Why go
Coffee and matcha share the counter at this Madrid specialty café, where the name comes from Always and the idea behind it is time.
Coffee, matcha and the idea of time
The way into Oways Cafe is its specialty-coffee identity and that time-focused story. The founders began with a single visit to a specialty café, then worked through hundreds more before opening a room of their own with one aim, to serve good coffee. It shows: the place feels less like a generic stop and more like a room shaped by years of café-going and attention.
The drink list is built on two lanes rather than origin sheets. Oways presents itself as coffee, brunch, pastries and matcha, and the espresso side is where the coffee reads clearest, with flat white, latte and espresso the drinks most often singled out for their execution. Matcha sits beside them as a full second lane, not a green afterthought. The house does not name a roaster.
A quiet room off a busy street
The room leans on calm and comfort, acogedor y cómodo in the café’s own words, with seating that encourages a pause and a minimalist design that still reads warm rather than clinical. It is a pared-back Madrid café whose visual language is modern but whose pace is not rushed.
That mood fits the concept. The link between Oways and Always, siempre and eterno, gives the space a more deliberate identity than a quick espresso bar: a café for sitting, sharing a drink and letting the visit stretch around coffee, matcha and something from the pastry or brunch side. The setting is central, close to Gran Vía, yet the room holds a quieter tone than the street outside would suggest.
Order the flat white first
Start with the flat white for the cleanest read on the coffee. It shows the milk texture and the balance the bar works to, and it is the drink picked out here most often alongside the latte and the espresso. Choose the espresso for something shorter and more concentrated, or the latte for the softer version.
Matcha is the other opening move, and the reason plenty of people come. For food, the frame is brunch and pastries rather than a long kitchen menu. A practical order is simple: flat white or matcha first, then a pastry or a brunch plate if the stop is meant to last longer than a cup.
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Frequently asked questions
What should you order at Oways Cafe?
Start with the flat white, the drink that shows the bar’s milk texture and balance most clearly, or take an espresso for something shorter. Matcha is the other lane worth ordering, given equal weight here rather than kept as a green option at the edge of the list.
Does Oways Cafe serve food?
Yes, though the kitchen stays in café territory: brunch plates and pastries alongside the drinks rather than a full menu. The practical order is a coffee or a matcha first, then something from the pastry case or a brunch plate if the visit is meant to run longer.
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