Beautifully appointed, Cafe Madrid offers an upscale vibe of fine dining closer to Barcelona than Madrid. It even offers a lasagna entree that drifts further off the Catalonian map. Staffing as the COVID-19 pandemic comes to a close is...as expected...still ramping back to some yet to be determined level of experience and normalcy. Knowledge and skill varies (e.g. new staff may not yet comprehend that people actually enjoy ordering tapas alone.) Time will tell. The menu is diverse with a full page of tapas and a large selection of apps and mains. However, ongoing pandemic supply chain issues cause some items to simply be unavailable. The printed menu is also in transition. Highly recommended: Ojos de Buey (exquisite bacon-wrapped dates) and Plato de Queso. Marginal recommendations include Croquetas de Pollo with Roquefort cream (the roquefort totally overpowers the subtle flavors of the croquettes) and Pimientos de Piquillo Rellenos (transitional filling of ground seafood instead of cheese was off-putting.) Your mileage may vary, but the Pulpo a la Gallego (octopus) was simply the worst I've eaten with mild spices brutally overpowered by a protein that could have been fresher (supply chain issue?) In lasagna's off-map neighborhood, desert finds Bizcocho Borracho is a heavier, shareable Hispanic version of Tiramisu as an enjoyable cap on the experience. ¡Buen provecho! read more

We traveled to Salt Lake City for our Son's wedding, we are new to the area, and found Cafe Madrid almost by accident. I contacted Todd (Owner) and asked if they did wedding rehearsal dinners; he confirmed that they do, and put us on their Calendar for our event. Many, Many things changed as we got closer to the event, but the one constant was Todd and Cafe Madrid. The Dinner, Atmosphere, the Staff; we're in a word, simply Perfect!! We had a fabulous evening and several people who live in the area asked us "How did you find this amazing Restaurant?" It was a complete home run, we would not hesitate to recommend or do it again. Thank You, Todd and all your staff for kicking off the perfect weekend read more

Best Spanish Restaurant we have ever had the pleasure to dine at. The brussels sprouts are amazing. We usually make a reservation and order the paella the day before. read more

Wonderful dining experience. This upscale restaurant is beautifully decorated, perfect for gatherings and dates. The menu items are a bit expensive, which can be expected for a restaurant such as Cafe Madrid. I was given bread and vinegar as starter, and I was surprised at how amazing the bread tasted with the sweet and tangy vinegar. I ordered Paella and lobster bisque. I enjoyed the Paella, but felt the lobster bisque was more of an acquired taste. Overall, great service and nice ambiance. I would return for special occasions to try more of the menu. read more

We needed help choosing a spot for a ladies night out. Yelp to the rescue!! I plugged in "girls night" and "outdoor patio" and scanned Yelp for local options open on a Monday. Cafe Madrid was calling our name. I really loved the old location and have been wanting to check out the the new digs for quite a while. Finally an opportunity arose. Tomas, our server, treated us ladies right and we spent the night enjoying carafes of sangria at a lovely decorated table on the patio all to ourselves. We all shared a bunch of small plates and they were completely fantastic. We enjoyed the entremeses of meat and cheese, gazpacho, paella, stuffed piquillo peppers, white asparagus, queso a la plancha, crispy brussels sprouts, shrimp with bacon, and cheese stuffed plums. Tomas helped us choose items that would thoughtfully pair together. After dinner... the gazpacho, brussels sprouts and sangria were declared the best we ever had. It was my friends birthday and Tomas brought out the sangria bong. The clay bong probably has some fancy Spanish name. Apparently if you chug out of the bong for 12 seconds it will bring you prosperity for 12 months of the year. However, since it is Utah they can't use sangria and it is just cranberry juice. It was a really fun touch to end our meal even though she almost puked trying to swallow it all. Honestly, this was a five star meal with five star service and five star ambiance. The perfect spot for a ladies night out. read more

