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 Julio in Madrid's Malasana has fried the city's most-talked-about croquetas since 1921, with rotating fillings (jamon, boletus, espinacas con queso) and a queue that snakes onto Calle de la Madera.
Signature: Croquetas de jamon, Croquetas de boletus, Cana
Order: A docena (12 croquetas, mixed flavours) for 13 euros, plus a cana and a vermut at the bar.
Tip: Walk-in only; arrive before 13:00 or after 16:00 to skip the queue. Cash strongly preferred at the bar.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana has poured the yayo (vermut with gin and seltzer, served from height) since 1928. The 95-year-old taberna runs on cash, formica tables and standing-room only.
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 and the antique mosaic tile floor still original.
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 and a small daily-changing brunch carte.
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 plates and Korean toasts.
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 that anchor the Calle de Ruiz crawl.
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 and a daily-changing pasticceria from the Italian baker upstairs.
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 and the basement palm trees downstairs since 2009.
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, brunch counter and a Mahou tap on weekends.
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, croissants and a small daily-changing pastry counter.
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 to Central America and three cafe locations.
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
Misty Coffee in Madrid's Malasana is the specialty third-wave roastery and cafe since 2020, with house-roasted single-origin beans, a focused pour-over counter and bean-retail at the cafe.
Tip: The bag of Colombian or Ethiopian (15 to 18 euros) at the counter; pour-over filter (4.50 euros) is the headline brew.
Sources from: Colombia, Ethiopia, Honduras
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 and Korean toasts.
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, with the classic-drink canon and 80 reference rums.
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 since 2013. The cocktail carte uses only house infusions.
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.
The Passenger on Calle del Pez in Madrid's Malasana is the train-carriage-themed cocktail bar with a jazz programme, signature cocktails and a daily-changing curated music list since 2013.
Signature drink: Jazz Age cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in. The carriage-shaped room seats 30; live jazz Friday and Saturday. The Jazz Age cocktails run 11 to 13 euros.
Casa Camacho in Madrid's Malasana has poured the yayo (vermut with gin and seltzer, served from height) since 1928. The room runs on cash, formica tables and standing-room only, untouched since the 1960s.
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.
Casa Julio in Madrid's Malasana has fried the city's most-talked-about croquetas since 1921, with rotating fillings (jamon, boletus, espinacas con queso) and a counter that queues onto Calle de la Madera.
Try: Croquetas de jamon
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only; arrive before 13:00 or after 16:00 to skip the queue. Docena of croquetas runs 13 euros.
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 taproom around the small fermentation tanks.
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, ceviche, sushi, vermut and a top-floor cocktail terrace.
Tip: Open until 02:30 Thursday-Saturday. The terrace floor with the bar is the headline; walk-in only.
Madrid Cooking Academy in Malasana runs three-hour paella and tapas workshops in English and Spanish since 2015, with a small group format and hands-on prep at induction-fitted stations.
Tip: Bookings via website or Eventbrite. Classes daily 11:00 and 18:00. The paella class includes wine and the cooked meal.
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 and a complete cheap lunch under 9 euros at standing-room.
Try: Yayo cocktail and tortilla
Tip: Cash only. Closed Sundays. Walk-in only at the standing-room bar. Whole meal under 9 euros each.
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 upstairs and the palm-shaded basement downstairs.
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 and a flat-white-plus-avocado-toast Madrid morning.
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 and a focused weekend brunch carte.
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, brunch counter and a Mahou tap on weekends.
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.
Casa Julio in Madrid's Malasana fries the croquetas until 23:30 nightly, with the queue snaking onto Calle de la Madera through the late-night Malasana bar crawl until last orders.
Try: Croquetas de jamon
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only. The 22:30 to 23:30 slot is the second-busiest after the lunch queue.
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, cocktails and the rooftop bar that runs until last orders.
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 a post-bar-crawl Malasana crowd at 24:00.
Try: Yayo cocktail and tortilla
Tip: Cash only. Walk-in only. Closed Sundays. The yayo runs 3 euros; tortilla pincho 3.