The greatest Starbucks in the world is in Real Madrid’s soccer stadium
I don’t care about Starbucks.
Madrid now drowns in indie coffee shops with coffee brewed from specialty beans that are flown in by winged unicorns and roasted to perfection. In this city, the green mermaid feels as relevant as a McDonald’s next to Casa Botín (the oldest restaurant in the world, opened 51 years before the United States declared its independence), Dabiz Muñoz’s three-Michelin-starred DiverXo, or any other of the best restaurants on the planet that reside in Madrid.
But for all my Eurotrash snobbery, I also don’t hate Starbucks. In fact, I credit it as the first place in Madrid that actually offered a cup that didn’t taste like it could resuscitate a fentanyl victim or kill an ironman triathlete. For a long time, Spanish coffee was strong, but not very pleasant.
So when I learned that Starbucks planned to open a new flagship store in the troubled Santiago Bernabéu Stadium—home of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and host to Taylor Swift’s fans—I had to see it for myself. I live just around the corner from the stadium, so I took along my personal Lego architect (my son) for commentary.
His verdict? “Oh boy!”
And oh boy it is.
This isn’t your typical neighborhood Starbucks. We entered through the rather bland storefront, which looks just like every other restaurant and bar integrated in the stadium facade. But beyond the door there is a foyer with digital displays that completely cover the walls. They illustrate the journey of coffee, according to the company, in animated impressionistic sequences.
A destination in a destination
The cool starts when you walk into the central atrium. Concrete columns—part of the old stadium’s brutalist bones—soar toward the ceilings. Custom fixtures and plants line the walls. There is a big metal-and-wood staircase flanked by a large suspended sculpture, created by Madrid artist Cristina Mejías: a flowing ribbon that, according to the company, is an abstract Starbucks Siren that echoes the stadium’s curves. It accentuates the impression of never-ending space ahead of you.
On the bottom floor, there is your usual Starbucks counter, where you can order coffee and food. The company says the design pays homage to the original Pike Place store in Seattle and to the energy of Madrid’s San Miguel Market, an iconic iron fixture designed and built by Spanish architect Alfonso Dubé in 1916, now turned into a gourmet food court. To me, it feels nothing like San Miguel despite the use of metal, but whatever. It’s a welcoming space that, unfortunately, was overcrowded (the stadium is Madrid’s top tourist destination, according to city officials).
The upper floor is what really got us going “¡La madre que me parió!” (literally, “The mother who birthed me!”—one of Spain’s equivalents to “Holy f%ck!”). It’s comprised of different lounge areas—there are small tables for small groups and large community tables, a library/reading space, and a giant mural that says MADRID. But the real attraction is the unobstructed view of the Bernabéu pitch, courtesy of floor-to-ceiling windows that stretch the entire length of the space.
On the right is the Reserve Bar, with a menu of delicious beverages and plates. There’s even a cheesecake created by chef Albert Adrià, currently of Michelin-starred restaurant Enigma; Adrià was the pastry chef at his brother Ferrán’s three-Michelin-starred elBulli, considered one of the world’s best restaurants before its closing in 2011. Starbucks boasts its mixology bar serves “cocktails crafted by Coffee Masters who’ve competed in international championships.”
I ordered a croque monsieur—which was huge, with actual béchamel sauce, very good Emmental and Gruyère, and equally good ham on excellent sourdough bread—and a Special Reserve cold brew coffee. My son got a strawberry croissant and a stracciatella (gelato) shake. The food was legitimately good—restaurant quality, not “chain store-y” at all.
Can you watch games?
I wanted to know if it was possible to watch games on match days. Unfortunately, you can’t. Starbucks says, “On match days, the store is closed a few hours before kickoff—this is to allow the usual security checks to take place at the Stadium—and reopens around an hour after the game concludes.” The store has to be closed to allow VIP seat holders to reach their seats, but it remains closed and doesn’t serve food for the duration of the game, the spokesperson says.
Starbucks says Bernabéu is among its largest coffeehouses, rivaled only, perhaps, by its other Reserve Roasteries in Chicago and Taipei, Taiwan. Superlatives don’t matter here. Spanning almost 10,000 square feet over two floors, this Starbucks feels like the biggest coffee shop I’ve ever seen.
The fact that it is integrated into an iconic location could have been a problem, but Starbucks is conscious about where it is—the city of Madrid and the Real Madrid’s stadium. The company built everything around those elements, rather than dropping corporate branding onto generic retail space.
The Chicago and Taipei Starbucks don’t have the fundamental element that makes this the greatest Starbucks shop in the known universe: the views into the legendary pitch of the Bernabéu Stadium, home of the greatest soccer team of all time. It feels more like a destination that happens to serve coffee than a coffee shop with a nice view. I just hope there won’t be a line out the door every day.