Café Madrid - Spanish Near Me - Holladay, Utah

I came here for my birthday dinner, I've always been interested in trying tapas. We came on tapas Tuesday's, where a handful of tapas are 7.00. We ended up ordering about 5 tapas that evening, along with dessert. I feel like the food is 3 starts, but I'm increasing the rating to 4 because of the top notch service we received. Why is the food just ok? I liked the interesting combinations and flavors, but everything was SUPER sweet. Given, a lot of the 7.00 tapas had sweet ingredients, I feel like the tapas were sweeter than the dessert. I think I left with diabetes. The calamari and clam tapas were great, and those weren't too sweet. I will have to give it another try, and avoid the sweet sounding things. It was just... excessive. The server was great though! She made some nice recommendations and was very attentive to our needs. read more

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Great service. Our waiter was quick and just a kind person. The food was pretty good. I had the duck and the fat could have been rendered a little more but still good. Hubby had the lamb shank and enjoyed it. If you like a heavy mushroom sauce, this dish fits the bill. We ordered the rice pudding and that was disappointing. The rice tasted chalky and extremely thick. Took it home and had to thin it out to see if that helped. We still plan on coming back. The atmosphere and staff was welcoming in a quaint little place. read more

We highly recommend this restaurant! From the moment you walk into this charming and welcoming place, you may feel very relaxed and we enjoyed all of the art and ambiance! Their Sunday Brunch was delicious, their salmon cooked perfectly! Dinner menu is unique with a Spanish flare and cooked perfectly, we've been here many times it's so delicious! We love their Wine selections and received excellent service during each visit! It's also a wonderful place for a romantic dinner, we do love this restaurant! I'd say this restaurant is medium to high prices. read more

We went to cafe Madrid for the first time for my wife's birthday. We received the hostess as our waitress who clearly had no interest in serving. She was not very helpful and somewhat rude. When an incorrect app was brought out she eventually came over, 10 minutes later, and said she would take it off the bill. Given how long it had been we asked to just skip the octopus we ordered. She was not apologetic. When we received the bill the charge was still on there and we had to find a new sever to take it off as she had gone missing for 5-10 minutes after dropping off the check. The food was fairly good but didn't make up for the service in any way Brussels app - 2/5 (somewhat mushy) Octopus app - never received Duck breast entree was - 4/5 Scallop and shrimp entree was - 5/5 I see lots of positive reviews and this was recommended to us by our close friends. Unfortunately due to this experience we likely won't be back :-( read more

It's not what it used to be. Haven't been here in a couple of years since we moved out of town but were back visiting and wanted to try. Sauces were underwhelming, food (especially shrimp and fish) was overcooked. Service was just OK -- got the feeling they were understaffed. A real disappointment as it used to be a favorite. read more

Went to Cafe Madrid with four other women and we were the stereotypical group when it came to splitting the bill and making up our minds. Our waiter, Zach, was amazing. Patient, helpful and remarkably knowledgeable about the food and alcohol menus. Our meals were all outstanding. We had a variety of tapas and entrees in order to try more options and everything was excellent. The menu is creative, with much to choose from and the wine list included a nice variety of mostly, but not all, Spanish wines, along with great cocktail options as well. Definitely recommend Cafe Madrid! read more

Great ambience! Impeccable service and quality and delicious food! Outdoor patio, fireplace, private rooms for events. I highly recommend. Gracias Cafe Madri! read more

As always the food and service were incredible! Cafe Madrid has been one of our favorite restaurant for the last 20 plus years.

The service was lovely. Food was perfect! Katrina was an absolute delight. It was a perfect evening.

Lovely atmosphere, fun art, nice bathrooms; nice waitress who kept our waters full, pretty building, cool doors, and they play lovely Spanish music. I've been here for dinner once in the past and only remember how good it was. DELICIOUS FOOD - we got the South American Plate and it was to die for. We also got lasagna and it was very good but I recommend the plate (beef deliciousness, mixed rice with egg, plantains....). read more

Café Madrid - Lasagna (left), South American Plate (top right). Lunch. - Spanish Near Me - Holladay, Utah

Food was excellent and prepared timely and presentation was pleasant. The extra flavor added to my meal was memorable and definitely will return. read more

