The best specialty coffee in Madrid
What to order, where to go and the little things worth knowing.
- 01
Hola Coffee
The original Hola Coffee in Lavapiés: house-roasted beans, filter coffee and a compact room worth a stop.
OrderA flat white or café de filtro, with a croissant or cinnamon roll from the counter.
- 02
Toma Café
A Madrid specialty-coffee pioneer since 2011, still pulling shots in its small Malasaña café.
OrderA cortado or espresso, with tostada de aguacate y huevo pochado if you want breakfast.
- 03
HanSo Café
Family-run café with some of Madrid's best espresso and filter, plus Asian-leaning sweets.
OrderA flat white and the gofre de matcha.
- 04
Federal Café
Big, bright Aussie-style café on Plaza de las Comendadoras: laptops by the window, brunch all day.
OrderHuevos Benedict with smoked salmon and a flat white.
- 05
Misión Café
Specialty coffee and an in-house bakehouse on Calle de los Reyes, with proper breakfast plates.
OrderCafé de filtro and a tostada de ricotta with roasted tomatoes and pesto.
- 06
Dot Café Bar
Brioche bikinis and Nomad coffee give this little Chopera café a breakfast worth crossing the neighbourhood for.
OrderBikini clásico de jamón y queso, tostada de aguacate y huevo, and café con leche.
- 07
Bite Me Café
A vegan bakery in Legazpi for halos, their homemade doughnuts, and specialty coffee at merienda time.
OrderA halo de chocolate, a rollo de canela and a flat white with oat milk.
- 08
Merinas Bar y Ultramarinos
An old grocery reborn as the neighbourhood's meeting place, with Cádiz snacks and a very Valencian sandwich habit.
OrderBocadillo Merinas de sobrasada, cebolla y queso, mojama de Barbate and a vermú.
- 09
Maceta Café
Pradillo's small neighbourhood café pairs careful coffee with homemade cakes and unhurried chatter.
OrderCapuchino, tostada de masa madre con tomate and tarta de zanahoria.
- 10
Monkee Koffee
Proper coffee and generous sourdough toast make this an easy place to lose a slow morning in Vallehermoso.
OrderFlat white and tostada de mascarpone, pera, mermelada de melocotón y nueces.
- 11
Bucólico Café
Miso in the hollandaise and serious coffee make this Barbieri breakfast worth getting out of bed for.
OrderHuevos benedictinos con holandesa de miso rojo and latte de pistacho.
- 12
Alma Nomad Fábrica
Breakfast inside a working bakery, with skylights, serious croissants and plenty to watch beyond your coffee.
OrderCroissant de almendras, rollo de canela and café solo.
- 13
Frutas Prohibidas
Vegan brunch with runny plant eggs and mushroom bacon; the bakery does as much work as the kitchen.
OrderBenedict del Génesis, Sando Baconator and Cheesecake de Abel.
- 14
Sweet Studio
French pastry skills meet Japanese sweets in a café where matcha earns its place in the cake cabinet.
OrderMilhojas de crepes de matcha, cruasán de almendra and capuchino.
- 15
Siniestro Café
Carefully brewed coffee, photography books and good toast make this small café an easy place to lose an hour.
OrderCafé filtrado, tostada de salmón and bizcocho de zanahoria.
- 16
Black Ristretto
Specialty coffee with an Argentine sweet tooth: the alfajor makes sense beside a short ristretto.
OrderCafé ristretto and an alfajor; capuchino if you prefer milk.
- 17
Norah Coffee & Brunch
All-day brunch on Pardiñas, where eggs on brioche and elaborate coffees turn breakfast into lunch.
OrderIbérico Benedict, shakshuka and café cortado.
- 18
Cafelito
Spiced coffees, mismatched furniture and a book swap make this little café feel happily lived in.
OrderCafé La Sombra and magdalena espresso.
- 19
Pum Pum Café
Good coffee and poached eggs in a brick-walled café where brunch can easily end in cake.
OrderBenedict Pum Pum, bizcocho de limón and a cortado.
- 20
Nomade Café
Turkish eggs, halloumi toast and carefully made coffee turn this little café into a substantial breakfast stop.
OrderHuevos turcos, tostada de aguacate con halloumi y huevo, and a capuchino.
