The 1980s movida-born bohemian quarter around Plaza del Dos de Mayo, now anchoring third-wave coffee, natural-wine bars and the new Madrid bistro wave.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana has poured the yayo (vermut with gin and seltzer, served from height) since 1928. Kitchen leans madrileno taberna.
Signature: Yayo (vermut cocktail), Boquerones, Tortilla
Order: A yayo cocktail (3 euros) at the bar, boquerones en vinagre and a tortilla pincho. Round of cana.
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only. Closed Sundays. The bar is tiny; arrive before 13:30 or after 21:30 to find space.
Bodega de la Ardosa in Madrid's Malasana has poured the vermut de grifo since 1892 from the 30-foot zinc bar, with salmorejo, tortilla de patatas.
Signature: Salmorejo, Tortilla de patatas, Vermut
Order: Vermut de grifo (2.50 euros), a slice of tortilla de patatas, salmorejo. Crawl in via the back door.
Tip: Walk-in only; the back room takes 8 people max. The historic main bar fills up at 13:00; cash preferred.
Toma Cafe on Calle de la Palma in Madrid's Malasana is the city's first specialty third-wave room since 2011, with single-origin beans roasted in-house.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Open Mon-Fri 08:00-19:00, weekends 09:00-19:00. The weekend brunch (12 to 16 euros) fills up by 11:00.
HanSo Cafe in Madrid's Malasana is the Korean-Spanish specialty room since 2015, with matcha lattes, single-origin filter coffees and a small carte of brunch.
Signature drink: Matcha latte
Tip: Open Tue-Sun 09:30-20:00; closed Monday. The matcha latte (4.50 euros) and the avocado toast are the morning headlines.
Cafe de Ruiz in Madrid's Malasana is the wood-panelled neighbourhood cafe since 1981, with the cake counter, daily-changing brunch and the marble tables.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
Tip: Open Mon-Sat 09:00-22:00. The weekend brunch (12 to 16 euros) runs from 11:00; walk-in only, no reservations.
Bianchi Kiosko Caffe in Madrid's Malasana is the Italian-Spanish corner cafe pouring proper Bianchi-roasted espresso, with a four-stool counter.
Signature drink: Cappuccino
Tip: Open Tue-Sun 09:00-20:00; closed Monday. The cornetto with espresso runs 3.50 euros; standing room at the counter.
Ojala in Madrid's Malasana is the daytime cafe and evening cocktail bar with the famous beach-sand basement (Ojala Beach), serving brunch upstairs.
Signature drink: Brunch coffee
Tip: Open daily 09:30-24:00. The basement Ojala Beach with sand floor is the room locals send first-time visitors to see.
La Bicicleta Cafe on Plaza de San Ildefonso in Madrid's Malasana is the laptop-and-flat-white coworking cafe since 2009, with a sofa-strewn back room.
Signature drink: Flat white
Tip: Open daily 09:00-24:00. The back-room sofas are the laptop seats; the front terrace is for the social crowd.
Panic on Calle Conde Duque in Madrid's Malasana is the city's reference sourdough bakery since 2015 by chef Javier Marca, with 24-hour fermented breads.
Tip: Open Tue-Sun; closed Monday. Whole loaves (4 to 9 euros) sell out by 13:00; arrive early or order ahead by phone.
Worth the queue: Pan de masa madre
Toma Cafe Roasters in Madrid's Malasana is the city's pioneer specialty roastery since 2011, with a 12kg Probat roaster, single-origin beans from East Africa.
Tip: Bag of single-origin beans (12 to 18 euros) and the in-house brewed pour-over (4 euros) are the counter-side bestsellers.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
HanSo Cafe Roasters in Madrid's Malasana is the Korean-Spanish specialty roastery and cafe since 2015, with house-roasted beans, a focused matcha counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The bag of single-origin Ethiopian (14 euros) at the counter; matcha latte (4.50 euros) is the headline.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
1862 Dry Bar on Calle del Pez in Madrid's Malasana is the speakeasy-style cocktail room since 2014, named for Jerry Thomas's 1862 bartender's guide.
Signature drink: Classic Sazerac and Daiquiri
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in but the room is small (35 seats). Closed Sundays. The classic Sazerac (14 euros) is the headline order.
Macera Taller Bar in Madrid's Malasana infuses its own gins, vodkas and rums in glass jars at the back of the bar, with rotating fruits, herbs and roots.
Signature drink: House-infused spirits cocktails
Food: Snacks, tapas
Tip: Walk-in only. The cocktails (10 to 14 euros) are the headlines; the infused-spirit bottles sell to take home.
Medium Club on Calle del Pez in Madrid's Malasana is the esoteric-themed cocktail bar with a tarot-and-occult interior, signature cocktails built on pisco.
Signature drink: Pisco-based signature cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in. Signature cocktails run 10 to 13 euros; the back room takes reservations for the listening sessions.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana has poured the yayo (vermut with gin and seltzer, served from height) since 1928. Order the yayo (vermut, gin, sifon).
Signature drink: Yayo (vermut, gin, sifon)
Food: Bocadillos, tortilla
Tip: Cash only. Closed Sundays. The yayo is 3 euros, the boquerones 3, the bocadillo de calamares 4.50; nothing else on offer.
Fabrica Maravillas in Madrid's Malasana is the microbrewery that brews on-site since 2012, with 12 house taps, a hop-forward style and a clean industrial.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Walk-in. Tasting flight of 4 (10 euros) is the headline; the Malasana Pale Ale is the signature.
