Four of us had traveled from JFK to Madrid in May 2014. This was our first casual lunch in Madrid, after a sumptuous glutinous meal the day before. We were jet lagged, tired and slightly lost when we reached Alhambra. Alhambra was sitting there in the middle of street, and it looked like an oasis for us! The beautiful shiny yellow and blue tiles were beckoning for us to come in, sit and enjoy. We ran in, and sat by the bar. We stared at other people's food, trying to figure out what to order. People were chatting in Spanish, and laughing. We asked the bartender what he recommended and he told us that there were free tapas with each drink! The bartender was very friendly and very professional. Someone ordered a grape juice, and a beer. We got some wings with bread to accompany that. Then a Spaniard sitting next to me beckoned me to try his drink. With my bungling Spanish, I thought he wanted me to taste it! No, he wanted me to smell it. It smelt sweet, minerally and of red wine. It was vermut! We ordered our own to taste. My friend was hooked! The alcohol content was higher than a wine, and it was great for sipping and enjoying the thinly sliced chorizos over bread. And with the chicken wings. The chicken wings were tender juicy and savory. They tasted much better than they looked. The chorizo was delicious, smoky, firm texture and perfect with vermut. We didn't try much of the food but the drinks were great! And it was beautiful Moroccan-inspired bar. We left with our stomachs full from delicious chicken wings, the bread and chorizo. read more

This restaurant has a high rating on google. Came in the afternoon and it was not busy. We ordered the squid and garlic shrimp and 2 sangrias. The garlic taste had a very mild garlic taste to it because they put very little garlic into it. It was quite bland compared to El Sur. The squid was too sweet for our liking. If you want a nice traditional Spanish cuisine, try El Sur instead. read more

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So. So. So. DELICIOUS!! Upon stumbling on the Alhambra page on Yelp, I knew I had to come sometime on our 3 day visit to Madrid. All the principal dishes are so amazing, you really can't go wrong with any of them. Sirloin Pork - 4/5 The pork was yummy because of the honey mustard and garlic chips. At times the sauce was more concentrated in some areas so it was really salty. The garlic chips added so much to the dish. However, the grilled pork was a little bit dry but overall very good. Meatballs 6/5 These were so magical it's a must try if you're here. Enough said. Tripe Stew 3.5/5 The stew tasted different, the seasoning was good but still really salty. Prawns 4/5 Portion was really good - it really puts the jumbo in jumbo shrimp. The seasoning goes into the shrimp but it doesn't taste as fresh as it could. Overall, the portions are really big and you could possibly share 2 dishes with 3 people. The service was really nice and friendly considering there aren't many english speakers in Madrid and what was outstanding was the free appetizer (iberian ham) at the beginning. I highly highly recommend coming here on your trip to Spain!! read more

Take extra care when coming here as the next door restaurant had Incorporated the 'Alhambra' name into theirs (as second name). This restaurant is number 9, their neighbor is 7. We dropped by about 7.30pm, wanting their seafood paella. They only serve that at 8pm. We took the waiter's recommendation for a pork loin tapas carmelized with green peppers ($7), which was really good, while we waited for the paella. Seafood paella ($9) arrived at 8.15pm, perfect timing. The portions were ample and had quite a bit of seafood. We shared both dishes. Our sitting area was almost full by 8.30pm. As we exited, we notice quite a number of tables with diners eating their own tapas plate. One will have a better culinary and dining experience if one shares the various tapas plates. Ask the waiter for empty plates to spoon one's portions. We wanted to try their tiramisu as several reviewed had raved about it. Unfortunately, they were serving cheesecake which we had for lunch today. The Sangria's ($5.20) we had were okay. It didn't particularly stand out. Our final bill was $21.20. read more

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Madrid had so many good tapas restaurants but Alhambra is one you should try, especially if you are there for only a short time. The service was great. Staff were friendly. Their complimentary bread and sausage was nice. We ordered grilled prawns, steak bullock, and ratatouille manchego with smoked cod. They were all so good. Everything was very fresh and tasty. They used sea salt on the steak and shrimps, which boosted the sweetness of the food. Their sangria was SO GOOD!!! Before this trip my favorite sangria was in London, but now Alhambra holds my favorite one. Price was also very reasonable. Tip: there were 2 restaurants with the same name and very similar decoration next to each other. This review is for the one with house number 9, not the next door which is number 7. read more

