Coffee in Madrid

It’s true, I’m a coffee snob. Coming from Melbourne this is pretty normal, but it does 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).

My tried and tested list of ‘speciality’ coffee (ie. ‘Melbourne style espresso’) is below. (the full list in google maps is here.)

• Get an Allpress fix at the Aussie-owned Federal cafes in Centro – one near Plaza Mayor and the other near Conde Duque.
• Ruda – my sentimental favourite. The first excellent coffee I had two weeks after moving to Madrid! 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.
• 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!
  **Update July 2022 – Feliz is now my favourite coffee in Madrid and they have 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 house has arrived in Madrid. Looks like it could be straight out of Collingwood and with prices to match…. BUT… the coffee is excellent. The seem to have a few places around but I tend to frequent the one on Alcalá next to the James Joyce. 
• Sood Coffee in Retiro also look like they slipped into town via Johnston St Fitzroy – but their coffee would absolutely stand up to the rigorous tastebuds of Melbourne’s inner north.
• **Upate 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!