- 21
Bianchi Kiosko Caffè
A tiny coffee stop with a DJ’s ear for music and a house blend worth pausing your shopping for.
OrderCafé espresso with the house Caribbean Blend, or chai latte if you want something spiced.
- 22
La Bicicleta Café
A busy café for huevos benedict and specialty coffee, with space to settle in with your laptop.
OrderHuevos benedict con salmón, porridge and café con leche.
- 23
The Fix Specialty Coffee
A coffee roaster with brunch all day, handy when breakfast has somehow slipped into the afternoon.
OrderCafé con leche de avena and bizcocho de plátano y chocolate.
- 24
La Florida - Café Bistró
Good coffee and a sunny park-facing terrace make an ordinary Rosales breakfast feel like a small day off.
OrderFlat white and tostada de aguacate.
- 25
Hey My Coffee!
Specialty coffee on Tetuán with proper cake, useful when the Sol shopping circuit needs a pause.
OrderCafé con leche, bizcocho de zanahoria and tarta de almendra.
- 26
Alchemy
Specialty coffee near Plaza de Castilla, with huevos turcos that make breakfast quite happily run into lunch.
OrderHuevos turcos, bagel nórdico and a flat white.
- 27
Mina Specialty Coffee
Artichokes, burrata and pistachio turn the house toast into a proper reason to stop on Príncipe de Vergara.
OrderEspecial Mina, alfajor de pistacho and flat white.
- 28
Emka
Tigrillo, humita and coffee roasted in-house bring an Ecuadorian breakfast to this little Tetuán café.
OrderTigrillo, humita and café de filtro.
- 29
Doku Toku
Onigiris, strawberry shortcake and homemade yuzu soda make a fine double bill with the nearby cinemas.
OrderOnigiri de katsuobushi, tarta de fresas (shortcake) and soda de yuzu.
- 30
Oso Café
A little Peruvian coffee specialist where a cup and a bag of beans matter more than a breakfast spread.
OrderEspresso de Perú and capuchino.
- 31
Plenti
Baked eggs in little cazuelas are the point of this breakfast stop tucked behind the Prado.
OrderHuevos a la cazuela Crema, mollete de queso de cabra con mermelada de albaricoque and cortado.
- 32
Muá! Specialty Coffee & Brunch
A proper breakfast on Ronda de Segovia, with scrambled-egg toast, pistachio croissants and V60 on the menu.
OrderTostada de aguacate y revueltos del brunch, croissant de pistacho and café de filtro V60.
- 33
Bardo Café
An Argentine chipá, a brownie with dulce de leche and an armchair grand enough to have its own nickname.
OrderChipá con jamón a la plancha, brownie con dulce de leche and americano.
- 34
Acid Café
The original Acid café pairs bright filter coffee with the sort of cardamom bun that rearranges your breakfast plans.
OrderNudo de cardamomo and café de filtro.
- 35
Ambu Coffee
Ambu's first shop is a small Pez coffee stop where choosing the beans is half the pleasure of a flat white.
OrderRollo de canela and flat white.
- 36
Umami Specialty Coffee
Pistachio cheesecake and açaí bowls give this Alameda coffee stop two quite different answers to breakfast.
OrderTarta de queso de pistacho y chocolate blanco, bol de açaí and capuchino.
- 37
RUDA Café de Altura
A tiny Rastro-side coffee room where the carrot cake and carefully made coffee earn those few precious seats.
OrderTarta de zanahoria, pastitas Rudas de limón and capuchino.
- 38
Café del Art
Portuguese pastéis de nata meet reina pepiada toast at this Cascorro coffee stop with a very busy Sunday doorstep.
OrderTostada reina pepiada, pastel de nata and latte con canela.
- 39
Geisha
Geisha beans, filter coffee and cheesecake make this Callao stop worth knowing beyond its avocado toast.
OrderCafé de filtro, tostada de aguacate and tarta de queso.
- 40
Doble Uve Obrador
An obrador café where cardamom rolls and pistachio spirals make a morning off feel properly earned.
OrderRoll de cardamomo, roll de pistacho and café de especialidad.
- 41
Panadería Ciento Treinta Grados
Caramelised pastry, plenty of butter and their own coffee make this a very persuasive takeaway breakfast.
OrderKouign-amann, palmera de chocolate and café con leche.