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The Alhambra has 2 restaurant right next to each other. They pretty much serve the same food, but have some very small differences on the menu. This place is GOOOD. I knocked off 1 star because the lamb leg that I got was SUPER salty. The meat was good, only thing was that is was SOOOOOOO salty. The Oxtail stew was AMAZING!!! So tasty and soft. It came with really yummy potatoes too. We got complimentary chicken wings as a starter. The chicken wings were cooked PERFECTLY. The meat was so juicy and tender. Amazing how they cooked the wings to perfection. We got the Tinto de Verano. Supposedly in Spain the locals drink Tinto, not Sangria. haha Only difference is that they add lemon in the Tinto. It was amazing!! Yum!! HAPPY TINTOING!! read more

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Stopped in for a beer and enjoyed it. Nice atmosphere in this older establishment though a bit more attentiveness from the bartender and I might have stayed for longer. Lots of activity, lots of people coming and going, lots of people staying too. read more

Alhambra - Alhambra in Madrid - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

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The paella was very good. And the price was great too. Service was also good. Overall great experience. No complaints read more

Alhambra - Paella - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

Alhambra is a super popular choice among the locals and tourists alike. They offer an unbeatable lunch special aka "menu del dia (menu of the day)" that intrigued me prior to coming here. For 15 Euros per person you get a starter dish, an entree, drink and dessert of your choice. You get approximately 6-8 food options for the starter and entree so there is something for everyone! It's such an amazing deal. I highly recommend the bean soup, canalones a la bolonesa (Bolognese sauce wrapped in pasta, sort of like a lasagne), the lobster risotto dish and the shrimp in garlic oil. All the desserts we ordered were amazing (tiramisu, cheesecake and apple pie). You really can't go wrong with this place because the cooking is so rustic and tastes like the true spirit of Spain. I would avoid the beef steak and fries entree in the lunch special, since the beef was pretty fatty and there wasn't much meat compared to the fat. The fries however have a Belgian style to them, very thick and potatoey. They also offer meals for 2 deals in the store for those couples who like dining in twos. They also looked very promising. read more

We were seated right away on a late Sunday dinner. The cream cheese on the salmon tortas were not the cream cheese like we have in the States. It was a soft mushy cheese that had minimal flavor. The pork belly tortas were very good! Each torta came with a thin sliced bacon-like and fat portion of pork belly. read more

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Came here because it's on a lot of yelp list, it really doesn't disappoint me. I arrived around 3pm for lunch and they have 14€ lunch special which includes one drink(wine/beer/soda) and two courses meal and one dessert. Which is a great deal near Sol. I was seated right away because it was a bit late for lunch. Ordered one sangria, and the waiter brought me 3 pieces of chicken wing on the house while I was choosing my food. The lunch special doesn't have English but the waiter took time to explain the menu to me with some broken English. So in the end I ordered grill prawn(very large size) and steak with fries. The prawn is not so fresh, the meat is not firm so it's been frozen for too long. But taste is good. The steak is juicy, there are fat around which I like to make it taste better and juicier. The menu also includes paella, grill ribs, lobster risotto, fried calamari and other nice stuffs. Great value for the quality of food. In the end I ended up with tiramisu, it's a slice looks like it's home made, you can still see pieces of lady fingers in it. It's a bit creamy and lack of some alcohol in it. read more

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No star if I could! It's a shame because I ate here three years ago and quite enjoyed it. Three years later, I think the restaurant has gotten too busy and they're not able to handle it. We asked to order the paella and they told us paella doesn't start until 8:30pm, and suggested the lobster rice instead. It was double the price of the paella - so we expected something similar if not better. When the lobster rice arrived, it was a soupy mess, basically a tomato based stew with rice and a shrimpy, over cooked lobster. Not worth 18 euros. The real icing on the cake was when I asked for tomato sauce for the bread - pictures in previous yelp reviews will show that Alhambra provides that, on the house. When I asked, the waitress looked confused for a bit and then pointed to the table next to us, asking "that sauce?" I nodded, and she handed us the sauce from that table. That the people had eaten and left. It wasn't one of those communal sauces - it was literally leftovers from the last customers. Gross. Won't be returning here ever! read more

