Coffee in the morning is a ritual, but going out for breakfast in Madrid is a pleasure and sometimes a whim that becomes necessary when you start to replace the late night by getting up early to meet.
In Madrid there is a wide variety of cafes that are defined by those details that make them unique. The traditional ones in the neighborhood where they know your name and you have a “lo de siempre”, those that stand out for their specialty coffee and artisanal products or those that conquer you first by the eyes for its decoration and its elaborate presentations: all of them are part of the places in Madrid where breakfast is synonymous with starting the day on the right foot.
1. Tragabuches
Among Dani García’s list of restaurants, Tragabuches is the one to go to for breakfast, especially if you want to do it Andalusian style. Molletes de jamón serrano or carne mechada, pringá, the best olive oil and a good coffee.
This restaurant is a classic in Malaga, it has been open for 25 years. At the beginning of 2024 Dani García brought it to Madrid’s Salamanca neighborhood and it is a return to its Andalusian origins.
📍Location: Calle de José Ortega y Gasset, 40 (Salamanca neighborhood).
Price: €€€€€
2. Café del Art
If you are passionate about coffee, this café in La Latina is the place for you. In its drinks menu you will find a wide variety of natural coffees, some of them elaborated by unconventional methods such as drip or Japanese immersion, as well as infusions, vegetable drinks or kombucha.
As an accompaniment, you can try their desserts (many of them of Portuguese origin, such as cream cake), sweet or savory croissants and toast. If you find it hard to decide, we recommend trying the Reina Pepiada toast, made from avocado cream with a mixture of chicken, onion, coriander and mayonnaise, black salt flakes and paprika de la Vera. One of the essential places to have breakfast in Madrid on any Rastro Sunday.
📍Location: Plaza de Cascorro, 9 (La Latina)
Price: €€€€€
3. Pavlov’s Dog
Without leaving La Latina is this small and cozy place, which is as close as you can get to meeting friends in the living room at home. But let the morning pass between an offer of lattes and teas, specialty espresso coffee, sourdough pastries or vegan and vegetarian options that we could hardly find in our pantry.
That is one of the merits of this oasis of tranquility: to make you feel at home. You can visit any day from Tuesday to Sunday and, in addition, you can enjoy the temporary exhibitions of local artists that it hosts.
📍Location:costanilla de San Pedro, 5 (La Latina)
Price: €€€€€
4. Churrería Chocolatería La Encarnita Chocolateria
It is hard to talk about a place like La Encarnita without appealing to a memory that, if not universal, is at least shared by many: that of the cold Sunday mornings of childhood when the laziness of the early morning lasted until the moment you crossed the threshold of the door and the promise of a warm breakfast fit in a brown paper bag and a jar of chocolate to go.
This family business, one of the mythical ones in the neighborhood, continues to make churros, porras and hot chocolate with the same dedication as when it opened and with the treatment of those who know that, before being customers, their customers are neighbors.
📍 Location:Meléndez Valdés street, 45 (Chamberí)
Price: €€€€€
5. Forbidden Fruits
A vegan option for breakfast in Madrid that has it all: it is beautiful and bright, works with local and organic products and serves spectacular breakfasts and brunches, both in taste and presentation. There is specialty coffee (roasted there), juices, smoothies, kombucha, lemonades …. And their wide variety of side dishes will make you come back to try them all.
Especially recommended are their vegan eggs benedict, which are their star dish for a reason: they are made with oats, virgin olive oil and seaweed, and are served on a toast of multigrain sourdough bread and a bed of smashed avocado napped in “forbidden” sauce.
📍Location: calle de Conde Duque, 26 (Conde Duque)
Price: €€€€€
6. Bread and pickles
Marta de Miguel, one of the owners, defines Escorial, the street where Pan y Pepinillos is located, as a village. And the synergies she creates with the local residents invite you to think the same. Part of the pastries are made by La Creueta, while the bread and croissants are brought from Santos Bakehouse, a bakery opened in Malasaña that was successful from the beginning. To this is added a specialty coffee that is blessed glory.
