Rockwell Group has completed the interiors for Keli, a new restaurant and cultural destination in Madrid‘s refined Salamanca district. Created for restaurateur Kike Sierra, the 224-seat venue occupies a three-storey building where food, art and hospitality come together inside a setting conceived as a welcoming home. The restaurant takes its name from the Spanish slang for ‘house’, with the familiar phrase vente a mi keli translating as ‘come to my house.’
Rather than designing a conventional restaurant, Rockwell Group imagined Keli as the home of a well-travelled collector, with each floor revealing another chapter of their life. Rich colours, bespoke furnishings and carefully curated artwork create a sequence of intimate spaces that encourage guests to wander between rooms, discovering something different at every turn. Throughout, the bold palette and graphic geometry take cues from the unmistakable world of Pedro Almodóvar’s films.
On the mezzanine, an original Versailles parquet floor has been carefully restored, while the open kitchen pairs blue and white geometric tiling with communal dining tables beneath a striking oversized yellow light fitting. Nearby, the library bar offers a relaxed retreat lined with bookshelves, artwork and patterned furnishings, its custom chandeliers inspired by Madrid’s historic street lamps.
The second floor shifts into a richer, more intimate atmosphere. Red-painted timber walls, golden drapery and black-and-white marble flooring frame informal dining spaces and a wraparound banquette featuring portraits of celebrated Spanish figures. An adjoining wine cellar, clad entirely in cork with burgundy seating and black lacquered tables, provides one of the restaurant’s most distinctive rooms.
Downstairs, the mood changes again. Hidden behind a secret door, a games room wrapped in red velvet sits alongside a darker music room finished in warm timber, where records, photography and stainless steel lighting celebrate Madrid’s nightlife and creative spirit.
Art forms an essential part of Keli’s identity. Commissions and works by artists including Miguel Caravaca, Javier de Juan, Luis Úrculo, Coco Dávez and Maggie Cowles appear throughout the restaurant, alongside photography from Sonic Editions, creating an experience that evolves from room to room.
By combining residential comfort with an ambitious art programme and distinctly Madrileño character, Rockwell Group has created a destination that feels personal, expressive and unmistakably rooted in the city it calls home.
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Keli Restaurante Madrid Photography, Ed Reeve.