I've not yet been to madrid, spain. I fear that when I get there, I'll be disappointed from all the fun I've found so easily at cafe madrid (dallas, tx USA) I've been eating here for around 20 years and this place is rock solid consistent. nothing has changed, and the place is still clean and friendly with good food. you know this joint is serving up the real thing when you see that whole pork leg, hoof and all, featured on the bar. shaving that Jamon Serrano right off the leg just like they do in spain (or so they do in the pictures I've seen). the menu has around 40 regular small plates and there is a chalkboard or specials. I let each kid pick two tapas and they had fun waiting for their selections. the daughter was not disappointed by her fired goat cheese balls with caramelized onion and honey. everything was good, the garlic shrimp, the marinated octopus, fried calamari... we had a lot. I have always appreciated that they maintain low cost fun wines so you have no excuse to not enjoy some (or many) with your meal. they featured a few bottles between $24-30 and a pitcher of sangria (red or white) is $28. this used to be a fun spot for a date when I lived near this place in dallas. and I had fun returning with my wife and three kids. I tried to share some of my cafe madrid stories from the old days, (80's and 90's). like the time I found myself in their kitchen, stuffing tomato and onion in my pants, I returned to my table like a produce spouting magician as my friends eagerly awaited what I would whip out next... but the wife realized my dallas stories are not PG, or PG-13 for that matter.... I'll share the rest of that story some other time. read more

Cafe Madrid - Jamon Serrano, the real deal, hoof and all. - Spanish Near Me - Dallas, Texas

Had a great time with my friends.. the wine, the cheese.. overall the food was really good. I like the atmosphere it's very chill. The service was great... this place is great for a date or with. Group of friends read more

Cafe Madrid - Spanish Near Me - Dallas, Texas

Giving my rating for taste not service or ambience. Ordered paella....taste was disappointing. Maybe the chef should go to Spain and eat Paella before calling this 'colored rice' Paella. It's a nice spot. You can go for ambience but don't eat their Paella and think that's how it's supposed to taste. Unless of course you like bland spice-less food ... which most peeps here do... read more

Following the suggestion of fellow yelpers, we ordered the potato omelette. What a wonderful slice of comfort food! I think I could've devoured several all by myself. The paella and sweetbreads were delicious too. The beef skewer was good, but pales in comparison to the oxtail stew which was tender and choke full of flavour - we shamelessly threw etiquette out the window and bit off every last morsel. The artichoke was bland, thank goodness for the olives for giving it some flavour. The sangria went well with the tapas, but it's nothing extraordinary. For dessert, we were torn between the flan & crème brûlée. Our waiter recommended the crème brûlée, which turned out to be too liquid-y ... it's like the eggs never set, or they added too much water. Maybe that's the Catalan style? All in all, a cozy, tasty experience. I might go back ... pending my food experience in Spain this coming summer. :) read more

Cafe Madrid - Potato Omelette - Spanish Near Me - Dallas, Texas

Best Tapas in Dallas. Family owned and operated. Reliable as could be. Killer Happy Hour and they often have live music. Recommend the Potato Omelette, the Sangria, and the Chorizo!! read more

Liked the food, however very small indoor dining. Not very accommodating or private. Like space when dining out.

The only stars come from the food, which was okay tasting but not good enough for the price. We ordered 5 dishes and only got 3 dishes plus one we did not order. They were also missing the bottle of wine we wanted to order and they tried to upsell my group a far more expensive bottle. Not planning to return. read more

Absolutely the best sangria in town!! Hands down! The menu caters to vegetarians and meat eaters. We always sit outside and enjoy the patio and the great people watching. This is a must to do here in Dallas! read more

I have only been for their happy hour but let me tell you it was delightful! Their happy hour "sangria" was a warm red blend or tempranillo (I can't remember) and delicious! Their tapas portions were a little smaller than normal but I can appreciate that especially when you look at the menu and want one of everything. Will be back for sure! read more

It pains me to write this as i have been a customer of this restaurant for years. At one point we were in here so much that we had our favorite waiters cell number and a favorite table and wine. However, the service here has gone almost completely away. On our last visit we called about noon on Saturday to reserve an early table so we could attend a concert at 7:30. You cant use open table so you have to call. No one answered the phone so i left a message for a 5:30 reservation and the message said they would return the call. They didn't but we went anyway and were seated at quickly at a nice spot. We ordered wine and an appetizer and waited. we got the wine and the server walked by us with our appetizer and put it down on a nearby table that had just been seated to their surprise. The waiter and the server had a discussion and it was clear she had delivered the food to the wrong table. We ordered more appetizers and waited for our entres. At 7:00 a nearby table started receiving their order and their table was stacked with plates. They remarked that they didn't remember ordering that much food! Turns out they hadn't and once again our food was put on a different table!!! At 7:15 I complained to the manager who did comp the check and i gave the waiter a 20% tip. However we never had our dinner entres after an hour and 45 minutes. read more