Best menu del dia in Madrid. Great 3-course lunch special for only 18 euros. I've eaten here several times over the years and always pleased with food and service. Very popular and often crowded. Can't go wrong visiting this place. read more

Alhambra - Menu del dia - 3 course lunch special - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

We had a wonderful meal here - the service was great and the food was delicious for a tavern/pub style place. The fried goat cheese with blueberries was to DIE for but is a massive portion compared to typical Spanish Tapas. Definitely recommend for a more casual, inexpensive dinner. read more

Alhambra - Fried goat cheese with blueberries. - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

Ehhhhh.... my 3 friends and I came here for the Paella only to find out its only served after 8pm. Instead we all had the Steak Bullock with fries. 3 of us asked for our steak well done, 1 wanted it medium rare. I knew something was wrong when a "well done" steak came out first. All of the well done steaks came out medium and the medium rare came out medium well. We all sent our steaks back... once I got my well done back it was super tough & dry. So tough I couldn't even enjoy it. I was tired of chewing LOL. read more

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Portions are huge! Our waiter told us to stop and even at that point, we still had food for another meal and only spent a little over 40 Euros including wine! Great choice - food is good but not amazing. Nice variety of basic tapas with a complimentary item (chicken wings) to start. We had the squid, potatoes with 2 sauces, Iberico ham, some sort of loin with peppers, and croquettes. Squid, ham and patatas were my favorites here. Other items were okay. Decent meal for a great price. read more

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Must try the goat cheese!! Best food in all of Madrid! They even served complementary sausage which was amazing.

Terribale. Had rice with lobster. The rice is so salty that it tastes bitter. The lobster is not fresh, the meat is not tight. Most unblievable thing is, i didn't find the lobster tail, only found some shrimp tails. read more

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AMAZING tapas here in Madrid with a very authentic feel! My boyfriend and I were just walking around at night and were getting hungry so we stumbled upon this restaurant. The service was good and our tapas came out pretty quickly. We opted for the chorizo iberico (which came on a piece of bread) and the fried goat cheese with blueberry sauce. I had no idea that combination worked but it very well did!! We already plan on coming back here again before we leave! read more

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Five Stars! We picked this placed based on the Yelp reviews, and we loved this spot! We arrived right at the beginning of the dinner rush - around 8pm, and bellied up to the bar. There was one or two tables available, but we preferred the bar atmosphere, and those tables quickly were filled, and the bar space around us as well! Diego was one of the bartenders & we loved him! He was fun & welcoming, and we enjoyed practicing our Spanish with him. The first tapa we got with our drinks was a black pudding panini (I think!?) and it was delicious! We also ordered another tapa, I can't remember the name...but it was toast with goat cheese, carmelized onions & blueberry sauce, which was amazing!! SO GOOD. Overall, I wish we spent a little more time here, but we wanted to hop around to different tapas spots. This was the best one! read more

Alhambra - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

Prices here are beyond reasonable for the amount of food you receive. I had ordered the churrasco but got beef ribs. I was too hungry to complain so kept it. They were very nice & juicy so nothing to be upset about. Our waiter was also extremely nice & attentive. read more

Alhambra - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

Amazing meal! Thank you to our amazing server Hillary for making us feel welcome. She was attentive, fun and made our meal that much more enjoyable. We ordered the grilled prawns, goat cheese with blueberry and caramelized onions and the potatoes in two sauces. The portions and prices were very reasonable. This was a great first dinner in Madrid- thanks Hilary and staff! read more

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Fantastic food and fantastic staff. I went at peak late dinner hours and only had to wait a few minutes before being seated. Not the cheapest nor most expensive tapas you'll find in Madrid, but def some of the best value. Come, eat, and enjoy. read more

