We ate at a sidewalk table. We had a bottle of Cava from a winery we visited in Barcelona. We shared about 5 tapas and were very happy with food, service, and presentation! read more

I was reminded of a pleasant dining experience from this place after seeing it posted as a ROTD. Last night me, the BF, and the BFF decided to get our Tapas on. What the hell happened to you Cafe Madrid? Holy downhill. First red flag: they have reduced nearly half of their menu. No more Tuna Empanadas. I nearly left after learning of this horrible news. Here is what we ate: ( and don't judge us, we didn't finish everything) Bread Basket- excellent soft challah- like bread Olives- regular....what can I say...they are olives Grilled Mushroom- a giant portabello cap with garlic and olive oil. Yuuum Spinach and Cheese Croquettes- very dough-y on the inside...meh Fried Goat Cheese- this was my favorite thing Shrimp in Garlic- shrimp were teeny tiny...but flavorful Marinated Artichoke Hearts- very cold....meh Potatoes Bravas- would have been better if not drenched in aoli Mussels- pretty tasty- wish they would have given us some bread to absorb the sauce White asparagus- mushy mushy yuck yuck Every single dish was covered in aoili and a runny chimichurri like sauce that made everything taste the same. Their house tempernillo was nice. Final Red flag: we ordered the grilled lamb chops...they never came. We were charged for them anyways. I am still on the quest to find one decent Tapas place. Barcelona, I miss you so. read more

A (im)Modest Proposal Git' over here you sexy lil' latin gem. How 'bout we set the mood with a little spanish guitar. You know what makes my situation *REAL* moist? Some bodyrockin sangria sexytime. Look at you. I'm quivering with anticipation. I just cant wait to nibble on your sweet, taut... slices of green apple, and then press my pouty lips to your soft, supple, milky white tetilla... cheese. Yea. Like that, baby? God I do too. *shiver* I wanna rub your... aioli all over my... potato tortilla, and then you can dip your... bread into my succulent, moist.... spicy garlic shrimp. Your perfect balls... of manchego and spinach totally make me scream OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD I'M COMMMINNNG back for more. Again and again and again, amen. Sweet baby Jesus my heart is racing. Don't ever leave me baby. I love you. XOXO, m(e) read more

Phenomenal place! We just moved into the neighborhood and were blown away by the hospitality, fun, and food last Friday night. Donica is the model of an American entrepreneur and her and Bella's family feel, food, and atmosphere are infectious in the restaurant. Great everything all around! Definitely a place to go if you want to smile and have fun! read more

The small portion was awesome. i love their selection of cheese. The mixed drinks were great and refreshing I had the blood sausages with some spinach and there selection of cheese and apples. It was great. read more

I was super excited to try Cafe Madrid when a friend told me she was hosting her birthday party there. The place was packed, which was a very good sign, and I managed to find my way through the patio and then through two different rooms to find my friends. The menu didn't excite me like I thought it would, but a few things stuck out, and I figure I could try whatever everyone else ordered. For my order I picked out the peppers with goat cheese, and the white aspargus. I had to ask twice for my aspargus before it actually made its way to the table .....and since its my favorite food I was shivering with antic---- pation. Anywho...it was soggy as bread soaked in water. I LOVE aspagus..and I could barely finish one stalk. The peppers on the other hand were maybe the only thing I really enjoyed the whole night. I tried the calamari and it was tender but kind of bland. The mushroom dish was a hit with a friend, but I'm not a major fan of mushrooms, so I'll leave my opinion out of this. The bread was ...soft? Otherwise, again, it was kind of bland/boring. I've forgotten anything else I ate...it was all bland and..."eh". The prices seem high when you realize that three stalks of aspargus soaked in oil at home would be less than 50cents to make. I was very underwhelmed..and to top it off- the waiter fucked.our.ticket.UPPPP. Oh well..... read more

