Hola Coffee on Calle Doctor Fourquet in Madrid's Lavapies is the specialty roaster-and-cafe since 2017, with beans roasted in the back, single-origin filter and the city's strongest pour-over carte.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat 09:00-19:00, Sunday 10:00-17:00. The bag of single-origin beans (12 to 18 euros) goes home with regulars.
Address: Calle Doctor Fourquet 33, 28012 Madrid
Misty Coffee in Madrid's Malasana is the specialty third-wave room with a focused pour-over carte, in-house pastries and a clean concrete dining room with bench seating along the window.
Signature drink: Pour-over filter
Tip: Open daily 09:00-19:00. The pour-over filter (4.50 euros) is the staff's first recommendation; cappuccino is 3.50.
Federal Cafe on Plaza de las Comendadoras in Madrid's Conde Duque is the Australian-style all-day brunch room since 2014, with avocado toast, smashed-egg plates and a focused specialty coffee bar.
Signature drink: Flat white
Tip: Open daily 09:00-22:00. The weekend brunch (15 to 22 euros) fills up by 11:30; walk-in only, no reservations.
Cafe Comercial on Glorieta de Bilbao in Madrid is the 1887-founded grand cafe, restored in 2017 by the El Comidista team. The Madrid literary scene drank cafe con leche here for over a century.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
Tip: Open daily 08:00-24:00. The breakfast set (cafe con leche, tostada, OJ) runs 6.50 euros; cocido madrileno on Wednesdays.
Cafe de Oriente on Plaza de Oriente in Madrid faces the Palacio Real, with the chocolate con churros tradition, a fin-de-siecle dining room and a terrace looking at the Royal Palace.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
Tip: Open daily 09:30-24:00. The terrace (12 tables) faces the palace; the inside is wood-panelled and full of red velvet.
Cafe Gijon on Paseo de Recoletos in Madrid is the 1888-founded literary cafe that hosted the post-civil-war tertulia (literary discussion circle) of Cela, Hemingway and Lorca during their Madrid years.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
Tip: Open daily 07:30-01:30. The breakfast set runs 6 euros; the terrace under the trees is the seat to book in summer.
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.