Really nice restaurant for brunch. We were party of 8 people, and everything went very smoothly. We went for the brunch and it was tasty. I had the vegetable scrambled. It was omelette. I really like it, but the price we paid compared to the portion we get was little high. They have many different options from crepes to pancakes and many others to choose from. read more

Café Madrid - Vegetarian Scrambled - Spanish Near Me - Holladay, Utah

Had reservations for Father's Day. Though the food was very good and the staff extremely friendly we are disappointed in the management. Our reservation was for 11:15am on Father's Day. I ordered a Bloody Maria and after several minutes the bartender came out and notified me that they had run out of bloody mix. My ordered a sandwich and per the menu added avocado. Again after several minutes we were notified they were out of avocado. Extremely poor planning by management especially for a Sunday Father's Day brunch. read more

Food was fast and flavorful. Decor is adorable romantic Spanish style. Glass of wine was usual priced around 10$ and several tapas were 16$, paella was 20$. The only thing which was a little strange was that at 6:30 we were sat in a back private room away from the rest of the restaurant. And our waiter (whom may have been the manager) was a little strange/overbearing. I would go here for again for a professional work dinner rather than a night out. read more

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Seriously, this place is a hidden gem. Always a friendly welcome as we walk in. The food never disappoints and I love the wine list.

I love the ambiance and friendly service so didn't think I would ever order food to go, but was craving paella and decided to give it a try. I ended up with the salmon and it was amazing! read more

My husband and I wanted to have a nice sit down dinner with the 2 of us for date night. When we sat down, The waiter assumed that I spoke Spanish since I'm Hispanic and pushed to tell me and talk to me in Spanish when both my husband and I don't speak Spanish. After having to tell the waiter multiple times he finally let it go. We wanted to get a bottle of wine and he told us the wine we choose was no good, it was a 60 dollar bottle of wine and pushed us to get the 80 dollar bottle of wine. We were annoyed but decided that it wouldn't ruin our night. An hour later, we got our food, no one checked on us during this time, no rolls to keep us going, no water and no one came to check on us to see if we needed anything, especially not our waiter. Once we got our food, my husbands steak was purple when we ordered medium rare, we called for the waiter and he argued with my husband at the table that his steak was medium rare! I've never seen anything like it before! I called for the manager and it was this little timid girl that came to our table and said nothing and did nothing. After telling everyone we didn't want the steak, we got charged for the steak!!! My husband and I ran out of that place. I will never step foot in that place again. The service is poor, the food is mediocre and the place is ran extremely poor. 180 for a bottle of wine since we never even got to eat. read more

The tapas were outstanding. The paella good but not spectacular. Just stick to the tapas. Servers are great ambiance is great. I'll go back next time I'm in SLC (but I'll stick to the tapas. read more

The first time I came here was shortly after it opened. Ted Scheffler had written a review in City Weekly disparaging one of their dishes. Somehow, in talking with the owner she had to say how upset she was with this, and pulled out the recipe as written by her mother in Spain. She wondered how Ted could be so wrong. While it's always nice to see Ted being challenged, it showed how much she cared about her authentic dishes. This was in 1997. We've been here several times since, and despite new owners that have owned it for ages, it's never quite done it for us. We came with a group for a special paella dinner several years ago and it just didn't do it. While I've been to Spain and had some of the best meals I've ever had there, I've not been to Madrid. The one thing I can say, is this is not food I would be happy with in Spain. I was here on this trip with a group of 10. It was just before COVID, so I don't know the current situation. Since the group wanted to come, it was a way to see what we thought. We still felt that it was so far from Spain, why have Madrid in the name. The food was okay, but that's about it. It's just not my place, although it was very busy and many seem to like it, including most of the group we were with. There is one place in town back delivering something we'd expect to find in Spain, that we'll move on. read more

