La Latina on Sunday at 1pm is a thing. It has a name — la hora del vermut — and it is where the city slows down to a very specific, very loud, very crowded rhythm.

The vermut hour goes from 12:30 to 3pm. After that, everyone goes to lunch. Nobody eats cleanly before 3. This is the warm-up.

The crawl, in order

1. Casa Lucas

Calle de Cava Baja, 30. Start here with a vermut rojo from the tap and an anchovy on toast. Cava Baja is the spine of the crawl.

2. Casa Lucio

Cava Baja, 35. Old-school, wood-paneled, the huevos estrellados are famous. Order one plate to share. Don’t order a second round of drinks here — keep moving.

3. Txirimiri

Basque pintxos on a La Latina corner. Pick two pintxos, a txakoli, eat it at the counter. Loud, packed, perfect.

4. Juana la Loca

Plaza Puerta de Moros. The tortilla de patata with caramelized onion is the dish of the neighborhood. Cult following. You will wait. It’s worth it.

5. El Viajero

Plaza de la Cebada. Three floors. The ground floor is the crawl stop; the upper floors are for lunch if you commit.

What to order

• Vermut de grifo (on tap) — never bottled. Served with an olive, sometimes an orange slice, splash of soda if you ask.
• Banderilla — a toothpick with pickled things — anchovy, olive, guindilla pepper. Two or three per round.
• Caña — small beer, for variety between vermuts.

The rules

Don’t sit down. Stand at the bar, or at a barrel outside. One drink per bar. Move on. Pay in cash. Nobody’s on a phone — this is why la hora del vermut still works.

After

Lunch at 3pm at Casa Lucio, Taberna de Antonio Sánchez, or Posada de la Villa. Then a nap. Then you don’t eat again until Tuesday.