If you know me, you know that I’m addicted to sugar and that I’m obsessed with pastries (actually, I’m obsessed with food in general). One of my toxic traits (literally diabetes-inducing) is that I average one or two pastries a day . You know you can trust this list because while living in Madrid, I hit up the bakery on a daily basis. Here I have compiled for you my tried and true list of Madrid’s best bakeries.

American vs. European Culture as it Pertains to Bread

For context, I’m an American who’s spent a few years living in Europe. One aspect of daily European life that I am in love with is the quotidian errand of paying a visit to the bakery to buy the day’s bread. This concept is so novel to me because in the US, we do not buy freshly baked bread. We do not typically consume bread on a daily basis. Independent, bread-focused bakeries are exceedingly rare, so no wonder we don’t have a habit of visiting the bakery.

If Americans buy bread, it’s likely be produced in a factory, comes pre-sliced and pre-packaged in plastic, has an uncannily long shelf-life and can be found in the bread section at the supermarket. American bread may be bleached and gutted of any nutritional value or conversely it might have ten extra grains and seeds stuffed in it to supercharge it with protein! and fiber! and everything you need to maximize your health!

What happened to America’s concept of normal everyday bread?

I was pleased to rediscover the humble roots and purpose of bread when I moved to Spain (and similarly in Denmark). People eat bread everyday and with nearly every meal! I had grown up in the US, indoctrinated with the false narrative that carbs are the devil! My deep fear of the inevitable weight-gaining side effects of carbs was never realized when I began to participate in consuming bread daily. This post could very easily turn into a tirade about everything wrong with American culture but I’ll save that for a later post because this one is about pastries!

I developed a ritual of going to the bakery daily to purchase bread for the week and pastries for breakfast or for a post-lunch dessert. I look forward to this daily ritual which became a break in my day, a chance to stretch my legs and go for a walk and to appreciate the beauty of the city I lived in. One can notice the heart and soul of an independent bakery, in the carefully curated tiny store front, in the display of fresh pastries, in the smiles of the satisfied workers. So many tiny aspects involved in the act of me buying bread adds up to something that improves the quality of life by so much. I think I’ve sufficiently romanticized pastries. Now for the bakeries!

🥐 Madrid’s Best Bakeries 🥐

🥖 Ciento Trienta Grados 🥖

• Location: Chamberi (Arapiles), new location in La Prosperidad
• Good for: Bread, breakfast pastries
• Must try: Chocolate-filled kouign-amann, cinnamon roll, chapata, barra
• Instagram: @cientotreintagrados

This is my favorite bakery in Madrid, hands down. It is so quiet and unassuming and the wood interior and soft lighting of this bakery gives you such a cozy feel. The pastries are extremely high quality, carefully crafted and very well priced. They include a variety of classic and seasonal pastries. I love their chapata loaf which is like a ciabatta and their barra (baguette) is perfection. They are one of the only bakeries I see in Madrid that does a kouign-amann and it is so buttery, caramelized and sugary. Well done!

They also make very yummy coffee, which can be enjoyed in their wooden benches built into their storefronts outside.

🍮 Alma Nomad Bakery 🍮

• Location: Chamberi
• Good for: Breakfast, lunch, post-lunch dessert
• Must try: Pistachio or almond or chocolate hazelnut croissant (super hefty portions)
• Instagram: @almanomadbakery

When I lived in the neighborhood of Chamberi, I came here every single day and I have tried nearly everything in their case. And their case is impressive! It’s an overflowing, colorful bounty of any pastry you can think of. They really excel in the variety of pastries they make, from basque cheese cake to cookies, focaccia to a range of croissant-like pastries to quiches. Their tiny shop basically makes something for everyone and any time of day. They also have a small seasonal focus so it’s fun to come consistently because there’s always something new to try. Their coffee is pretty decent too.

The store itself is very small but there’s a few seats inside. This bakery is located right off of my favorite plaza in Madrid (and in the world). Plaza de Olavide is the perfect place to take your pastry to people watch, or dog watch, or pigeon watch or look at the fountain or the architecture. So much to see while you enjoy your beautiful pastry.

🥖 Panifesto 🥖

• Location: Lavapies
• Good for: Bread
• Must try: Pan Gallego

Panifesto is an in-and-out kind of operation. You choose your bread, pay no more than 5€ for a loaf of bread that weighs a kilo and a half, they slice it up for you, put it in a bag and you promptly exit. I wish I had a reason to linger. It’s so simple and so straightforward. Their bread is so nicely done and it is so super affordable.

