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Image by Dave Cardillo
Madrid’s best second-hand English bookstore also has beer, coffee, quiz nights, snacks and great company. J&J Books and Coffee is a well-known local haven for expats to collapse into friendly English conversations (Spanish is also spoken!) and to buy second-hand books. Wednesday and Thursday nights are “intercambio” nights to chat alternatively in Spanish and English, while Friday night turns into the rowdiest collection of intellectuals competing at trivia. During the day the upstairs bar ranges from mellow to lively for coffee drinkers and book perusers, while the downstairs is full of thousands of books. Details about this spot (Show on map)
J&J Books and Coffee | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping | Coffee € 1.25
Espiritu Santo, 47 | Chueca & Malasaña | +34915218576
Mon – Thu & Sat 11:00 – 00:00, Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sun 16:00 – 22:00
I think we’re not going to the same place… I just love it!
Thanks for commenting, Sophie. I’ve consulted with the owners and they assure me that there are some outlets available for laptops – in fact, every time I go I see people working away on their computers. The bookstore underwent some electrical work a while ago and the outlets weren’t safe, but they are ok now. It’s best to go with a fully-charged laptop to be on the safe side, but if they are available, clients can plug in.
Personally, I prefer to peruse the books, not the internet while there – they always have the most popular ones by the front door!
It’s an ok place, and the pub quiz sounds fun (though I never made it there on the right evening). Just a warning – they don’t let you plug in your laptop, so it’s not the kind of café where you can sit for an afternoon and work!
I’m the owner’s wife, Jamie, and I can promise you I haven’t said anything like that, so there must be some confusion… Plus that doesn’t sound like anything I would say, especially since I’m currently entranced in The Hunger Games series, which I don’t think anyone would call book snob material.
But on behalf of J&J’s, I apologize if our barman was having an off day when you came in. Unfortunately, I can’t always be there to make sure our staff is not getting irritated with people, but what I can do is make sure that we carry great books and great prices, which we do. I can also make sure that we have fun events and fun things to do and is a fun place to hang out. Which we are. So if you happen to not like the guy/girl behind the bar, fine. Ignore them. They’re harmless, I promise. Or even better, buy him a beer. That goes a long way after 40 hours a week of dealing with the public.
Thanks for your opinions. The owner’s wife has been out of town, so I’m not sure who made the Hollywood comment. I was there recently and found an old John Irving book that was reasonably priced. You can’t beat the selection of used and affordable books.
I completely agree with Willy. My friend and I went there today looking for a cozy hang out with some familiar books. Instead we got a rude, pretentious man behind the bar grunting instead of using full sentences. The owner’s wife was even worse. I have never even come across the level of snobbishness that she presented. I was talking to my friend about how I enjoyed a certain book and the owner overheard and said, “Yeah, that was a good movie. I read for value and leave amusement to Hollywood.” We will never be returning. Give me Casa del Libro and Spanish books any day!
This place sucks.I went twice and found a very disagreeable fat barman with glasses getting angry with Spanish people cos he couldn’t understand them.The atmosphere is superficial.Give me a real bar anyday.
Great! It really is a nice community and place to hang out. The good books are an added perk!
This place is so much fun. We went for an intercambio night and I met a ton of new people to practice spanish with and a few people who hooked me up with some teaching classes.