A snack near the Retiro: coffee, sweets and ferments in Los Jerónimos

If you are looking for somewhere to have a snack near the Retiro, in Madrid, STILLROOM — on Calle Moreto 9, in the Los Jerónimos neighbourhood — has the answer. We are a five-minute walk from the park and two from the Prado Museum, and on Sundays we open from 11:00 to 23:00 without a break, so the whole mid-afternoon snack fits in, with coffee, house ferments and something sweet made here. On Wednesday and Thursday, from 9:00 to 17:00, the afternoon also has its own sweet slot.

Where to have a snack near Retiro Park

There are many ways to have a snack in Madrid, but few with the calm you find on our street. We are not a passing-trade café or a run-of-the-mill pastry shop: we are a neighbourhood gastro cocktail bar where the snack is taken sitting down, unhurried, with the warm afternoon light coming in through the window. Here, the afternoon offer is not the full kitchen menu — we leave that for the evening — but a sweet pause designed for anyone coming from the museum, the park, or simply wanting to linger after a Sunday stroll.

In Los Jerónimos, between the Prado and the Retiro, a snack is something else: a quiet moment, the kind that tastes of neighbourhood, where coffee and ferments sit alongside our own baking. There is no mass-produced pastry or passing-trade rush. There are intimate tables, shelves lined with fermentation jars, a small copper still and a team that will tell you why that roasted pineapple tepache tastes like a sunny afternoon even in December.

A neighbourhood snack, between the Retiro and the Prado

Calle Moreto 9 is one of those narrow, quiet streets in Los Jerónimos that hardly anyone sets foot on unless they live or work here. And yet it is a two-minute walk from the Prado Museum’s façade that faces Los Jerónimos, and barely five from the Puerta de Felipe IV gate of the Retiro. That means that, with the smallest of detours, you can swap the crowds of the Paseo del Prado for the discreet murmur of a neighbourhood with character. Having a snack near the Retiro in a place like this is no accident: we chose it on purpose, because we wanted the afternoon to taste of pause, not of rushed tourism.

If you have just left the museum and need to sit down with a coffee and something sweet, or if you have walked through the park and want to settle into a charming corner before heading home, our door is literally a short stroll away. And if you live in the neighbourhood, you probably already know that Los Jerónimos hides gastronomic treasures beyond the obvious circuits. Here there are no endless queues or neon signs; there is calm, a deft hand with drinks and a small kitchen giving off the smell of freshly made pancakes.

That combination of a privileged location and neighbourhood atmosphere turns a snack in the Los Jerónimos neighbourhood into a plan with a purpose of its own, not just a functional stop. From the table, with the afternoon light coming through the glass, you can see the lacto-fermentation jars resting on the shelves. It is a subtle reminder that here even the sweet things carry a touch of controlled acidity, and that coffee is never a mere formality.

What there is for a snack

Before you picture an endless kitchen menu, let us be clear: in the mid-afternoon our offer is focused on a drink and something sweet. The kitchen in full swing has its own shift, but what there is for a snack is exactly what you fancy at that hour. If you come in the morning from Wednesday to Sunday we have brunch by the Retiro (with its own menu), but in the afternoon things change: we serve a shorter selection of sweets and desserts, which you can check on the brunch menu and the small plates menu. To give you a quick idea, here is a table of what you will find at a charming snack near the Retiro:

If you fancy	What we would order
Something classically sweet	Pancakes with fruit and honey, French toast with fruit and honey, or a griddled butter croissant
A dessert indulgence	Yuzu and passion-fruit cheesecake, chocolate coulant or bitter orange soup
Something light	Yoghurt bowl with granola and fresh fruit
Something different to drink	Roasted pineapple tepache and strawberry and raspberry lacto-ferments (alcohol-free)

To go with it, there is coffee in every style — ristretto, espresso, cortado, café con leche and cappuccino — and freshly squeezed orange juice. The XL cookie is another of those cravings that comes along every now and then, and it is worth it if you fancy something more filling. Remember: you will not be looking at the full kitchen menu, but you will get a signature snack, designed to be enjoyed without rushing and without anyone hurrying you away from the table.

