Jorge Llovet, the pharaoh of the Puerta de Alcalá

When he studied marketing he started organizing college parties.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
26 March 2023 Sunday 21:48
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Jorge Llovet, the pharaoh of the Puerta de Alcalá

When he studied marketing he started organizing college parties. "New Year's Eve was a very active market and that's when I began to realize that I really liked organizing events for people to have a good time," recalls businessman Jorge Llovet. Then he connected with the Bar Independencia, from Puerta de Alcalá, which was going through a delicate situation and entered as a partner.

He learned the hospitality business thoroughly. He macerated his vocation of service. “Thanks to that the bar came to life and I ended up buying it.” That was 28 years ago, and Jorge Llovet, born in Madrid with a Catalan grandmother and aunts, was only 23. His vision of nightlife grew, and he fell in love with Puerta de Alcalá, for years silent. “It is the place where I have dreamed, grown up, where I have suffered… And it is also the symbol of the city, from the historical and architectural point of view. The equivalent of the Eiffel Tower, right?

Llovet acquired the second property to create Ramsés, which is now celebrating its 15th anniversary. “We convinced Philippe Starck to run the space and we named him Ramses because that's my middle name. My father really liked Mesopotamian cultures and... you see. I am Jorge Ramsés and my brother is Alejandro Solimán. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why I travel so much.

For this project I made many trips that gave me vibrant inspirations. It was 2007 and you had to be more cosmopolitan, right? Barcelona already had many interesting things, but not so much here. That is why we bet so much on Ramses ”. "Fifteen years later, the project continues because we have been adapting it to the times," says Llovet. Today, the Ramses District includes The Kave cocktail bar, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, Flamenco de los Leones and Lady Bongo, a tiki-raw Bar, as synonyms of quality leisure. Spaces redesigned by the Parisian studio Jouin Mank.

“Flamenco de Leones is conceived as a neocañí tavern, with a special design: handmade tiles and a sculpture from Plaza de las Ventas… Upstairs we have a flamenco tablao, which is an authentic ode to Andalusia with a French touch, which is seen in the velvet of the curtains, in the sconces… and coexists harmoniously with the Andalusian culture”. Experiences for eight diners where art, palate and music come together in dance, pairings and cosmopolitan exoticism.

“We are lifestyle restaurants. All this stems from working with Philippe Starck and now with the new Patrick Jouin, a great interior designer. Many artists have passed through here: Sergio Mora, Iván Floro... It enriches us and adds distinction to the experience: a lunch or dinner with design, hallmarks, good service, music and good decoration, and now we are going to open a small hotel of eight rooms, with a clear Spanish touch. We keep growing".