The tablaos are no longer what they were, at least, the newest. For better or worse. If you cannot compete with tradition, what path have you chosen? Vamos a visitar a los recién llegados.
El Rincón del Pepe: minimal so that only flamenco stands out
Opening a tablao in one of the cradles of flamenco has a lot of risk. But Jerez is treating well this modern tablao inaugurated in July of this year. Its offer in the part of the restaurant and brewery is based on elaborate cuisine of the area. They serve you your tapa with the drink, an unusual custom in Jerez and that Pepe, the owner, has “imported” from Jaén. But, above all, it offers good flamenco at a good price.
The owner of the tablao, Pepe, is a linaerense who has other businesses outside the hospitality field. He has kindly attended ALL FLAMENCO to tell us how the idea of this tablao was forged. “My father loved flamenco. I remember since I was little that Camarón, Farina or Caracol sounded in my house”. And he was stuck with that passion for this Andalusian art.
He could have set up the tablao in Linares, but Pepe loves Jerez, it’s like his home. His wife, Mari Carmen, gave him that push to decide to open El Rincón del Pepe.
Fachada de la imagen del Tablao Pepe en Jerez.
Silence, which begins the show
That childhood love is the secret of this tablao. First, because the price is very popular, it is not intended that the business makes anyone rich or that flamenco is inaccessible if you do not have 45 or 65 euros to live it. “The entrance to the show is 10 €. There is nothing similar in the flamenco tablaos of this city and I would say that it was not from here either. We do not force you to eat or eat. Therefore, restaurant and tablao are separated into two environments”.
Because – and here comes the second aspect – when the artists start the performance, access to the tablao is closed and silence is imposed. Only the touch and the singing break it. “We like flamenco to be the protagonist and there are no other noises. Of course, because we also believe that the work of artists deserves respect. Here you can enjoy flamenco, nothing else.” And nothing less, it should be added.
This place is designed for the national public. Pepe, that of focusing the tablaos on the foreign amateur because he pays better, displeases him. “I understand and share the reluctance that is generated seeing the panorama of tablaos. I have gone to many with the most unpleasant experiences. Both for the prices and for the low quality flamenco they offer. That’s why El Rincón de Pepe is different. Designed for and by art.” www.elrincondelpepe.es
El interior es minimalista y elegante, con imágenes de grandes del flamenco.
Isaac es el director artístico y el guitarrista principal.
Flamenco de Leones and “the most” in design
Este local de Madrid quiere recuperar la esencia de los cafés cantantes.
It is the exponent of flamenco tablaos that bet on the premium. Its owner is the same who is in charge of places that animate the area of the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid, such as the Ramsés restaurant, also very design in its kitchen and its premises. It was born in 2022 and is already a reference in the capital
It has several areas, even for private shows. The interior design is by the prestigious Jouin Manku studio. In the Andalusian decoration, large oil paintings by the Catalan artist Iván Floro stand out. The price, between 55 € and 130 €. www.flamencodeleones.es
Salón privado para vivir el flamenco.
One of the regular artists of his shows is Yoel Vargas, the dancer who has just won the Desplante prize at the Festival del Cante de las Minas. Here is his interview.
La gastronomía es uno de sus puntos promocionados.
Espectacular escalera en el tablao.
Louis Vouitton presentó su colección Flamencaba en Flamenco de los Leones
El Jaleo, the tablao of a new generation
Among the flamenco tablaos of Córdoba, La Bulería was a classic. When the founder died, the cantaor El Calli, he closed and said goodbye to his 35 years of life. ¿Or not? Lolo Plantón, his son, brother of José del Calli and Rafa del Calli, took the family experience in this type of business and opened, at the beginning of this 2023, El Jaleo.
The place is awesome. A three-story building with 750 square meters distributed between the space for the flamenco show and the restaurant with revised local cuisine. The façade has Arab motifs and, the location, the Jewish quarter. From 30 €. Web El Jaleo
Es un tablao con presencia de artistas de primera línea.
Cocina cordobesa y creaciones gastrofusión.
La Tablas: 20 years ahead
Founded in 2003 by the dancers Antonia Moya and Marisol Navarro, it is a tablao quite different in its interior design and artistic proposal. When he was born it was not common and there it is, at its best. His bet has always been the vanguard. The founders explain that “it is a personal way of understanding the flamenco show: careful, rigorous and avant-garde”.
It has one of the largest stages of its kind in Madrid, where it is located, close to Plaza España. From 30 €. www.lastablasmadrid.com
Las Tablas es un tablao moderno en el que también se expone arte.