Hola Coffee

Hola Coffee is one of the best-known names in Madrid's speciality coffee world, a roaster and café business that supplies coffee to cafés and restaurants as well as running its own coffee shops. Its café on Calle del Doctor Fourquet, in the Lavapiés area just behind the Reina Sofía, is the most convenient for visitors, and it makes a good stop before or after a visit to the museum. The company also has cafés on Calle de Lagasca in the Salamanca district and at its roastery and headquarters on Avenida de Pedro Díez.

The coffee is the focus, which is a good introduction if you are new to speciality coffee and want to compare different styles. Hola roasts its own beans, and the café serves them as espresso, flat whites, cortados and other milk drinks, and as filter coffee, with the selection of origins changing through the year. The baristas are happy to talk about what is on offer and to recommend a coffee to suit your taste. Light food is available for breakfast or a snack, and you can buy bags of beans to take home.

The Doctor Fourquet café is a relaxed place to sit for a while, with a mixture of locals, gallery visitors and tourists. It can be busy at weekends, but it rarely feels rushed. It suits solo travellers, coffee fans and anyone who wants a break from sightseeing in a neighbourhood that feels lived-in rather than touristy. If you are spending a long morning at the Reina Sofía, it is a natural place to pause before tackling the second half of the collection.

The cafés open every day: from 8:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and from 9:00 to 20:00 at weekends and on public holidays. Hola also runs coffee courses through its academy at the roastery, for anyone who wants to learn more about brewing or tasting.

Calle del Doctor Fourquet runs between Calle de Atocha and the Ronda de Atocha, close to the Reina Sofía's Sabatini Building. Atocha and Lavapiés metro stations are both within about five to ten minutes' walk. The street itself is lined with contemporary art galleries, and the multicultural neighbourhood of Lavapiés, with its restaurants and bars, starts just to the south-west.