Some places are born from a very clear idea; others begin with a feeling. La Bitácora began the second way: from the wish to bring back that simple way of gathering around a table, ordering something tasty and letting the conversation do the rest.
Behind it were memories of lively bars, unhurried after-meals and people who could make you feel welcome from the doorway. There was curiosity too. Because the more you get to know vermouth, the more paths it opens: every bottle has its own character, its place of origin and its own way of accompanying the aperitivo.
For a while, that curiosity grew between get-togethers, recommendations and plenty of vermuts tasted. We learned by listening to those who knew, but also by watching those who arrived with a very common phrase: "I don't know anything about vermouth". Far from being a problem, that phrase ended up becoming the best starting point. All it takes is knowing whether you fancy something sweet, dry, smooth or bitter. The rest you discover little by little.
When the chance came to open our own place in Tres Cantos, the purpose was clear: to create a welcoming spot, free of fuss, where anyone could walk in and find their place. A corner to share a bottle, try a gilda, open a good tin of conservas or stretch the aperitivo a little longer than planned.
The name arrived the way fitting words do. A bitácora — a logbook — keeps routes, findings and small stories from the journey. That is what happens here too. Every vermouth carries a landscape and a tradition with it; every person who walks through the door adds something new: a preference, a recommendation, a conversation that stays with you.
The menu brings together familiar flavours and others less common, but it does not set out to teach anyone. The idea is to accompany you, ask and recommend naturally. Sometimes someone finds exactly what they were looking for. Other times they discover something they would never have ordered on their own. Both have their charm.
La Bitácora del Vermut wants to be, above all, a neighbourhood place. The kind you return to because you felt at home. There is room for couples, families, groups of friends and anyone dropping in to sit a while with their dog. No special occasion needed.
Here the story does not belong to one name. It is written by many people, glass by glass, unhurried, around the table.