Alhambra - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

I swear every single person I have ever spoken to about Madrid has told me Alhambra is a MUST. I was a bit sad that I ended up not making it here until my final few hours and they were just opening for breakfast. If you're nearby, their breakfast is actually quite nice. While they don't have their tapas available ( in my opinion, 11am is already lunch time so they should!) they do have some light choices for breakfast. I had a whole master plan of hopping around the restaurants before my flight back to London to try as much of the food as I could. However, that somewhat backfired. The staff was just starting to open up the shop when I arrived a little after 11am. Their breakfast menu is pretty small and nearly all of it consists of toasted bread with something on it. I ordered the toasted bread with olive oil and it was really good. It comes with 2 pieces, a cup of coffee and that's all for 4€. I also ordered some fresh squeezed OJ which was really good! The staff was really friendly and they had good conversation. I can't wait to come back for lunch or tapas because I'm telling you EVERYONE loves this place. read more

Alhambra - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

Really liked this place! Came here via a Yelp recommendation and was glad to choose it. It's in a very touristy area but preserves a sense of authenticity. Beware - the portions are huge! We ordered way too much food. I wish the waiter stopped us but alas... Good draft beer, good selection of various jamon/cured meats. Amazing deep fried cheese! Good paella and good wine. And friendly, fun service. read more

Alhambra - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

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I have been here twice for food and once for drinks. I would say the cost for the steak is really reasonable for a capital city in western Europe. Both times I came for lunch, and steaks both times, and both times the meat was pretty good, and they are of decent size (300g?) The shrimp in garlic oil was ok, but under-seasoned, and the shrimp size was kind of small. This place does get lively at night, I walk past at night with some people I met and we decided to stop for some drinks, and some drinks turned into many rounds at the bar, and with each round came free tapas like 3 or 4 different ones too. read more

WHY IS SPAIN SO GREAT!? Tapas, sangria and patatas bravas.. need I say more?! Location was great, just off of Puerta del Sol. Inside was nice and busy, everyone seems to be having a great time socializing and eating. Our server was the sweetest. The price is fairly cheap! I love it! Even my mom was shocked! "That's it??" She asked, lol. Everything is made so fresh, even the grilled chicken tasted of pure organic goodness. The table next to us, consisting of two hungry looking young adults devoured the parilla of meats! So good! I recommend! Gracias a todo! read more

Alhambra - Garlic prawns, Patatas bravas (my fave in all of Spain), grilled chicken 3 - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

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We walked by this place and it was very busy. We decided to go back and try it later. We went about 7:30, which is early for Spain. We were seated right away. Our server was very nice and helpful. He suggested the garlic shrimp and we got a salad to share. The garlic shrimp came out in a sizzling platter. This probably made the shrimp a bit over cooked, but it was quite delicious. The salad was very big. It had beets on it. I can't stand to even look at beets. My friend hurriedly took all of the beets so I would eat the salad. The salad was very good once I couldn't see the beets. By this time the restaurant was very busy and very noisy. People were waiting to be seated. We finished our wine and happily went on our way. I would gladly try this place again. read more

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Great menu del dia in Madrid, close to puerto del sol, but just far enough away that it being tucked in a tiny street makes it not swarming with tourists (at least when we went in March). We paid 12 euros each to get a starting drink, an appetizer, a main and a dessert vs coffee (we opted for the coffee, although the desserts looked amazing; we were just too stuffed!). Not only was it a great deal, the food was good too. Would definitely recommend. Grilled prawns with little eels are definitely worth trying if you're into seafood (the eels don't really taste very fishy, as someone for whom this really matters). The pulpo (octopus) was also really good, although a little bit tough. Overall, would definitely recommend coming here. read more

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The food was very delicious, ordered seafood paella, pork loin with caramelized onion and pepper and potatoes over two sauce, the portion was big and the food was very flavorful. read more

Alhambra - Seafood paella - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

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This place was amazing. Arguably the best place in Madrid. We brought a party of 16, without a reservation and they were incredibly accommodating. The food was fantastic and reasonably priced with good portions. The owner was also very friendly with the customers, which gave a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the entire place. Overall, definitely would recommend for good food and an even better time! read more

On what was an epic overall food experience in Madrid, Alhambra was the first restaurant to completely change my perception of oxtail. The place has a local bar look and feel, and seems to be filled with locals pre siesta. There is a bar area with some scattered seating, along with a separate dining area. In both areas, the vibe was very upbeat and people just looked like they were thoroughly enjoying their food. Before you get your meal they bring over a series of tapas dishes consisting of different proteins. In a short time later, the main course arrived which was my oxtail that came with a side of fries. I'm Jamaican, so oxtail is a staple dish that I love, but the way they made it here was completely different. More tender, more gravy, more flavorful, more awesome. Add to that the fact that it comes with a side of fries, and you have the perfect meal! The gravy literally drenches the entire plate, making it a dream dish for those with a hangover. It was so good that I would come back here again during the course of my trip. Def a must visit, especially for lunch when it seems to be a little less crowded. read more

