Café Gijon opened its doors in May of eighteen eighty-eight, founded by Gumersindo Garcia, an Asturian immigrant who returned to Spain after building a fortune in Cuba. He named the establishment after his hometown in northern Spain, choosing a location on the Paseo de Recoletos that was then considered outside the city's main social hub. This relative isolation drew a distinct crowd of thinkers and artists who sought a quieter space for the tradition of the tertulia, or structured social gathering. Over the decades, these marble-topped tables became the unofficial headquarters for Spain's most influential writers, poets, and scientists. Notable figures ranging from the Nobel Prize-winning doctor Santiago Ramón y Cajal to the surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel held court here, debating the issues of the day well into the night.
Café Gijón
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