SKIP this place. This was once a charming little tapas eatery. Once bustling full of important-looking people, you could hear the clanks of sangria glasses cheers-ing all over the place...aromas from the kitchen used to fill the air and you could just feel the energy transporting you seemingly into Spain....but like I mentioned...that was once upon a time. Like 6 years ago to be exact. Our hostess/front of house seated us right away on a Saturday night around 9pm (first red-flag). Everything seemed fine except, this same woman kept eyeballing our table the entire night...with uneasy eyes. Could it be...that perhaps she knew beforehand that we would be a critical group of patrons? And perhaps she knew ALSO how we would be sorely disappointed? Anywho, nobody likes to eat dinner knowing they are being watched like a hawk. So...started out with a pitcher of sangria (which sadly, did not contain ANY visible fruit), we ordered Oxtail Stew (served to us room temperature AND we had to separately ask for bread?! which also came to us cold?!), anchovy stuffed olives(reminiscent of the kind i buy in a jar at any local Kroger), Scallop with poached pear (the only thing that was decent), mushy white asparagus that tasted exactly like the tin can it was pulled out of, and their 'fried egglplant' with Manchego cheese...this was poorly presented and was soggy, greasy, and under-seasoned. We also ordered a beet salad that we never received because as the waiter kindly put it "we couldn't make this salad because the lettuce was bad tonight"?!?! WOW. But they still managed to sneak that into our ticket (which we had to point out for them to void off). $66 for our troubles. All in all...my heart is really broken...I used to really enjoy this place, now I would NEVER go back. In fact, if Chef Gordon Ramsay where here for a kitchen nightmare...he'd have his work cut out! Two-Words: Let Down read more

This is the place I was first introduced to Spanish Tapas, years ago. There are some really wonderful things on the menu, then there are some that have become mediocre over time. Service is slow, so plan on taking your time, and if you go on the weekend expect a wait. My favorite things include the grilled asparagus, the shrimp in garlicky olive oil (order bread to sop up the rest of the garlicky oil), tuna empanadas, manchego croquettes (um, fried cheese = yum), the potato omelet comes with this yummy green sauce that I can never figure out, and my all-time favorite, the spinach sauteed with olive oil, garlic and pine nuts. Things I'm not impressed with include the sangria (too watery), white asparagus (served cold, just can't get over that), Andalucian meatballs in an almond sauce and the quail. The quality has gone down over the last few years, but it's still a good place to get a nice, casual meal. read more

We met some friends at Cafe Madrid for the Pamplona celebration last weekend. It was entertaining with the bull in costume, great live music and an authentic Spanish feel. Unfortunately, that authenticity leaked over into the service. It was slow and basically horrendous. Our waiter would disappear for 15 minutes at a time and would not bring our beverages for what seemed like forever. On to the highlight...the food. We ordered several different dishes and they did not disappoint. The tortilla espanola, piquilo peppers with goat cheese, beef skewers, mushroom on the grill and meatballs all were great. The shrimp in garlic was okay. The sauce was tasty on the dull bread, which is not free. While the food was tasty, the portions were tiny, especially for the price. Hola was much better and had bigger portions, but it is now sadly gone. I would definitely go back to Cafe Madrid for the food if I was not in a hurry and not very thirsty! read more

It has been a good long while since I have eaten here, and I hate to say we might not come back. I am not sure the concept of happy hour portions of tapas makes much sense. With most folks feeling the portions sizes of regular tapas is small, the happy hour sizes are even smaller. I have no quarrels with portion sizes as long as the food is tasty and good quality. Many tapas bars in Spain are crazy expensive, but the food is so damn good, you might not care. This visit unfortunately did not yield good results. The sliver of tortilla we had tasted like it was prepared the day before, the shrimp had burnt garlic in it. The Sangria is very watered down, which I have noticed other yelpers with similar findings. The most disappointing was the paella. With so many quality spanish rices now available in the states, I have no idea why they are still using long grain rice which just ruins a paella in my opinion. The dish just tasted bland and limp. Sad to see a place that was once at the top of it's game, visibly declining. read more

