Monkee Koffee: Amazing coffee next to Canal Isabel II

Like any good native New Yorker, and like every madrileño for that matter, there’s nothing like a great cup of coffee, and preferably it’s not costing you an arm and a leg like that relaxing cup of café con leche in Plaza Mayor. I yet again found out about Monkee Koffee through Cup of Couple‘s Instagram account, and was ecstatic to have it be within a 20-minute walk of my apartment.

On a Saturday afternoon I headed to Monkee to meet a friend, looking forward to having my mind blown by coffee. The first thing that strikes you when you pull up is the sliding door (which is an absolute rarity, except for maybe Panaria).

When you walk up to the counter, you’ll find a menu not only with different kinds of coffee, but also smoothies, AND food. Not only can you get standard baked goods (like cookies, cakes, and some tostadas), BUT there are a number of sandwiches or salads to really be able to get your munch on.

It’s a great spot for cold-brewed iced coffee, which in Madrid can be a little bit of a challenge to find. The one caveat for me was that there was no skim milk, but I’d be willing to indulge in soy milk in my cold-brew. For those of you who were big Blue Bottle Coffee fans in San Francisco and New York, this is the closest you’ll get to it in Chamberí.

 There are a variety of seating arrangements, including a smaller table with big, comfy chairs, where my friend and I got lost in conversation. If you want to get work done, you can sit at the long, communal table in the middle à Le Pain Quotidien, or on another long table just along the brick wall where you can see the Monkee logo and a bright letter o. For groups of friends, there are also some other tables where you can pull up chairs and seat groups of three, four, or five comfortably. I can definitely see myself coming here to write, study, or get lost in a good book.

Monkee Koffee also has a choice location this time of year. It’s located just around the corner from Parque de Santander and the Instalaciones Deportivas del Canal Isabel II, which is my swimming pool of choice on hot summer afternoons.

I’m glad to have found a place to get my cold-brewed iced coffee and food to-go before I relax by the pool, or stay in and get some fuel and some work done.

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Here’s a list of more of our favorite cafés in Madrid:

Little Big Café: my big little pick-me-up

4 Coziest Cafés in Chamberí

Cafelito: for coffee lovers in Lavapiés

Toma Café: Fuel up, Feel hip

Pepe Botella: a coffee place where you can think

La Paca: the perfect café in Malasaña