Pum Pum Café is the kind of all-day spot that Lavapiés regulars guard jealously — a bright, no-fuss café on Calle de Tribulete serving healthy breakfast and brunch plates with a vegetarian lean. Come for the famous banana bread, stay for the avocado toast and specialty coffee that's made this one of the neighborhood's most beloved morning rituals.
Bright, no-fuss Lavapiés café where the banana bread and avocado toast have earned a loyal local following — go early on weekends.
Arrive before 10am on weekends — the line forms fast and the small space fills up quickly.
The neighborhood café Lavapiés actually goes to
Pum Pum Café sits on the quiet end of Calle de Tribulete, right in the heart of Lavapiés, and it's the kind of place you stumble into once and then quietly make part of your routine. The menu leans vegetarian and healthy without ever feeling preachy about it — think toast with crushed tomato, avocado toast done right, and what might be the best banana bread in the neighborhood (light, not too sweet, and dangerously easy to order a second slice of). The coffee is solid, the portions are generous, and the prices won't make you wince, which in central Madrid is no small thing.
The space is small and bright, with a laid-back energy that works equally well for a solo coffee-and-laptop morning or a weekend brunch with friends. It gets busy — sometimes very busy — especially on Saturdays and Sundays, when the wait can stretch longer than you'd like. Service is friendly but can be stretched thin during the rush. If you can swing a weekday visit or show up early on weekends, you'll get the best of what Pum Pum has to offer without the crowd. It's not trying to be the most exciting café in Madrid, and that's exactly why people love it.