Tom's Bar (Closed Permanently)

A mostly popular after-hours backroom-boosted bar, Tom's originally opened in April 1982 on a site previously occupied by a diner, is the place that every tourist has heard of, though the space is unrecognisable from its clone-era days of leather manliness inspired by master erotic draughtsman Touko Laaksonen (1920–91), better known as Tom of Finland. Things started to change under new ownership from 1993, resulting in the DJ-led atmosphere we have today. For the record, the original Tom's proprietor also owned neighbouring disco Pool, now home of sex cinema the JAXX [see entry], which is linked to the current Tom's and its upstairs similarly named hotel [see entry]. Rumour has it that there was a switch in ownership in 2017, with Tom's now also linked to local café Romeo & Romeo [see entry]. Note atypical German usage of apostrophe in the name, with a view to the international gay market (in contrast to the unrelated Toms Saloon in Hamburg). Monday nights are especailly buzzy, down to the 2for1 drinks deal. And the basement is very dark. Website devotes more attention to design than to helpful information. Taglines: "For successful cruising" and "Never a cover. Always a groove." Sadly the Spanish-run bar closed in February 2024, replaced by Barcelona/Madrid enterprise Boyberry on 22 March 2024. Also gone are Tom's Hotel, Tom's Apartment and the Gay Hostel – all part of the Tom's domain.