This was a pleasant surprise. For someone who's from north Jersey where there is a large population of Spaniard restaurants this one was good. A bit over priced In my opinion. Sat in for the flamenco show, could tell they haven't been doing it for too long but I appreciate the effort. This is def a place to stop have ONE glass of wine and maybe ONE tapas. They seriously line item/charge for bread. read more

Cafe Madrid has the best tapas in Dallas, hands down! The atmosphere is perfect for a cozy date night and I can't rave enough about the food. Our favorites are the mejillones con azafrán (mussles in saffron sauce), queso frito (fried goat cheese balls), and gambas al ajillo (shrimp in olive oil and garlic). You can definitely tell the owner takes a lot of pride in her restaurant, too. Try it, you will not be disappointed! read more

This place has been around for 28-29 years, as I learned from our super cool waiter when we dined here last week. I couldn't believe I had never heard of it. It's literally the most adorable spot smack dab right in the center of Dallas. The ambiance consists of red umbrellas, chairs, and seating on the outside and a completely Spanish feel on the interior. At the risk of sounding terribly corny, I felt as if for just a few hours we were transported. The food is awesome - true Spanish tapas, extensive wine list (we didn't get to indulge). We ordered waaaay too many tapas (my fault, entirely) but you can't go wrong. I loved everything we ordered. Service was quick, and the entire experience was lovely. Can not wait to come back! read more

Café Madrid is a great place to eat. Situated close to the Katy Trail and Travis Street, CM is a cozy restaurant that offers authentic Spanish flavors! I'm not talking Mexican. I'm talking European Spanish tapas. These plates are meant to be shared. Paella and Tortilla Española are a must for first timers to tapas. These are the most traditional and classic items on the menu. If you are dining alone, a couple of tapas will be more than sufficient to fill you up. If you are with a group, order several different tapas and let everyone try a small portion of each! You'll be glad you did. The Manchego cheese with apples is a great finish to the tapa experience. CM is a little pricy and that is the reason for 4 stars. I keep reading that people like to get their tapas elsewhere but they never mention where and I don't know of any other place. My Spanish friends certainly didn't complain! I enjoy the atmosphere and the food very much so I'll keep coming back. read more

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If you are looking for a suoer authentic Spanish dinner DO NOtT GO HERE! The food is terrible and the sangria worse

Perfect place to try variety of food. You can get small portions of different items. The fried olives are the best, I love them! I also like desserts here, flourless chocolate cake and créeme brûlée are the bomb. Staff is friendly and music (sometimes they have live music and dancers) is nice too. It seems to be authentic Spanish cuisine. Parking can get a little complicated, so you might end up having to walk a little. read more

Cafe Madrid - Spanish Near Me - Dallas, Texas

incredible food some of the best i've had quiet out of the way location excellent service read more

This place is so yummy. I love everything from the pincho moruno, paella, and the goat cheese desert. It's soooo sooo good. They also have refreshing sangria. Pricing is typical but they also have happy hour. Overall very good place to enjoy a nice evening meal or should I say tapas. :D read more

Oh cafe Madrid how you tear me apart. We went to the restaurant to dine in for years. Then kids came along and we were forced to pick up. Now we use DoorDash but are still loyal customers. Let me say up front I know this is a tapas place. I know. But tonight they barely gave us any food. The Jamon was barely enough to feed an ant and the almonds I could count on one hand. The chicken was minuscule and we go down from there. I'm sad. I'm torn. Maybe it was a bad night, but I'm still hungry, check that, I'm still hangry. read more

One of my favorite places to eat in Dallas! Great for dates or small groups. The food is consistently delicious and it has a fun atmosphere, especially on Flamenco night! read more

Always love Cafe Madrid. Did again last night. Our tapas (lamb kabobs perfect!) and white sangria did not disappoint.

Still amazing after all these years. When we lived in Dallas, this was one of my wife and I's favorite spots. On a recent visit back, years later, I'm happy to report that the tapas, sangria, service and ambiance are still outstanding. You'll feel light years away from the hustle and bustle of DFW and the McKinney area; transported to a little sidewalk cafe in Spain. Thanks for making this trip, like al our previous visits, special! read more

After trying a few tapas places in Dallas, this is probably my least favorite. Quite expensive, probably due to the location, for just a few bites. read more

Now this is authentic and the happy hour prices are enticing. Great place for tapas. I tried the calamari, gazpacho, olives and sangria. Going back for the first Friday flamenco show. read more