I agree with this place's star average: 3.5. I bump it up to a 4 because it was the first beautiful day to eat outside we've had in awhile and we enjoyed the heck out of it. The awesome guitar music they had playing really made us nostalgic for another trip to Spain. (PS as we were leaving a guitarist was getting ready to set up, so next time we'll try and catch the live version!) We were there from 5:30-7, and were the only patrons for the majority of the time (it was a Monday I guess). But we loved having the patio to ourselves and our handsome waiter's full attention (oops don't tell Dr. S I said that :p) They only had a red sangria so I got a glass of that and Dr. S got a bottle of Quilmes: Argentina's Favorite Beer! (It WAS pretty good). I think the sangria was fairly authentic but I kinda prefer the Americanized version with fruits in it, plus this was kind of a small serving for $6.50. Doesn't mean I wouldn't get it again though :) We started with the fried calamari and goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers. The peppers win for best savory dish here. The calamari was very light; I don't think the batter was seasoned at all. Some people might not like that but I enjoyed mine with a splash of lemon and a dip in the olive oil from the peppers. It also came with the brava sauce though, which was tasty but a little thin (basically this is nothing like the salty, heavily seasoned fried calamari with marinara sauce you get at italian restaurants--which was refreshing.) After that we had a second round with the garlic/white wine chorizo and the albondigas in almond sauce. The chorizo was tasty, and the wine sauce was delicious, but we should have ordered some bread or cheese or something to go with it. It felt a little lonely by itself. I would not order the meatballs again. The sauce was dece but the meat itself was a little tough and lacking in flavor. The ones at CHIC are muuuch better. We also ordered a tapas version of the paella, which Dr. S liked but I was not a fan of. Granted, he ate it all--all I got of it was a bite of rice and red pepper but I thought the rice was too heavily seasoned; it was a little funky for me. For dessert, we had the Salvador Dali plate. Our waiter said it kind of varies depending on what they have that day, but we ended up getting the Fresas con Nata (fresh strawberries with a homemade cream that was AWESOME), a piece of flourless chocolate cake, and flan. The flan was a little firmer than I'm used to, but I always enjoy a good flan so I was happy. I found that the chocolate cake went really well with the strawberries and cream so I ate them together and was a little disappointed when Dr. S told me I couldn't lick the plate :( Overall, I've never been to a tapas place in Dallas where I've been impressed with EVERYTHING, and I've certainly never been to one where we can get full for a reasonable price, but I enjoyed Cafe Madrid and will keep it in the rotation. I also want to sample their wine/cheese pairing menu sometime soon! read more

Awesome tapas place we found in the phonebook and took a taxi down from Addison to. My first real taste of Spanish food before my big move to Spain for 8 months a couple years ago. They don't try to over-do it like some places here in Atlanta. Simple, sweet. read more

I can't believe I haven't updated my review on this place. We've been back about 12 times with every friend that we can find so they can experience the tasty tapas and lucious sangria! You need the following: Pitcher of sangria A seasonal salad that has watermelon, avocado, tomato, and dressing that HAS to have crack sprinkled in it because I eat two of these salads and then dream about it for a week. Saffron Rice Ham and melon Potato omelet Potato in tomato sauce The ice cream that they make in house. One more pitcher of sangria. This place is like going on vacation to Spain. LOVE it. read more

Finally got a chance to try Cafe Madrid. I love the eclectic furniture and feel of this restaurant. Plus, what is better than Tapas! They have an extensive menu to the point that it was hard to choose what I wanted. I ended up going with the Spinach Croquettes and the fried calamari. I am always a sucker for calamari. They gave a choice between a tomato sauce or aioli to accompany it. I love the croquettes. You get 4 in an order. The calamari was not bad, but something was missing. Some others in my party got the paella, which looked amazing. I also tried a glass of the sangria. It was a little on the dry side, but to each their own. The service was friendly, and they were happy to accommodate our large party. There is a second room where they can make that happen in case anyone is looking to have a gathering with friends. read more