Mercado de San Ildefonso on Calle Fuencarral in Madrid's Malasana is the three-floor street-food market since 2014, with 18 counters across hamburgers.
Tip: Open until 02:30 Thursday-Saturday. The terrace floor with the bar is the headline; walk-in only.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana has run the 1928 working-class taberna since its founding, with yayo cocktails for 3 euros, tortilla pincho 3.
Try: Yayo cocktail and tortilla
Tip: Cash only. Closed Sundays. Walk-in only at the standing-room bar.
Ojala in Madrid's Malasana is the daytime brunch and evening cocktail bar with the basement Ojala Beach (sand floor and palm trees), serving brunch plates.
Order: Avocado toast with poached egg and pulled jamon
Tip: Walk-in only; the basement Ojala Beach with sand floor is the seat to ask for. The smashed-avocado plate runs 14 euros.
Toma Cafe in Madrid's Malasana is the city's pioneer specialty third-wave room since 2011, with house-roasted single-origin coffees, a focused brunch carte.
Order: Smashed avocado on house sourdough toast
Tip: Walk-in only; the weekend brunch fills up by 11:00. Flat white runs 3.50; brunch sets 12 to 16 euros.
HanSo Cafe in Madrid's Malasana is the Korean-Spanish specialty third-wave brunch room since 2015, with matcha lattes, Korean-toasted-egg plates.
Order: Korean egg toast with matcha latte
Tip: Closed Mondays. Walk-in only; the weekend brunch fills up by 11:00. Korean-egg toast plus matcha runs 14 euros.
La Bicicleta Cafe on Plaza de San Ildefonso in Madrid is the laptop-and-flat-white coworking brunch room since 2009, with a sofa-strewn back room.
Order: Smashed avocado on toast with poached eggs
Tip: Walk-in only. The back-room sofas are the laptop seats; the front terrace is for the social-brunch crowd.
Mercado de San Ildefonso on Calle Fuencarral in Madrid's Malasana stays open until 02:30 on Thursday to Saturday, with 18 counters of street food.
Try: Street food counter mix
Tip: Walk-in. The terrace floor with the bar is the headline late-night zone; cocktails 8 to 12 euros.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana pours the yayo (vermut with gin and seltzer) until 01:30 nightly except Sundays; the 1928 working-class taberna still gets.
Try: Yayo cocktail and tortilla
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only. Closed Sundays. The yayo runs 3 euros; tortilla pincho 3.
Teatro Barceló sits on Calle de Barceló in Madrid near Tribunal, in the former Barceló theatre that ran as Pacha during the 1980s movida, programming house, dance, R&B and Latin across three floors.
Tip: Doors at 00:00 most nights; the Barceló Mondays indie session and Aquellos Anos Locos throwback nights are the long-running fixtures. Tribunal L1 L10 is two blocks.
Mondo Disko has been the techno and house residency inside the Sala But complex on Calle de Barceló in Tribunal since 1999, booking international electronic DJs every Thursday and Saturday night.
Tip: Open Thursday, Saturday and holiday eves from 00:00; arrive after 02:00 for the peak set. Same building as Teatro Barceló; check the door which session is running.
1862 Dry Bar on Calle del Pez in Malasana is the speakeasy-style cocktail room named for the year Jerry Thomas published the first cocktail book, with a backlit basement liquor cage and a focused craft list.
Tip: Open daily from 16:00 with a 15:00 weekend open; the basement is the seat to ask for. The Cantaloupe Gibson with pisco and manzanilla is the house signature.
Macera Taller Bar on Calle de San Mateo opened in 2015 as the Malasana craft-cocktail room built on house-macerated spirits, with everything from pineapple rum to wasabi vodka infused in-house.
Tip: Open every day from 18:00 with a 17:00 weekend open; closing 03:30 Friday and Saturday. The macerated-spirit flights are the way to taste the programme.
Bodega de la Ardosa on Calle de Colon in Malasana has run since 1892 as the standing-room tile-fronted taberna for vermut on tap and beer pulled with practiced hand, with croquetas, tortilla de patatas and gildas at the bar.
Tip: Standing room only at the bar; squeeze in for the famous tortilla de patatas and a vermut. Open daily from 09:00; closing 02:00 every night.
Casa Camacho on Calle de San Andres in Malasana since the 1920s pours the yayos, the house mix of soda, vermouth and gin, with affordable tapas of patatas bravas, marinated tuna and Madrid-style tripe.
Tip: The yayos is the order; tapas plates from 3 euros. Open Mon to Sat 12:30-02:00; closed Sunday. Cash bar is faster than the till.
Lolina Vintage Cafe on Calle del Espiritu Santo in Malasana mimics a 1950s to 1970s living room with patterned wallpaper, vintage lamps and escay furniture, serving brunch by day and 60s-music parties by night.
Tip: Brunch served daily; Thursday to Saturday the downstairs lounge runs 60s music parties. Walk-in, the room is small at peak.
Tupperware on Corredera Alta de San Pablo in Malasana is the throwback cocktail bar with 1980s decor and a Mauro Entrialgo back-wall mural of the Malasana indie and rock scene, the canon Malasana late-night.
Tip: Two floors with seating upstairs; the room peaks 01:00-03:00 weekends. The mural and the kitschy decor are the photo seats.
El Pez Gato on Calle del Pez in Malasana is the live-music bar near San Bernardo programming concerts, cultural events and karaoke in the heart of the Malasana late-night strip.
Tip: Concerts most weekend nights; karaoke session midweek. Tribunal L1 L10 or Noviciado L2 are the nearest metros; the room is small, arrive early for the gig.