From big, airy interiors with coworking tables, to cosy cafés hidden down narrow streets, there’s a laptop-friendly café for every remote worker in Spain’s capital city.
Spain may have been one of the last places to catch on to the speciality coffee boom—and with it, remote work opportunities—but finally, flat whites and free wifi have landed, hard. Move over, café con UHT leche; we’ve got cold brews, orange-flavoured lattes, and cherry blossom coffee to keep digital nomads happy.
Looking for a specific cafe? Skip to it below:
- Religion Coffee
- Café Federal
- Perro de Pavlov Café
- HanSo Café
- Toma Café
- Honest Greens
- La Cafetería, La Casa Encendida
- La Bicicleta
If you’re planning to work remotely from Madrid, good choice. You will enjoy sunny days with clear blue skies, a buzzing nightlife where a glass of wine costs the same as a bottle of water, and three-course lunches for €12.
Spain may be all about eating out and a never-ending nightlife, but, you’ve got to work (sorry). To make work more enjoyable for you, we’ve listed our favorite, tried-and-tested cafés where you can plug in your laptop while refueling on great coffee.
1. Religion Coffee, Salamanca
For the real coffee snobs out there, this should be the first stop on your remote working map. Based in the posh Salamanca district, Religion Coffee was voted “One of the 50 best coffee shops in Europe” by the Big 7 Travel Magazine.
Take a work break while you treat yourself to a healthy brunch, and indulge in some of the best waffles, Turkish eggs, and French toast in Madrid. Fill up on vegan food here, too; Madrid is one of the most carnivorous countries in Europe, so places like this are welcome havens for non-meat eaters.
It is recommended to either come here in the morning or late afternoon (after 4pm), since if queues are building up for lunch, laptop-workers may be forced to give up their table.
So, are you looking to make sunny Madrid your new home for 6 months or more?
Watch this space, because Cohabs is bringing you beautiful, affordable co-living spaces right in the heart of the city within the next few months.
Apply for a room now
2. Café Federal, La Latina & Malasaña
Café Federal is monopolizing Spain’s specialty coffee scene, and that’s no bad thing. With fresh flowers on all the tables and airy, Scandinavian decor, Federal is a favorite haunt among expats. Digital nomads who frequent this cafe often will come across the same faces time and again—who knows, friendships (or romances) could blossom…
With an allocated laptop space that includes a large work table surrounded by plug sockets in their La Latina location, enjoy up to three hours of free internet access alongside specialty Allpress coffee.
Top tip: take out your headphones and keep your Shazam open; the playlist here is ace.
3. Perro de Pavlov Café, La Latina
Down a narrow side street in Madrid’s buzzing La Latina district, hides an almost secret coffee house: Perro de Pavlov Café. A cozy space with mismatching decor and folk and indie tunes playing in the background, this café provides surroundings that will counteract the negative energy of any stressful workday.
Have a chat with the boss—a friendly Madrileño—and sip on Perro de Pavlov’s many varieties of chai latte. Make friends with the incoming dogs, and if you spot another lone nomad, offer to share your table. You might just make a friend.
Take note that this café is closed between 2pm and 4pm.
4. HanSo Café, Malasaña
On arriving in Madrid, you’ll quickly learn that Malasaña is the trendy quarter of the city. Many specialty cafés congregate here, along with Madrid’s creatives, expats, and students. Calle del Pez is a particularly stimulating street to walk along, with specialist art shops, quirky bars, and last, but not least, HanSo Café.
Come here for a matcha brownie, a cherry blossom coffee made with flower petals, lime, and agave syrup, and hip hop music. If you can find a space, slot yourself in on the central wooden table along which other remote workers just like you are immersed in their coding, marketing, or graphic design work.
It’s also the perfect place for intriguing screen breaks, as you watch Madrid’s trendsetters coming and going. And, although it may be in the trendy area of the city, the service is pleasantly down-to-earth and friendly.
5. Toma Café, Chamberi & Malasaña
Toma Café is fast becoming a coffee cult in Madrid, complete with Toma tote bags and free stickers. Their orange-flavored coffee—which they make by infusing milk with orange peels—is a pleasing combination and to be found nowhere else in the city.
Perch on one of their small tables and comfy school-like chairs and drink their own, specialty roasted coffee as you work.
We recommend working at their café just off Plaza Olavide, a circular plaza filled with tall trees and ringed by bars, restaurants, and benches where you can soak up your much-needed dose of vitamin D.
6. Honest Greens, several locations in Madrid
If you’ve had enough croquettas and tortillas and need some more greens in your life, Honest Greens is the place to go. It may be a chain with seven sites across the city, but it never compromises on quality.
Attracting families, couples, office workers, and remote workers like yourself, Honest Greens has been a hit with Spaniards and expats alike. Outfitted with simplistic, wooden decor, people mainly come here for the veg-heavy menu, sumptuously displayed in a buffet-style canteen – but their coffee, too, is good. With its many tables and working areas to choose from, it makes a good spot to get out your laptop without ever feeling guilty that you’re taking up too much space for too few cappuccinos.
7. La Cafetería, La Casa Encendida, Lavapiés
Walk down the sloping streets of Lavapiés where colorful bunting crisscrosses above your head and you’ll pass one cozy bar, cafe, or restaurant after another. On the edge of this barrio is La Casa Encendida (“The Lit-Up House”), a sizable arts venue where you can find everything from documentaries and plays to art exhibitions and literary talks.
Before you get too distracted, head a little deeper in the building and you’ll come across a large, homely café-come-canteen with plenty of remote workers like you tapping away at their laptops.
Get into the zone against a background of jazz music and enjoy specialty coffee, sourdough toasts, brioches, and other baked goods provided by Pum Pum Café and Bakery (another small, laptop-friendly coffee shop you should check out).
8. La Bicicleta, Malasaña & Chamberí
Whether you need a coffee or a cocktail to get you through your Zoom meeting (we suggest camera off), La Bicicleta has something for everyone. Surround yourself with other furrow-browed digital nomads in this café/bar and tuck into one of the best brunches in Madrid.
La Bicicleta—with its hip location in trendy Malasaña—has become a popular destination for Tinder dates, so if you enjoy eavesdropping, you’ve got your lunchtime entertainment covered.
Oh, and for the bike-lovers, this is your happy place: sleek, vintage bicycles hang from ceilings and lean against the walls.
So, are you looking to make sunny Madrid your new home for 6 months or more?
Watch this space, because Cohabs is bringing you beautiful, affordable co-living spaces right in the heart of the city within the next few months.
Apply for a room now