The ferments: the part you will not find at any other snack spot

If there is one thing that defines Stillroom’s personality beyond the night-time cocktails, it is our passion for ferments. And although it might sound like a bartender’s thing, our ferments are actually alcohol-free and ideal for any afternoon. Tepache is a roasted pineapple ferment, of Mexican origin, which we make in house by letting the fruit rest with spices and brown sugar for a few days. The result is a lightly fizzy drink, with natural acidity and a spiced undertone that refreshes without being cloying. If you have never tried a roasted pineapple tepache, a snack is the perfect moment to do it.

The strawberry and raspberry lacto-ferments are another story: seasonal fruit that we ferment with salt and leave for the lactobacilli to do their work, producing a pink, live liquid with a lactic acidity reminiscent of a complex natural soft drink. With no added sugar and no alcohol, they are the perfect companion for a rich sweet such as the chocolate coulant or the yuzu cheesecake. At any café you would expect a café con leche; here we offer you the option of something different to drink while you snack, with ferments that whet the appetite and brighten the afternoon.

What time to have a snack at Stillroom

In all honesty: the mid-afternoon snack, the kind where you sit down at five or six without watching the clock, only truly exists on the days we do not close at midday. That day is Sunday, because we open from 11:00 to 23:00 without a break: at that hour, coffee, ferments and house desserts await you, with vermouth in the background. On Wednesday and Thursday we open from 9:00 to 17:00, so the snack comes early — just before we pull down the shutters — but it is the one that brings the full sweet brunch offer: pancakes, French toast, griddled croissant or XL cookie. On Friday and Saturday we work in two shifts, from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 19:00 to 23:00: on those days the sweet treat falls when brunch closes or already at night, with the desserts from the menu. We are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so do not count on us for a snack on those days.

Day	What you will find in the afternoon
Wednesday and Thursday	Open from 9:00 to 17:00. An early snack with the full sweet brunch offer until closing time.
Friday	Open from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 19:00 to 23:00. No mid-afternoon slot: the sweet treat falls when brunch closes, or already at night, with the desserts.
Saturday	Open from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 19:00 to 23:00. The same as Friday, with the sweet treat at the close of brunch or during the evening shift.
Sunday	Open from 11:00 to 23:00 without a break. A full mid-afternoon of coffee, ferments and desserts, flowing into our Sunday vermouth.
Monday and Tuesday	Closed

So, if your plan is to have a snack near the Retiro at a relaxed pace, put it in your diary: on Sunday afternoon and on Wednesday and Thursday until 17:00 you have a table and a snack guaranteed. On Sunday, moreover, the afternoon tastes of vermouth if you decide to stay on, but that is another story.

From snack to cocktail, without changing venue

One of the real advantages of having a snack at Stillroom is that on Sunday you do not need to get up when the afternoon fades. Here the venue carries on right through until 23:00, and the snack flows into a cocktail quite naturally: the afternoon turns into our Sunday vermouth — a neighbourhood classic — and from there into cocktails, without changing tables. On Friday and Saturday the handover is more pronounced, because we close after brunch and reopen at 19:00: anyone wanting to follow their sweet treat with a drink does so already at night, in afterwork mode. There is no abrupt change of menu or feeling of being rushed out; it is simply that, as the light fades, the space fills with a different energy. But that is a story for another time. What matters is that your afternoon coffee or ferment can be the prologue to a cocktail without moving from the table.

Book your table for a snack

If you are planning an afternoon strolling through the Retiro or a visit to the Prado and want to round it off with a charming snack near the Retiro, all you need to do is pick a day and book. We are on Calle Moreto 9, right in the heart of Los Jerónimos, and from Wednesday to Sunday we are waiting for you with our ferments at their best and the griddle ready: Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 17:00, Friday and Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 19:00 to 23:00, and Sunday from 11:00 to 23:00 without a break. Book your table on our website and come and see that having a snack near the Retiro can be so much more than a quick coffee.