Cafe Madrid is a restaurant that I remember my family eating at when we first moved to Dallas. Now, as an adult, I returned hoping for a much more significant reminder of how the restaurant experience was years ago. However, this is not the case. Keep in mind, we attended dinner at 9pm on a Monday, which I know is not usually the busiest time... We were one of two tables seated to eat at the time, and while the service was good (waiter was wonderful and had suggestions ready and was appropriately attentive), the food was average. I do have to say that the rice in the paella is wonderful, but the turf parts were dry (the surf parts were decent). We also ordered some of the iberico ham with the tomato bread...and this was definitely my favorite tapa of the evening. As for the shrimp in garlic sauce and the truffle chips (which were Lays potato chips with Manchego crumbled on top...not impressed for $8 or whatever they costed)...could have done without. I wish I could have returned to see and experience what I had experienced as a kid at this restaurant. Maybe it was an off day... Will give it another chance though. Maybe will redeem itself. read more

Best tortillas!!!! The food here is awesome!! Staff is friendly! The croquetas as well are delicious. Really recommend this place to eat!

We come to Cafe Madrid for special occasions due to our budget and the price point. However it never disappoints and we always have the best dining experience and leave elated with how delicious the food and sangria are! We always rave and recommend it friends and family. Def a favorite!! read more

Nice Ambiance with live guitarist, painted walls, elegant lighting. We must have ordered 10 or so different things and just about all of them were exceptional. Some that come to mind include the chorizo, anchovies, the olives, the fried goat cheese and the octopus. Currently there is a somewhat low 3.5 stars yelp review, but my experience certainly didn't warrant that low of a review. They also have a happy hour where you can get some of their Tapas and drinks for cheaper. So, overall I would recommend this restaurant if you want to just sit back, relax, and have some exceptionally prepared little samplers of different foods delivered to you. It isn't necessarily cheap, but not too bad and the quality makes it well worth it. read more

I love eating like this. Small plates of well executed foods made with high quality ingredients. We always order the tortilla Espanola, calamari, the cheese board and marinated peppers. Last night we also had the quail and the special iberico ham, which was out of this world. It was all fabulous and service was pretty good, up till the end where we had to wait a fairly long time for the check. Not sure what happened there, but it was easy to forgive after such a terrific meal. read more

My fiancé and I went to Cafe Madrid on our first date around 1 1/2 years ago and just returned yesterday for our second visit. This place obviously holds a special place in our hearts. It was wonderful to go back and reminisce about our first date. We absolutely love the ambience inside and our waiter was so kind. We told him that we had our first date there, and he told us how much he loves hearing stories like that. He congratulated us and was so attentive throughout our meal. The food was incredible, as it was the first time also. We ordered four tapas plates, including veal sweetbreads, spinach and cheese croquetas, shrimp in oil and garlic, and fried calamari. Our favorites were the croquetas and shrimp. I would highly recommend this place to anyone, especially as a first date choice of course! read more

Cafe Madrid - Spanish Near Me - Dallas, Texas

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Good food, BUT if you call in a take-out order triple check your order before you leave; they consistently mess up take-out orders and when you go back to get wet they missed and/or messed up, you still get the wrong item - still not what you ordered and said for. Your best bet is to only do dine-in. You'd think during Covid times they would be sure ALL orders are consistently correct, but not Cafe Madrid. This used to be our go-to place in Dallas for tapas, but not any more; too many times they have messed up our take-out orders and I'm tired of giving them another chance; will be sure to find a new go-to place for tapas n Dallas (there are several more to choose from). Again, TRIPLE-CHECK your to-go order from Cafe Madrid because, if given then chance it will be wrong every time. :-( read more

After eating dinner at this place, I became deathly ill with food poisoning due to Salmonella poisoning. I called and spoke with the owner. No apologies or anything! read more

A friend got us reservations here, and I'm so glad we joined! We tried the 24 hour wood-fired paella, which was delicious for 4. We sat outside and the vibe was amazing. The best part of all was the service! They were running a little late with the reservation, but it was no big deal. They made sure we were comfortable with drinks. They sat us as soon as the table was ready. They were just so so lovely. Can't recommend this place enough! read more

I have been coming here since it opened, sometime in the 80's when I was a 20-something. It started in this room I'm sitting in now, with the bar only a few feet wide and a brass bar you could put your foot on while you ate. Now it's expanded to 3 big rooms and outside, too. It must have been 10 years ago when I had my single bad experience here. Since then, it has improved to the point I'd almost rather eat here than Barcelona. Tonight I had my 100th meal here (or something like that). The service and food and yes, even the Sangre de Toro were on point as usual. Garlic shrimp, boquerones, cheeses, olives, the salmon with fennel, jamon, octopus salad, then the fried anchovies with a beer for dessert, were easily the best in Dallas. This restaurant is at its highest level now. read more