📍Location: Calle el Escorial, 2 (Malasaña)
Price: €€€€€
7. Acid Bakehouse
Acid, like many things that succeed in this life, started out as one thing to become another. First, in 2017 he opened Acid Café, a specialty coffee shop that continues to provide service to the religionists who frequent 9 Veronica Street. And then it opened the coffee shop and bakery to which we refer and which is in Antón Martín. They can boast of having one of the best breads in Madrid and many other delicacies sold on site and made in the workshop that houses the cafeteria itself.
📍Location: Calle de la Magdalena, 27 (Lavapiés) and Calle Verónica, 9 (Las Letras).
Price: €€€€€
8. HanSo Café
There is no other place in Madrid where you can have breakfast like HanSo Café. To get this sentence across: there is no other place where you can have an avocado toast with Dukkah (Egyptian spice mix) or their kimchi and bacon sandwich. Besides that, of course, they have other traditional breakfast classics and lunch options.
📍Location: Calle Pez, 20 (Malasaña), corredera Baja de San Pablo, 51 (Malasaña) and costanilla de los Ángeles, 7 (Ópera).
Price: €€€€€
9. Coco Mocca
Its aesthetic, characterized by flowers and pink, has turned this corner of the Arganzuela neighborhood into one of the most Instagrammable locals in Madrid. Just like its decor, the food and drinks at this café-pastry shop are also an explosion of color. The formula of their coffees, topped with cream and toppings of different flavors, makes them the perfect choice for the sweetest palates. And their cakes are not far behind either. They usually offer up to 7 different types that rotate every day, but the most requested by their customers remain fixed, as is the case of white chocolate with strawberry. However, for those who prefer more conventional breakfasts, the classics also have a place in their menu.
📍Location: paseo de las Acacias, 49 (Acacias)
Price: €€€€€
10. Mür Café
An English-style café divided into two floors where you can enjoy the comfort of its armchairs or share a table with friends. Although the most characteristic of Mür Café is its Anglo-Saxon-inspired brunch, it is one of the best options for breakfast in Madrid. It is the ideal place to find all kinds of British products, but its offer also includes more classic options such as Spanish breakfast. A special detail is that it is a dog friendly place, so your pet will also be welcome.
📍Location: Plaza Cristiano Martos, 2 (Noviciado)
Price: €€€€€
11. Naked & Sated
Naked & Sated’s restaurants are characterized by their commitment to food quality. Their claim is clear: to take care of both the environment and their consumers. For this reason, its bet is focused on fresh, naked and seasonal products. Behind the dishes of its varied menu is Roberto Bosquet, a self-taught chef driven by his desire to adapt well-known preparations to a healthy diet without losing their essence. His breakfast offer, all of them under the naked seal, is made up of classics and other savory options such as toasts.
📍Location: Various locations.
Price: €€€€€
12. Neutrale House
In the Parisian grid that make up the narrow streets of Las Salesas, Casa Neutrale has become, in record time, a meeting place for a neighborhood that takes breakfast time very seriously. This Nordic-style café serves specialty coffee (from Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Honduras), freshly made sandwiches, homemade pastries and a good assortment of savory options. Among the neighborhood favorites are the sourdough toasts topped with wild tuna, with sobrasada and cheese or with figs, pear, cheese and walnuts or the bocatines (also for vegans).
A refuge where the ecological conscience of its creators does not go unnoticed. The philosophy of Casa Neutrale claims a sustainable way of life, respect for the environment and a service dedicated to the cause. And all this, in a space curated by the DIIR studio, which has transferred to Casa Neutrale Mediterranean precepts of interiors that bet on materials such as granite and ceramics.
📍Location:calle de Regueros, 13 (Salesas)
Price: €€€€€
13. Gosto Café
Those who pass by Gosto Café for the first time might mistake it for a clothing boutique or a design studio. However, if you pay attention, you will immediately see the diners through its gigantic windows, where they serve breakfasts that are ideal for sharing (and for uploading to social networks).
A minimalist refuge, bathed in natural light, where Marcelo Bergamo, ideologist of this Nordic corner of Leon Street, practices a concept as old as accurate: excellent raw materials, ‘at home’ atmosphere, friendly service and a menu based on handmade delicacies: freshly baked pastries, cookies, assorted bowls or sweet or spicy toasts on special breads.