A few friends and I went yesterday (Thursday evening) for a birthday dinner. The food turned out to be great, although they had difficulty bringing out the drink orders on time. Every drink order was delayed by about 20 minutes. After dinner, we all ended up spitting the check equally, thoroughly informing the waiter how much money to put on each card. He brings back the credit cards with the receipts. The restaurant decides to charge all of us $15 extra. When I ask the waiter for the cause of such a huge discrepancy (with 10 people, that's a total of $150), he decides to evade the question and tells me how I misinformed him in the first place. When I talked to the manager, he wasn't willing to comply either. Needless to say, my friends and I are never going back again. read more

Meh. That's all I can think of to describe this place. It's tiny and cute inside with a great waitstaff but the food to me was kind of blah. I ordered the beef kabob which was too chewy and saffron rice - blah. The bread was probably the best thing I had. Cheese plate with apple was pretty good. For $8.50 I can think of many more things I would rather have! read more

My husband, his colleague and I came here for tapas after reading some rave reviews about this place.. I was very disappointed! All in all, we ordered 10 tapas. The fried eggplant in honey, chicken, shrimp in garlic, tiny fried fish, bread, beef ( literally 3 pieces on a skewer for 6 $, which I thought was exhorbitant), chicken skewer , yet another rip off because the plate had 1 skewer with tons of shredded lettuce on the plate, lamb skewer ,veggie tapas plate. The service was very poor. After we got seated, the waiter disappeared and would not come to take our order. After bringing us our first there plates, I literally had to get up from my table and ask someone to take our order for some more tapas. I am not saying that the food was bad, but quantity for the price was a real rip off. To add to the misery, the restaurant does not accept Amex.. read more

Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises planted my obsession with the Lost Generation of Spain in 7th grade. When you desire to loose your mind and free it from the city bricks o' Dallas, look no further than Cafe Madrid Legit details of Cafe Madrid ignite familiar memories and sensations from my travels of Spain Ambience -romantic wooden tables, soothing candles, red accents, charming murals, live Spanish guitarist, and belly tickling food smells all liven this grand escape. Food - juicy fresh tomatoes, avocado, & watermelon all cut into chunks delightfully flavored with vinaigrette salad is A+ -quail is succulent & divine enough for any meat God -shrimp in exquisite sauce -paella goes a long way with its authentic spices & sauce -mânchego vegetables of squash, fried egg and sauce wooed me enough to investigate how to make the sauce which to me tasted like a mix of marinara & fresh Mexican salsa. Outstanding! -bread with its fluffy yet dense looking homemadeness seduced me and I usually never care for bread 20 years in business sets this joint apart from the flakey horse race scene of Dallas restaurants read more

Oh Cafe Madrid, I was drunk on your sangrias and maybe ordered more food than we intended and spent alot of money! But it was very delicious so I'm not even mad about it. Highlights: -the anchovies: not something I usually seek out but these were so lemony and garlicy we wanted to have like 4 more plates of them (each.) -The fried olives -The goat cheese stuffed peppers -spinach and cheese croquettes: perfect drinkin' food, so cheesy and fried, I could eat so many of these, especially drowned in the aioli sauce. Pretty good: -fried goat cheese: not as good as the peppers but the honey drizzle and onions was nice; "fried" and "cheese" is almost always going to get a thumbs up from me. I liked the very thin layer of crispy on the outside. - lamb skewers: just straighforward lamb but the honey sauce that came with it was delicious! -garlic shrimp: tasty but a little sad they didn't still have their heads like they do in Spain! -padron peppers (on the special menu): those little grilled peppers with sea salt were one of our favorite things in Spain, they are such yummy little bites. The waiter warned us they were "Spanish roulette" because while they are usually mild sometimes one will be randomly spicy! (none of ours were.) Just a'ight: -meatballs: sauce was tasty but the meatball wasn't terribly flavorful -sweetbreads: cooked nicely but the sauce didn't have much flavor - some kind of seafood ceviche thing on the specials menu: kind of bland but the squid was alright texture-wise - patatas bravas: the hot sauce was really runny and not hot/flavorful enough, potatoes not crunchy on the outside/ fluffy on the inside enough The restaurant itself is really cute and chill, not fussy at all, just like a regular cafe that happens to serve some delicious tapas! read more