🍞 Obrador San Fransisco 🍞

• Location: La Latina
• Good for: Bread and sweet treat
• Must try: Cranberry and white chocolate cookie
• Instagram: @obradorsanfrancisco

This bakery is named after the Basilica of San Fransisco El Grande (biggest dome in Spain apparently) that’s visible from down the street. It’s a beautiful and simple store with large windows. Their offerings are very focused on bread and just a few sweet treats. Their cookies are very delightful. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the bakery and their goods that I’ve taken myself.

🥐 Panem 🥐

• Location: Goya
• Good for: Croissants (plain and filled)
• Must try: Cubo (seasonally flavored stuffed cube-shaped croissant) only on Saturdays, or plain croissant and pistachio cookie if not Saturday
• Instagram: @panem_madrid

In 2021 Panem won the best croissant in Spain (el mejor cruasán de mantequilla de España) which makes their bakery very popular! On Saturdays only they make a special seasonally flavored stuffed cube-shaped croissant which they call “cubos”. I’m no judge but their croissants are indeed very good. However, I did get a pistachio cream stuffed croissant once and I really didn’t like the pastry cream that comes inside. For me, it’s too much filling.

🍪 Novo Mundo 🍪

• Location: La Latina (El Rastro)
• Good for: Brunch, the famous “NY roll”, award-winning bread
• Must try: Cinnamon roll (rollo de canela)
• Instagram: @novomundo.es

Novo Mundo is the probably the most Gen-Z bakery out of this whole list. They have a super, light-filled, colorful-quirky-cute interior and this is also reflected in their joy-inducing pastries. By the way this is a cafe that allows laptops (this is a rarity in Madrid). They are famous for their “New York roll” which I think is hilarious because I don’t get the New York reference. It’s probably just a marketing strategy that worked because I kept seeing it all over Instagram. It’s a circular croissant stuffed with a seasonal filling. I tried the pistachio NY roll once but was disappointed because it was stuffed with a bland pastry cream with a kind of gelatinous texture that I don’t like.

Their cinnamon roll is my favorite pastry they offer as it’s unconventionally made with a croissant-like, layered, flakey dough. Novo Mundo also won the 2023 award by Club Matador for best bread in Madrid, so clearly they’re churning out some high quality stuff.

⚠️ Try to avoid Novo Mundo on Sundays during the hours of El Rastro (Madrid’s famous flea market), there’s always a massive line that’ll take at least 20 minutes of waiting. However, they did just open a take-away stand directly across the street from the original location.

🍳 Pum Pum Bakery 🍳

• Location: Lavapies
• Good for: Brunch, croissants
• Must try: Pistachio croissant, caramelized banana and dulce de leche roll
• Instagram: @pumpumcafe and @pumpum_bakery

Pum Pum is one of the OG bakeries in the Madrid cafe/bakery game and there’s a reason they are so popular. They are an established institution with a strong reputation and very accessibly priced pastries. You can get an avocado toast for like 4€ and a pistachio croissant for 2.50€. They may not have the flakiest croissants with the most layers but they do load up on the pistachio and sugar.

Pum Pum is also a classic brunch spot. Their coffee is smooth and their focaccia sandwich is so tasty. On nice days the cafe will open it’s floor-to-ceiling windows and pigeons will fly in and no one cares. Me and my friends usually like to sit in the two chairs they have outside so we can smoke and sip on our coffees.

There’s another location called Pum Pum Café further into Lavapies but it’s not really the vibe. It’s really only meant for brunch, there’s not a big pastry selection there and there’s always a line of tourists.

🍰 Motteau Pastelería 🍰

• Location: Barrio de las Letras
• Good for: Afternoon tea, cakes
• Must try: Almond financier, any sliced cake
• Instagram: @motteaubakery

Of this list Motteau Pasteleria makes the most elegant and refined pastries. They have a whole variety of cookies and sweets but what they really excel in is their cakes. At any given day their case in the window has about 10 different cake flavors. And every single one is delicious. (Excuse the poor quality photos I have of Motteau, they’re the only ones I have 😭)

🍵 Naji Specialty Coffee 🍵

• Location: Chamberi
• Good for: Coffee, Anything pistachio
• Must try: Pistachio financier, pistachio latte
• Instagram: @najispecialtycoffee

OK, technically this is not a bakery, it’s a cafe. But it’s a bonus on this list because they have incredible pastries in their tiny case in the back. Their pistachio financier is buttery, nutty and caramelized perfection. Their pistachio lattes are so delicious and filling and sweet that they may as well count as dessert. If you like pistachio you will thank me because their pistachio latte is the BEST latte I have ever had the joy of consuming.

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I am so confident in this list of Madrid’s best bakeries and I hope you’ll try them out. I like to consider myself a very thorough researcher when it comes to knowing my city’s selection of sweets. Still, anyone know a bakery in Madrid they’d like to add to the list? Leave a comment and let me know!

❤️ Valerie 🥐🍰🥖🍪🍮