Cafe Madrid does not accept reservations from Yelp. They just don't know how to turn it off I guess. Many people showed up expecting to have a table but then had to wait. Luckily the wait wasn't long for us. The food was fine. Had the three tapas most recommended by our server (sausage, bacon-wrapped shrimp, and the Brussel sprouts). The Brussel sprouts were the best but not much better than what I'd have at home. The sausage + bbq sauce and shrimp were good but seemed kinda like stuff you'd just pull off the shelf at a grocery store. We had dessert too: crème brûlée cake, and the soaked lady fingers. Both were good. It was all fine but we won't be back. Nothing special and way too expensive. read more

Disappointing to say the least. When you walk in it looks beautiful and like a 5 star establishment. Service was not up to par and food was lacking. OVER PRICED. My boyfriend is a chef and his pork osso bucco came out cold. The plating was terrible, it needed a bigger plate with the way they decided to plate the sides. As soon as he went to cut into the pork the potatoes moved outwards and off the plate. I had the lamb shank. It was $30 and came with just the shank. When my server told me it came with carrots and mushrooms in the sauce I figured it'd be good with more than 3 or 4 all together. Again, terrible plating. There was way too much sauce on the plate. Any time I tried to get the meat off the bone the sauce would slosh around and spill or splash. Our guests had the salmon and said it was good, but small portion for the price. read more

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Terrible service.. so sad food is good we are regular customer minimum 2 times for month we go and friends. But today was last day .. café madrid.. we call to see if they are space for 2 around 5 pm sunday. So exiting to eat there again and the agent in the phone said not until next week. Then i said i understand please book me a reservation for next week he said sorry i am.too.busy to take the reservation call other day.. I was really surprise about this lack of profesional of them.. and he hung off the phone.. you know where me and my husband and friend we will come-back never.. Hope this review the ownwr knows what happend in that busness.. read more

Food is always amazing. Diego was very nice and took good care of us. Marsala was the go to tonight and was beyond amazing. Will be coming back like always. read more

My Spanish food benchmark is a restaurant in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. With that in mind, I thought I'd give Spanish food in Salt Lake City a try. Café Madrid was on my list. Plenty of parking in holiday,the building is a converted house. We were seated on the east side of the building situated in an intimate table in the corner. Comfortable seats, I like the ambience, it feels like being at home or at a family gathering. Not all restaurants are comfortable, this was definitely comfortable. We started our dinner experience by ordering the sangria wine. It was fruity and I enjoyed it, however, there was too much ice and seem to get watery much too soon for my taste. The price of wine was fair but there wasn't much there. The paella tapas was a hearty serving for two people. The flavor was good and the presentation worked for me but there just wasn't enough seafood in the mix to meet my expectations. For my main course the Chilean sea bass was delicious. The rich, creamy sauce and mashed potatoes combined with the Seabass filet was delicious. The Seabass filet was small. I soaked up some of the sauce with the homemade rolls. Did I say I rate those rolls with a 10 out of 10? The rolls were amazing! The rolls are served one at a time so you need to ask for refills. The disappointment here was the fact that I did not expect small plates on the main course. I understand the program with tapas but was not clear on the main plate as I was expecting a more substantial portion when eating Spanish style food. This is not a French restaurant. The place was lovely the service was excellent and the food flavors were delicious. That combination means it's worth a visit. Salute! read more

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Whenever we're in need of the BEST chicken noodle soup, it's a no brainer, Cafe Madrid is the place to go. Actually, we order it to-go and curl up at home with our soup and a movie. read more

Food was pretty good. Surprisingly, everything was pretty tasty, but the signature entree (paella) was a disappointment. It was was kinda dry and took 90 minutes to make. I enjoyed it and would go back, but not order the paella again. Sangria was pretty good too. read more

Thank you Cafe Madrid for the great service and attention you gave our wedding. We received a lot of positive comments from our guests about how much they enjoyed themselves and how good the food was. We appreciate the personal attention you provided for our special day. Everything was perfect and worry free. Thank you Diego for everything. read more

Brussels sprouts and tortilla are superb. The only thing better than the food was the service. Excellent

