Santa Gloria — Restaurant in Madrid

I walked into this café to order an iced oat latte. The girl at the counter was very young, as was the one making the coffees. I had to repeat my order four times and even offered to use Google Translate. In the end, they gave me a hot oat latte – on a day when it was 40 degrees outside.

I told them it wasn’t what I had asked for, and both of them basically laughed in my face and started talking to each other about me in a rude way. I speak Italian, so I can understand some Spanish, and I knew they weren’t speaking kindly. The barista then dropped a single ice cube into my hot latte, which of course stayed hot. She seemed very annoyed and almost bothered by my presence. This is not how you work in hospitality. I was looking for a nice place to have breakfast in the mornings, as we’re staying at a nearby hotel for three weeks – but after this first experience, I will definitely not be coming back.

I believe the café should invest in staff who speak English, but perhaps even more importantly, in staff who are kind. Kindness, even when communication is difficult, is something you can...

While visiting Madrid recently, (September '21) we discovered the most amazing coffee shop - SANTAGLORIA on Nunez de Balboa, Barrio Salamanca, Madrid.

To us, Madrid is our favourite city in the world for many reasons. This particular Sunday morning we took a walk through Retiro Park and happened upon SANTAGLORIA while looking for a place to have morning coffee.

We had the pleasure of meeting Santiago (our server) who is originally from Northern Argentina. Within minutes we were chatting up a storm about where we were from (Canada) and various cities/countries we had been to.

A huge big THANKYOU to Santiago for taking the time to connect with us. It was lovely to chat with such a charming young man who clearly looks after his SANTAGLORIA customers.

The coffee was excellent, especially sitting outside on a beautiful Sunday morning in the sunshine. I would highly recommend SANTAGLORIA and its location for coffee and a delicious treat.

(Alejandro &...

This is my third time passing through sunny Spain. And I have to say, I finally understood the hype of this wonderful city. Every morning I would head over to Santa Gloria to have one of their famous “media lunas” topped with fresh chocolate. And for most cafes here in Madrid that would have been good enough, but at santa Gloria I was able to come back for lunch and enjoy a scrumptious bacon pizza. I also recommend their beer on tap and talking to the incredibly...