There are as many versions of cheesecake in Madrid as there are ways of drinking coffee. Although the first cheesecakes date back to Ancient Greece, cheesecake has reached our days as if it had just been invented in New York. Traditional recipes abound and continue to survive. In Spain there are some as popular as the Basque cheesecake that, according to the New York Times, was the defining flavor of 2021.
From here and there and nowhere else, cheesecake is creamy, with a cookie base or with jams, and has conquered the menus of all kinds of restaurants.
1. Alex Cordobes
You can only understand Álex Cordobés when you try his cakes. By “what”, sorry, we mean success, that the store is always full, that they sell 500 cakes a day and that you go to buy a cake and there are no more because they are sold out. The representation of the ideal cheesecake. An addictive bite. The best gift you can give to a sweet lover.
📍Location: calle de Velázquez, 60 (Salamanca neighborhood)
2. Aroma & Bread
Aroma & Bread is a small cafeteria on Apodaca Street where they serve one of those homemade cakes that you fall in love with. It is made daily following the family recipe of Ainhoa’s father, one of the owners, who was a pastry chef. While her partner, a friend since college, takes on the role of barista. An infallible duo that smells of quality coffee and grandmother’s pastries.
📍Location:Calle de Apodaca, 10 (Malasaña)
3. El Cañadío
We could say that El Cañadío’s cake is an author’s cake. And literally: its creator, Paco Quirós, has managed to create one of the creamiest and most beautiful cakes (yes, so beautiful that it’s embarrassing to eat it) that you can taste. It is more like a quesada than a cheesecake, but with jam and a thin sheet of caramel.
📍Location: Calle del Conde de Peñalver, 86 (Salamanca neighborhood).
4. Bestial by Rosi la Loca
Javier Alfaro, chef of Bestial by Rosi la Loca, has won this year 2024 the prize for the best cheesecake in Madrid awarded by the Association of Chefs and Pastry Chefs of Madrid (ACYRE).
Her creation stands out for combining pure cured sheep’s cheese from Campo Real and a special cream cheese, accompanied by Kalamata olive jam, figs and almonds, evoking the taste of a Madrid appetizer in a dessert. The portion costs 9€ and is available indefinitely on the premises, with an option for people with celiac disease.
📍Location: Calle del Prado, 4. Bajo C (Downtown)
5. Bistronómika
In the menu of Bistronómika, in the Salamanca district, the sea rules. Seafood stews and grilled fish as a letter of introduction. But if there is something essential that you have to try in this place, it is undoubtedly the blue cheese tart. Blue cheese? Yes. A delicious tart with a slight touch of this strong cheese that adapts perfectly to the sweetest flavors.
📍Location:Calle de Ibiza, 44 (Ibiza)
6. Fismuler
If you like contrasts, your destination is Fismuler. Its cheesecake is prepared with several types of strong cheeses, so it is best accompanied by a good red wine instead of jam (in fact, they serve it without it). This cake has become so famous that you can order it at the Mallorca bakery. And yes, it is the same recipe.
📍Location:Calle de Sagasta, 29 (Almagro)
7. MO de Movimiento
MO de Movimiento’s project is characterized by its special attention to local and artisanal products, with a careful selection of organic and quality raw materials, something that shows in the final result. And the cheesecake of this restaurant -and social and inclusion project- in Madrid was not going to be less, made with Galmesán cheese, cream cheese and Javier Campo cheese.
📍Location: Calle de Espronceda, 34 (Almagro)
8. Barra Alta
Chef Daniel Roca’s project landed in October 2021 in the Salamanca neighborhood, where it now takes the same name as his flagship in Barcelona, Barra Alta, although it used to be called Lagasca 19. It has a Mediterranean menu with international touches in which there is no lack of nods to his grandmother’s cuisine. The cheesecake is made with four different cheeses, chosen at the right point of ripeness, and is not served in portions, but whole, although in a small size, perfect for sharing.
📍Location:Calle Lagasca, 19 (Salamanca neighborhood).
9. Luna & Wanda
At Luna & Wanda they claim to have some of the best baked cheesecakes in Madrid. This is their unique product and they have perfected it, their cakes are sufficiently toasted on the outside, have a creamy heart and a cookie base that is neither too thin nor too thick. You can find them in different flavors: with pistachio, nougat, Kinder Bueno, dulce de leche, Oreo…
📍Location: Calle de Ponzano, 55 (Chamberí) and Calle de Ferraz, 92 (Argüelles).
10. La Única
One of the most original cheesecakes you can try in Madrid is the one from the restaurant La Única. In this case the name does it justice, and it is something that is noticeable from its very appearance: when it arrives at the table you doubt if they have made a mistake with the order, but the doubt vanishes as soon as you try it. This inverted cheesecake with corn cream and vanilla ice cream from Veracruz has earned a special place in our hearts and we are sure it will also earn a place in yours.
📍Location: Calle de Claudio Coello, 10 (Salamanca neighborhood)
The sweetest version of cheese has been installed in restaurants and recipe books as a basic that has no seasons or very clear rules. It is easy to experiment and get it right with cheesecakes in Madrid, almost as easy as simplifying the recipe to the maximum and still succeed.