📍Location: Calle del León, 30 (Las Letras) and Calle de la Palma, 47 (Malasaña).
Price: €€€€€
14. Dot Café Bar
Have a (very) good breakfast in Madrid… and with a view. And not precisely because of what you can see through the window, but because of what’s inside: delicious coffee, tempting pastries and a decoration of those that catch you. This coffee shop neighboring Madrid Río and Matadero has carved a niche for itself among those who have something to do in the neighborhood and those who don’t. “Going down” to Dot Café Bar, devouring a bikini that is hard to beat and staring at the wall (yes, take our word for it) with a cup in your hands is more than enough reason to get out of bed in the mornings.
📍Location: Calle de Eugenio Sellés, 6 (Chopera)
Price: €€€€€
15. Bite Me Café
Waking up in the mood for breakfast in Madrid is one thing, waking up in the mood for Bite Me is another. Those who have tried it, know it. The vegan donuts at this café are hard to imitate. They are also incredible, in equal parts, for the size of the donuts and the originality of the recipes. The flavors rotate every so often, so the only way to avoid missing out is to become a loyal customer.
📍Location: plaza de la Beata María Ana de Jesús, 2 (Chopera)
Price: €€€€€
16. Panod
Panod won the award for the best roscón de Reyes in 2023, and although it is a seasonal sweet, both the artisan pastries and the bread made in their workshop will brighten up any breakfast away from home. One advantage is that they have several establishments throughout the Community of Madrid and it is easy to find one. Of course, it is also a cafeteria, so you can dip their chocolate palmeras in situ.
📍Location: Various locations
Price: €€€€€
17. Bucolic Café
It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places to have breakfast in Madrid. Its aesthetics, very careful, reminiscent of a village house in which to extend the breakfast, brunch or snack is not something that is decided, but simply happens. In its menu you will find a wide variety of specialty coffees and all the condumio to accompany it is handmade and of very high quality.
📍Location: Barbieri Street, 4 (Downtown)
Price: €€€€€
18. Clima Cafecito
If you like specialty coffee and chia pudding, you’ll love Clima. They have everything from healthier (and saltier) options with toasts full of green to sweets without complexes: American-style cookies and brownies, and they serve them all day long. Breakfast is guaranteed, but if you’re running late, no problem.
📍Location: alle de Alonso Cano, 51 (Ríos Rosas)
Price: €€€€€
19. Wilko Coffee
Wilco is a specialty coffee shop where they also make homemade pastries. In fact, except for the bread, which is from Panic, and the coffee from Hidden, everything else, from the peanut butter cookies to the sandwiches, is made in their kitchen in Chamberí. They also serve brunch every day and allow pets.
📍Location: Calle de Fernández de los Ríos, 40 (Arapiles)
Price: €€€€€
20. Bô Coffee
The breakfasts at Bô Coffee are colossal. Seriously, you have to go hungry, none of their toasts, sandwiches, bowls or pancakes are of a moderate size. Bearing in mind that when you go out for breakfast you have plenty of time, the digestion afterwards will be worth it, and to be fair they also have healthy options. To add to this, they serve Nomad specialty coffee.
📍Location:Calle de Espronceda, 16 (Chamberí)
Price: €€€€€
The Little Big Cafe
A cute place, with specialty coffee and its own bakery. You can’t ask for more. The Little Big Cafe’s name can not define it better, and although this coffee shop is tiny, it has plenty of art on all four sides to offer both classic and elaborate breakfasts, brunches and even has a lunch menu and menu of the day. Just in case the after-dinner conversation gets longer.
📍Location:61 Fernandez de los Rios Street, 61
Price: €€€€€
The capital is practically incomprehensible, so it is certain that in this selection there will be absences. However, its offer is also one of the features that makes breakfast in Madrid can be an experience and an opportunity to discover new flavors.
This article has been written by Alberto del Castillo, Lucía Mos, Sara Morillo, Selene García Torreiro, Isabel Nieto and Elena Francés.