Old-school European setting. Very good food. We got a series of 6 tapas then dessert. The asparagus salad was a little strange with cold potatoes and warm asparagus with what tasted like a mayonnaise dressing. The fish-stuffed peppers in light tomato sauce were excellent. The shrimp scampi in a cream sauce was very good. We ate them together with the sausage and Fig sauce... think sweet and savory. The spicy shrimp in tomato sauce wasn't spicy, but the shrimp was perfectly cooked. Excellent dish. The white asparagus was overcooked and squishy, but the flavor was spot on. Dessert... flan from heaven. Easily the best dish we had. Absolutely perfect in every way. read more

Café Madrid - Spanish Near Me - Holladay, Utah

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Great building and staff. Food was so good! We had 5 tapas and paella for 2. Too much food. Great evening with friends

One of the best restaurants in Salt Lake City. We tried the octopus, fried calamari, pimientos with goat cheese, shrimp and we had to take the paella to go because it was a lot of food for us. Paella was outstanding even when we ate it at the next day. Everything was delicious. I felt dinning in a family house in Spain. Thanks to Andrea, Thomas and JC that made this dinner the most special one. We will be back soon. read more

Café Madrid - Paella - Spanish Near Me - Holladay, Utah

I set a reservation for 5:15 on a Saturday. It was not too busy so you could probably do walk in at that time. We ordered Pulpo de la Gallega (octopus) and Coles De Bruselas (Brussels sprouts) tapas while waiting for our Seafood Paella. You can order the paella with a reservation on their website, otherwise it takes 1.5 hours so be aware of that. First they brought out a fresh roll with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette and then the tapas. The octopus was buttery. The Brussels sprouts were a great texture with a soft inside and slightly crunchy outside. They were moist and sweet. In between those and the Paella they brought out a small raspberry sorbet as a palette cleanser. The Seafood Paella for two was good and the portion size was very large. They mentioned they also have a smaller version as an appetizer that is quicker to prepare and generally tastes the same if that's something you're interested in. The service was great. I highly recommend as long as you're not on a tight budget. This meal ended up costing about $120 without tip, but it was great quality. A good choice for a nicer night out. read more

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Great Spaniard food for lunch and dinner. Comfortable ambiance and excellent customer service. Love their food here, especially the paella.

I gave this place 5 stars before, but I wanted to re-iterate the top review after a recent visit. My fiancé and I decided to toss all wedding plans out the window and just elope on a few days notice on Valentine's Day. We made a call to Café Madrid and they very quickly accommodated our small wedding party with the VIP treatment. It was beautiful and romantic and delicious at the same time. Thank you for sharing in the memories with us! read more

The round man at the front desk is ruining this restaurant! I've eaten at Cafe Madrid several times but last night will be my last. I was severely disappointed with the man who served us. He severely lacked professionalism and made the evening rather uncomfortable. Firstly, the man at the front desk turned out to also be our server. There was an error in our party number, but instead of taking it in stride, he made a big deal about it. He sat us at a crappy, awkward table even though there was plenty of better seating to choose from. His attitude was unfriendly and it felt like we were a nusance being there. Many of the menu items were not available and his response was abruptly short. (three times he rejected what my husband ordered rather than simply offering a different selection) All of the items we ordered were plated nicely except one which was served on a dinky plate, making it look quite unappealing. He kept filling our water glasses even when they didn't need filling, clanking into other dishes as he picked up and put down the glasses. He placed items in front of us sloppily, off to the side and in weird ways so we would have to move the dishes ourselves. He placed only two dessert menus on the table, one he placed sideways so it had to be turned to read. And also he kept leaving the dining area and sitting down at the front desk. I got the impression this man was a manager or owner who wanted to control everything. Honestly, if that person let the other employees do their jobs and stayed out of it, the place would probably run better. Stranger still is that when you first sit down with a menu, there is a big section about how paella must be ordered 24 hours in advance. And to inquire about availability. So my husband inquired and the waiter barked at him that you must order 24 hours in advance. Why?? I have eaten all across Spain and never once did we have to give a days notice to order a rice dish. I have also made paella at home and it did not take 24 hours. They simply should take it off the menu if they cannot figure out a way to make it faster! So sad! Cafe Madrid should be taken over by new owners or shut down. The place is completely stifled. read more