Ok. Maybe they had a bad night, service was very slow and they were SO busy. The atmosphere is amazing and the tortilla and albóndigas were awesome read more

It's not my go-to place for tapas but it's pretty good and very close so why not? We went on a Friday night and there was no wait so we grabbed one of their ten tables out on the sidewalk to enjoy the nice weather. Like I said before the food is just OK, I ordered the same 3 dishes I get at other tapas places (garlic shrimp, patatas braves, and blood sausage) and they were slightly subpar but still satisfying. Service is also a-ok, we waited for about 10 minutes before a waiter stopped by our table. Our waiter confessed that he had no idea we were apart of his table assignment. Just a slight hiccup but still no bueno. read more

Delicious tapas though slightly pricy for the amount of food. The shrimp with chili garlic aioli is a must and the wine is amazing. The paella is sometimes amazing sometimes so-so which is my only major complaint. However it is the perfect ambiance for weeknight dinners or a romantic date nights, and I love their improved outdoor setup which is COVID friendly (and feels so European!) read more

Had a great experience at this hidden gem! Great service, great food, great ambiance! Will come back for sure! read more

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Cafe Madrid is not only my favorite restaurant, it's my favorite place in the world, period. There is nothing better to me than a nice relaxing 2.5 hour dinner with a bottle of wine (or two) with my family. I've never had a bad meal here. Always enjoyable and almost TOO tasty. I always leave fat and happy! The fried goat cheese with caramelized onions and honey is absolutely divine! And cheese and sherry for dessert finishes the meal perfectly (I recommend Cabrales with a Palo Cortado - my favorites!) read more

In a nice part of town with a small outdoor patio, this place was no-frills nice. As with most tapas...plan to leave on the hungry side even though you end up paying more than the average meal. It was hit and miss. Best of the night: Spinach And Cheese Croquettes - Hit of the night. Croquette was beautifully crispy on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside. This was 4 pieces but on the smallish side for a croquette. Marinated Grilled Quail - this was one of my favorites, but as you all know quail is a pain in the ass to eat, but worth it. Cured meat plate - another hit of the night, after all, it is cured meat and how can you go wrong with cured meat. 3 different types of meat, don't ask me what they were but they were good. Decent but wouldn't order again: Shrimp In Garlic - Flavor of the sauce was very good, but the shrimp definitely defined the word 'shrimp'. Chorizo In Garlic And Wine Sauce - I was expecting more from this. 4 pieces of chorizo in a sauce that didn't quite work with the meat. Next! Piquillo Sweet Red Pepper Stuffed With Goat Cheese - Nice flavor but they only gave you 2 small pieces. A meal fit for a bird. Avoid: Beef On The Skewer - 3 pieces of beef a little overcooked, and weak on the chimichurri. read more

One of the best date spots in Dallas. You gotta come here on a night when someone is playing the Spanish guitar. You'll get some tapas, some sangria, and you'll definitely get some action afterwards!!! I'm not going to sit here and tell you everything I got on the menu, because everyone's taste with tapas are so different. If you are new to this sort of thing, my personal favorites are the potato omelet and the meatballs. I make sure to get these two in every tapas place I go to. Come here to chill out and relax, don't come with a huge appetite, unless you want to spend some dinero. read more

Great selection of so many food choices with an excellent variety of drinks. Our party of 3 ordered everything our server recommended which was perfect for us. Overall very solid place when in the mood to mix things up read more

2.5 is more like it. I'm a foodie from SF, c'mon... Me likey: - the fresh bread - croquetes - piquillo peppers Me no likey: - the paella--totally dry chicken, flattened rice - mushrooms with garlic sauce (hard to believe but there was no flavor) - patatas bravas--the potatoes were rock hard! no no no no no Nice ambiance though. read more