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We ordered the rice with lobster, oxtail, tuna and bull steak. I have to say, all our meals were terrific. The portions were more than generous and the flavors were also very good. The oxtail was very tender and flavorful. The fries soaked up the sauce and was delicious. The steak came out on a sizzling plate and was hearty. My wife enjoyed her rice with lobster. That dish had 1/2 a lobster, one langoustine shrimp and some other small pieces of shrimp. It was more stew like with the rice and it was very flavorful. The tuna steak served was cooked to a medium rare and had a fresh flavor to it (not fishy). The vibe was great, service was very good and the food was yummy. read more

Hit this joint with my wife in Madrid (Spain). Super cool spot, everyone was super busy, but that didn't impact the awesome service we received. Food and drinks were all excellent! If in Spain, check out this joint for sure! read more

The food was decent. I went there two nights while visiting Madrid. One night to have the steak and the other night to have the oxtails. The steak was under seasoned but with a little salt it was pretty good. The oxtails were the biggest oxtails I've ever seen. I didn't even finish half of my plate. They had a unique type of flavor but I was just expecting something different I guess. It also confused me as to why they threw the fries throughout the oxtails instead of just placing them on the side. When you're first seated they bring out a bread basket and some type of small plate dish. The first night I received cheese and the second night I had small sausages. The sangria and Spanish Red wine were good. The bartenders are really sweet and welcoming.. read more

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Came here also recommended by Yelp. Really enjoyed the service and the quality of food. We received our plates really fast. Kind of scary like if they had them already made or they were just that quick! I'm a pescatarian, they had the right tapas for me. I ordered "queso fresco, tomate, canónigos y orégano" - it was delicious!!! & "Salmón ahumado" which was descent. My husband did go with the Steak "Entrecôt de lomo a la parrilla" and the Alhambra Beer which he really enjoyed. Our bill was really good! Only30 Euros. If you are in the area we recommend this place. read more

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Stick to the expertise. I ordered paella. Um now thee worse I've ever had. On the flip side. The tapas are where it's at. So definitely get the tapas forget the paella. It had one crab that was so small I couldn't get any meat out of it, no chorizo, no flavor two mealy shrimp, one mussel and 3 baby clams. Lots of risotto. I'm never again. Tuna belly taps was good tho. Service is impeccable. It's a fun spot too. read more

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Reviews of this restaurant way overstated the appeal. Was disappointed since we expected more. Having spent two weeks in Spain and visiting many tapas places, I thought this place was very much middle of the pack and not the sort of place other reviewers swooned over. (And yes, we went to #9.). The food was fine. Service was very quick and food extremely fast to appear on the table; if you don't want your meal to be over in 20 minutes, consider spacing your order out. Portions are very generous and it is good value. Steak was a mixed bag; some bites were delicious and some a bit gristly. I did not think the sangria here was good. read more

Excellent! The environment was amazing. We waited a few min at the bar and had amazing pork appetizer. Our server was Will and he recommended the grilled squid (my favorite) garlic shrimp and t bone (very large a little fatty) but flavorful. We wanted to have the paella but they were sold out. I would recommend pestering paella (it must be great) read more

The reviews at Alhambra was good and it was close to our hotel, it was late and we had an early flight, so we came here. We were seated very quickly, but as we were leaving there was a line for seating. It was a little loud, but we loved it. It was a mixed crowd with families and younger people at the bar. It was a lively and fun atmosphere. The food came out quickly. We had the potatoes with 2 sauces, ham on bread, and of course paella. The food was all great. I had the sangria, it was only okay, I had better at other places while in Madrid. For dessert we did the apple pie, it is served cold, i wouldn't recommend it. I also had café con leche, it was great. I'm positive the Spanish countries have coffee mastered, I've never had a bad cup in any of them. Price was good. Easy to find. read more