel a little more anonymous, who knows, maybe a different side to you will come out?

You’ll often see friendly guys smoking outside, trying to usher you in. They sometimes have free shots or glasses of champagne (and more if you get our Barcelona Gay Escape). When you enter, there’s a bar straight ahead of you with lots of places to sit and, behind, is the dance floor and stage area (and also the way to the toilet!). This layout is a subtle example of the warm and welcoming environment here.

They often have drag acts performing either comedy or singing. They’re very high quality as well. Patrick, one of the “transformistas” (drag acts), is famous in the scene and has been recognised with various awards. They perform every week on Thursday from 01:30 and Friday from 02:00.

During their performance, if someone needs to use the bathroom, they’ll have to walk straight past the performer. Be warned: on a comedy night, you may well become the subject of a joke or two so hurry past if you’d rather not. It’s always in good taste though and there’s a feeling of everybody being on the same side. No pasa nada (no worries)!

As Átame is such a popular bar, it is able to stay open 7 days a week. It’s open everyday from 20:30 to 3:00, apart from Tuesdays when it opens at 19:30 for happy hour (where you can get 2 for 1 until 22:30)! Clubs in Barcelona open at around 02:00 usually so you can easily transition from Átame to your club of choice, without having to wait outside in the cold.

The easiest way to get here is by metro. The closest metro station is Universitat but it’s a short walk from the center and right in the middle of the gay action in Eixample with two other famous bars (included in our Barcelona Gay Escape) a stone’s throw away!