I've been looking for a good Tapas Bar for awhile. I thought it was time to give this place a try. I've been wanting to try it for quite some time now. So a couple of weeks ago I did. I love the location. It's near a residential area which gives it a cozy feel. A co-worker and I arrived right at 5pm. At first this didn't seem like the place I'd heard about. We were the only ones in the place for at least 20-30 minutes. Then I realized people were just getting of work. Rather quickly the place started filling, the next thing I knew, it was nearly full. Even with the place nearly full, it was never to loud. A very pleasant atmosphere. Now on to the food!! Along with the items below, we had a couple of baskets of bread, simply awesome, and olive oil for dipping and a few glasses of Sangria. The Sangria was wonderful, not to sweet. We each ordered several items and in true tapas style we shared and tried nearly each plate. Spinach And Cheese Croquettes - They were crispy and golden brown. The Spinach and Cheese inside was creamy and very tasty. I think this was the first plate to empty. Cured Meat plate - It come with three different types of meat. Thinly sliced and a great assortment of flavors. Meat always a good thing. Shrimp In Garlic - This was probably the most flavorful plate of the evening. Shrimp served in a garlic sauce that was served is a hot dish instead of on a plate. Spanish Potato Omelette - The slice we received was larger than I expected. A large wedge of Potato Omelette which had a great texture and taste. Mussels - Several mussels cooked in a slightly spicy, thin tomato based sauce. The mussels were tender and sweet. And once again, the sauce had tons of flavor. Ox Tail - The one item I didn't have and not because I don't like Ox Tails, but rather the fact was so full from eating from all the other plates on the table. There were two tails that appears to have been stewed in a broth. Cheese Plate - We ordered two different cheeses that our waiter suggested for us based on the types of cheese we said we liked. The plate was served with slices of green apple to cleanse the flavors jumping around in your mouth. Overall, I really enjoyed the cafe. The tapas plates were all very good. Each had several layers of flavor and the portions were spot on for me. Reminding me a lot of the Tapas Bars I visited in Spain. I think you will enjoy this one. read more

My wife has been in love with the concept of tapas for a long time. Recently, we spent a long weekend in Barcelona, so now she's in love with actual tapas. This is a crisis. I had to find a place quickly that produced a reasonable facsimile of tapas in Dallas, or I was going to be funding all of the tools and ingredients to prepare Spanish food at home, until that passion was replaced by something else rather exotic. We found a couple of places, but either the service was horrific or the food wasn't Spanish enough - small plates are not tapas. So, last night, we went to Cafe Madrid. It's a big place that looks like a small place, since there are a number of rooms. After getting pushed out of one of their competitors by a very large crowd last week, this was a major improvement. We were greeted immediately, seated shortly afterwards, and already, the calm was setting in. The room was mostly full, but it didn't seem overly loud, and it didn't feel cramped. These are major wins. I love the staff. We sampled a number of dishes. Plato ibérico - a good starting point for carnivores. Ham and chorizo, with cheese, olives and almonds.The chorizo was excellent, and I'm still recovering from the realization that I'm paying for olives that are not swimming in gin and vermouth, but I'm still happy about it. Albondigas andaluzas - Andelucian meatballs. My wife loved these, the sauce wasn't my favorite, but they were tasty. Chorizo San Martín - These are chorizo links, served hot, rather than the thin slices on the Plato Iberico. My wife prefers these, I prefer the slices. However, we still fought over the last one. Paella (tapa) - I was not blown away. I think I would try the "real" paella, now that we know it takes prior notice. (24 hours, just like Peking Duck.) Tomato Bread - like me, this is something simple that makes my wife happy. I actually preferred this to the tomato bread we had in Barcelona. Calamari - I've only had one dish of calamari I truly loved, and that was from an Iron Chef, but this was good. I liked the aioli and the calamari was fried well. The only reason I would skip it next time is because my wife hates it, and it's a sharing sized portion. Honey Almond Nougat Ice Cream - My wife tried this, and was impressed. I had the last bite, and I would order it. Crema Catalan - In Barcelona, this was made with ice cream, not custard. Here, it's custard, so it's creme brûlée - but it is awesome. We had red sangria, which was a lot less sweet (and less fruity) than a lot of sangrias, but still very nice. I switched to Cava sangria, which I preferred. The service was fast (but not rushed) and very friendly. Because of how the restaurant is broken into rooms, you are in a small cafe. This may have saved me a lot of expense in outfitting our kitchen to prepare tapas at home. We'll be back. read more

