Martha becomes more music-minded the farther you walk into it. Past the restored wooden bar and main dining room, Al Fondo drops the light, wraps the space in heavy curtains and puts a vinyl booth at one end. New Fidelity designed the installation around its Reference 12 speakers, with a Varia Instruments mixer in the booth.
Al Fondo has low tables, brown armchairs and a long communal table, so this is still a working restaurant rather than a row of seats facing an altar. The curtains soften the room and give the system some separation from the clatter at the front. You can eat or order a cocktail while the records turn; conversation remains part of the arrangement.
The programming gives the equipment a reason to be there. Miércoles del Álbum sessions play five records in full, while guest selectors are free to move across styles on other nights. Martha suits listeners who prefer their hi-fi with the loose social pace of a Madrid taberna. Head for Al Fondo, where the music has the room built for it.