We were told at 7 PM on a Saturday that it would be a 1 hour 45 minute+ hour wait. The restaurant was half empty. They claim that they started taking reservations about a year ago, however 4 months ago for my birthday dinner they did not accept a reservation then. Clearly for some reason this restaurant did not want our business. Not sure what is going on with management at this place but I do not recommend it based on the bad service experience with the host and manager. I have been many times before but after tonight's experience I will not be back. My friend was in town and was very disappointed she couldn't get the las papas bravas. read more

This is a lovely old school tapas place. I was recently visiting Dallas and came here one Saturday night with my parents and my sister. We split a pitcher of sangria and went through a couple of rounds of food. Some standouts: --The fried goat cheese. Our server described it as a "gift from God," and I don't think that description was too far from the truth. The perfect mix of sweet and savory. --Grilled ribeye with blue cheese. A combination of two of my favorite ingredients. I knew this would make me happy and it didn't disappoint. --Patatas bravas. The tapas staple, but always profoundly satisfying. Service was excellent on this particular night, and though the prices were a little high, they seemed fair to me. Despite ordering a wide variety of dishes among the four of us, I feel we only got to scratch the surface of the menu on this visit. I'm excited to come back and make my way through the rest of the menu (though it may take several dinners). read more

First night my French-Canadian mother in law is in town, she's got it in her little head she wants "tapa". She's planning a trip to "espana" and wants to get her "tapa" on. I've only had great times at Cafe Madrid -- granted, the good time was usually lubricated with a pitcher or two of sangria, so that's where I chose. We got there pretty early around 5:30. It wasn't empty but we found a spot to sit easily. We ordered a bottle of wine and got settled into the menu. First, we ordered bread with olive oil, a meat plate (mixed cured meats), and a plate of cheese (you get three at $3.50 each). Great start. The bread was soft and nice... and the cheese had a great variety of flavors. I can't remember what the three were called (they just gave us three) but they were tasty. As for tapas, we ordered the piquillo sweet red pepper stuffed with goat cheese, blood sausage (don't judge, it was really good!), marinated artichoke hearts, and paella. The paella here is amazing. We ended up ordering two orders of tapas size paella ($7.50 as a tapa and $14.50 as an entree) because it was so great. The paella had shrimp, shellfish and chicken, lots of saffron rice. Very tasty. Our wine was finished and dessert was ordered. I had an extra glass of sangria (remember, dinner with a mother in law is always an occasion for her to judge so let's make it a good one) and Etienne and his mom split gelato and she got an espresso. We all left full, drunk (well, I was anyway) and happy. A successful evening. read more

I wish I could say more for this place, but I guess we're just not meant to be a match made in tapas heaven. The dishes come out faster than I could have imagined, which makes me wonder how long things are sitting back there. A few comments on some of the dishes we ordered: - Octopus: too chewy and served cold (FYI), just not my cup of tea - Scallops: my favorite dish of the night, well cooked and seared nicely - Veggies: very bland, badly needed a kick of flavor - Wine: I rarely dislike any type of wine, but I found our Spanish red very tasty The atmosphere was intimate yet laid-back, which is perfect for a date night with your S.O. Our waiter was outstanding - humorous, gave appropriate suggestions and cleared plates away quickly without rushing us. read more

I like this place and probably come here once a month. The paella and the oxtail stew are probably my favorites from the many tapas selections to choose from. Usually order the ham plate and quail as well. And good sangria! read more

I really really wanted to be wowed by Cafe Madrid; unfortunately, my evening here did not live up to all my expectations. I think it was mainly due to the less than adequate service that we received. Although, it could possibly be that not all the members of our party were there at the proposed time so it took us awhile to order. But even after that I never felt the servers got their rhythm right with our party. In any case, do not let them push the cheese platter on you. Its not worth the price except for the Machengo...ok that was good...the other stuff sorry to say: stale. However, I'm not a big cheese person so take it for what its worth. What I really enjoyed was ox-tail stew; it was rich and savory. The meat seemed to simply slide of the bone. Afterward, I walked around what seemed like the entire Knox-Henderson area, that chilly evening, bar hopping and the cold failed to have any impact. I think it was cause the soup warms you: body and soul. The fried calamare was ok. Shrimps in garlic was super garlicy but not terrible actually still tasty! The marinated artichoke hearts and the chorizo in garlic and wine sauce were some of the best dishes. I absolutely loved the Spanish mixed olives. It made me wonder how people can even have a meal without olives. The Sangre de Toro we ordered was excellent but the sangria is almost tasteless here too! omg, thats it !!!!......UYE to NYC for some real tapas or lets all go to Barcelona ...I will be your translator...les prometo! Regardless, I would like to give Cafe Madrid another shot cause it does have good atmosphere and an added bonus is that its right across the street from the Bodega Wine Bar. ;) read more