Coffee in Madrid

It’s true, I’m a coffee snob. Coming from Melbourne this is pretty normal, but it can make travelling excruciating. You can get a straight-up café con leché pretty much anywhere, and sometimes the results will be surprisingly ok but often they are almost undrinkable (sorry, it’s true).

While Madrid’s coffee scene used to be a veritable wasteland, all that has changed post-pandemic. There seems to be a new ‘speciality’ coffee’ shop (ie.where you can get ‘Melbourne style espresso’) opening every other week. I’ve tried a bunch and some of my faves are below. (And the full list is on Google maps is here.)

My Favourite

Sood Coffee in Retiro looks like it has slipped into town via Fitzroy – and their coffee would absolutely stand up to the rigorous tastebuds of Melbourne’s inner north. My favourite coffee in Madrid and one I’ll find any excuse to add to an afternoon of errands. 

Other good options

• Get an Allpress fix at the Aussie-owned Federal cafes in Centro – one near Plaza Mayor and the other near Conde Duque.
• Ruda –  There are not heaps of places to sit down inside but it’s great for a takeaway. If you go on a Sunday, grab a coffee and wander down El Rastro.
• Bianchi Kiosko Caffé –  no bullshit hole-in-the-wall in the guts of Malasaña. A firm favourite when heading down Calle Fuencarral on a weekend arvo.
• Hola Coffee in Lavapies is excellent! 
• Feliz Coffee (Calle Lope de Vega) A great hole-in-the-wall style cafe with excellent coffee. This area of Cortes is full of tourist accomm and it’s hard to find a good coffee, so this place is a gem! Tell them you are from Melbourne… they love Melbourne people!
  They recently opened a second store around the corner on Calle de Ventura de la Vega, simply called Feliz. It’s got a few tables and incredible pastries to go with the fantastic coffee and lovely staff.
• **Update 2023** Faborit coffee is excellent. They seem to have a few places around but I tend to frequent the one on Alcalá next to the James Joyce.
• **Update 2024** Syra Coffee near Rios Rosas – we’ve been waiting for a good option in the north and here it is! Hipster vibe is dialled up to 11, but the coffee lives up to it so we’ll forgive them! It seems Syra is a chain that can be found throughout Spain now, so search for one in Valencia and Barcelona for an excellent caffeine hit. 

Sood Coffee, Retiro

Other good options

• Get an Allpress fix at the Aussie-owned Federal cafes in Centro – one near Plaza Mayor and the other near Conde Duque.
• Ruda –  There are not heaps of places to sit down inside but it’s great for a takeaway. If you go on a Sunday, grab a coffee and wander down El Rastro.
• Bianchi Kiosko Caffé –  no bullshit hole-in-the-wall in the guts of Malasaña. A firm favourite when heading down Calle Fuencarral on a weekend arvo.
• Hola Coffee in Lavapies is excellent! 
• Feliz Coffee (Calle Lope de Vega) A great hole-in-the-wall style cafe with excellent coffee. This area of Cortes is full of tourist accomm and it’s hard to find a good coffee, so this place is a gem! Tell them you are from Melbourne… they love Melbourne people!
  They recently opened a second store around the corner on Calle de Ventura de la Vega, simply called Feliz. It’s got a few tables and incredible pastries to go with the fantastic coffee and lovely staff.
• **Update 2023** Faborit coffee is excellent. They seem to have a few places around but I tend to frequent the one on Alcalá next to the James Joyce.
• **Update 2024** Syra Coffee near Rios Rosas – we’ve been waiting for a good option in the north and here it is! Hipster vibe is dialled up to 11, but the coffee lives up to it so we’ll forgive them! It seems Syra is a chain that can be found throughout Spain now, so search for one in Valencia and Barcelona for an excellent caffeine hit.