J & J Books and Coffee, Madrid

Super friendly owner and staff! Cozy, nice ambiance with jazz music playing in the background. Lots of books downstairs in the basement as well as more tables. Informal and perfect for one of their tasty bagels. They have lots of options to choose from and they are all affordable. They sell second-hand books too. Will definitely come back again.

PS: They host language exchanges and pub quizzes too, so lots of activities to attend.

[I bought two second-hand books (€6 and €1) and had a bagel combi with a Mimosa and a vegan homemade chocolate cookie. I tipped and spend €18 in total in case you were wondering. ]

Mi lugar favorito en Madrid. Great bagels and cheap mimosas, and the staff are well read and friendly.

Awesome place. Books galore and nice place to have coffee or a brunch, or a date. Or all those three combined. It's a really good place:)

Preciosa cafetería con personalidad propia en el centro de Madrid (Noviciado). La he visitado un par de veces y volveré en el futuro. Los tés y los cinnamon roll son excelentes. El chico que siempre atiende en barra es muy amable y cordial. El mejor lugar donde encontrar libros de segunda mano en inglés. Repetiremos seguro.

Very nice atmosphere with a large selection of books and a wide variety of food and drinks. Would definitely recommend!

Awesome discovery! This is THE PLACE if you are after real bagels and Bloody Marys with a great atmosphere. Loved every minute I spent here and will be back soon.

Amaze balls. Food, drinks and most of all the staff was amazing. Recommended you won't be disappointed. Great brunch but make reservations if you want to get a spot. They also have trivia (Friday) and an intercambio.

Extremely disappointing treatment this morning received by myself and my teenage stepdaughters - We were told in a very abrupt manner that we couldn´t have coffee because the tables were "reserved for lunch" (it was 12.10 when we entered) and that we´d have to leave. I only entered to get my stepdaughter a book that she had been looking forward to buying-Once down in the book secion i saw a small round table free, not reserved- asked if we could have coffee and cakes and were told yes, then while asking for non gluten products i was again informed i´d could have bread to take away and only 10 minutes to have our drinks because the table would be required for lunch - we were still waiting for our drinks. I asked for our drinks and then perhaps we could vacate the premises. I then paid 2.50 for "hot chocolate" which turned out to be milk with nesquik or colacao! Not a pleasant visit and will not be returning!

AMO este lugar. Los bagels de aquí son los mejores que he comido fuera de USA. Los hacen ahí mismo y son una absoluta delicia. Merece completamente la pena venir un sábado o domingo de brunch ya que además de lo deliciosa que es la comida, el precio es súper bueno.

A good place where to have a good time and chat with people from all walks of life. Highly recommended if you need to improve your English language.

LOVE THIS PLACE. Good bagels, amazing cinnamon rolls, the BEST brunch deal (includes 1 euro mimosas.and these are the best mimosas - mostly champagne with a bit of OJ). The owners are SO kind, and the book collection is HUGE! I always go here for a fun brunch. I've been by myself and with the girls.

Just be sure to make a reservation as they get booked for Saturday and Sunday brunches quickly!

The place where younger Americans congregate. Can get noisy, but still ok to visit if you need books at a very fair price. Sometimes you overhear comments, (not that you go to listen to them) which you would prefer not to. The younger generation thinks anyone over 30 has 1 foot in the grave! Also some are definitely out of order!

Los mejores bagels de todo Madrid o incluso de mundo, muy tranquilo to y con buena música y mimosas bien cargadoras por sólo 1€! Volveré 100%

Una decepción que un sábado a la hora del café, con el sitio prácticamente vacío, no te quieran atender a ti y tu acompañante.
~~
Bit of a disappointment when they don't want to take two people in for a coffee on a Saturday morning when the place is almost empty

Went here for the bagel brunch hour. I ordered a jalapeño cheddar bagel with cream cheese and a mimosa. I felt like I was given an Oliver Twist portion of cream cheese. Just a light layer — really disappointing. I’m from New York and they seemed to take a while to prepare a small bagel with just a little layer of cream cheese. For the price, it’s not worth it. Me decepcionó un montón.

The owner of this bookstore/coffee house/bar, Dave, is very friendly. As an American I felt right at home talking with him. Dave had some good pointers about the neighborhood and Madrid in general. The bar is good and features (among other things) homemade bagels and Spanish beer on tap. The selection of used books downstairs is excellent. I learned about this bookstore/coffee house/bar because it was mentioned in the novel "The Madrid Trumpet Affair" by Richard Esteves. This place is a hidden gem (on an out-of-the-way street) worth a visit for anyone who like good books or good conversation.

Estuve un viernes por la noche cuando hacen como una especie de trivial, estuvo muy bien. Es bastante complicado, es en inglés. Se llena, es divertido.

Great place and great staff. They have a cool brunch on Sundays. The only complaint would be that even when it’s empty downstairs on Sunday they refuse to let you use your laptop. Still, otherwise it’s cozy and it’s reasonably priced too. Everyone there speaks English. They are generally welcoming and warm which is quite a nice change from normal Madrid customer service. The bagels are good and the mimosas are delish.

Great bagels, and that's saying something coming from a New Yorker. Saturday brunch menu is decent. Can't go wrong with €1 mimosas. There's a downstairs area that acts as a bookshop for used English books and some places to sit and eat or read. I'll be returning again for sure.

Great place! They offer a lot of activities (language exchange, quizzes.) so if you want to meet people is a great place to go. Also they have awesome bagels, beers, books and smiles!