Terrible service! The seating situation is terrible! I asked to do a reservation on the phone and they said they don't don't do it while we were waiting for an open table I heard so many people saying about reservations. We waited for about 40 minutes and then a party was 30 minutes late for their reservation and the hostess let them take our table. We had to wait additional time. The food was good and the waiter Eduardo was amazing he was quick and friendly but honestly I won't come back here because of the hostesses they were not accommodating at all. read more

I'm a sucker for tapas, Cafe Madrid is a hole in the wall restaurant in the Knox-Henderson district. I love the pitchers of sangria which are better then near bye 'Sangria' restaurant's Sangria (even though Cafe Madrid doesn't put much fruit in their Sangria). I love chilling in the relaxed environment, listening to music, talking with friends. This place is classic and unpretentious. For tapas food, I prefer Cafe Melaga in McKinney, I just hate driving up there. read more

Cafe Madrid was my first tapas experience. Wish I'd gone sooner! Basically, you order a few plates of food at a time for the table. Each plate is fairly inexpensive, and only has a few bites on it. Our waitress recommended six plates for our table of two. Definitely go here planning to split things. There are just so many items on the menu you'll want to try, you'll need some help finishing it all. My favorite item was the cripy potatoes with truffle oil. YUM! The lamb was delicious, too. Be sure to try their sangria, as well. It's their specialty! read more

No matter how you feel about Cafe Madrid, there is only one thing that is worth it overall to eat here... The star: Spinach Croquettes! They are like little fried balls of heaven. Yes, they are that good. It is a cloud of cheesy and creamy goodness mixed with creamy spinach on the inside wrapped with a fried outer layer. They are amazing! It is like heaven in my mouth. Their house sangria is really good not too sweet but not bitter or too tart either. Nicely balanced. Some things I have tried: - Queso frito con cebolla y miel - Fried Goat cheese balls. They were surprisingly delicious. I am not gonna lie I wasn't sure how I felt about them when a friend ordered it but is was pleasantly creamy with hints of both sweet and savory. -The paella was okay. I thought is was good but nothing to rave about. - Patatas bravas were good. They are potatoes with brava sauce. You can't really go wrong there. - Vieiras al romesco - The scallops were good but slightly too rubbery for my taste. Overall, I like Cafe Madrid, the food is good, but the service is be a big slow and kind of pricey for the amount you get. I would try happy hour for better prices overall though. The food is a 4 but the service is a 3. read more

This review is based on two visits. Tasting Notes: I tried a whole variety of tapas, and while none of them were bad, none of them stood out either. Sangria is decent, and goes very well with the rest of the ambience. Ambience: The atmosphere (cute and intimate) and location (on McKinney Ave) are what make this place. Plus, if you like futbol this is one of the few places in Dallas where you can watch among avid soccer fans. Service: Attentive and really cool (esp if you like soccer). I came with a small group to try to watch a futbol game and they were closing up, so they gave each of us 20% off coupons (but note, discount does not apply to drinks). Recommendation: I come here mostly for ambience and futbol. The food is not great, but please keep in mind that my only point of comparison for tapas is the stuff I had everyday while I was in Spain (so it's kind of not fair). And give that the price is not that cheap, I wouldn't come here to eat. read more

Another one of my favorite Dallas restaurants, I never get tired of eating here on a Saturday night with my husband. I've tried other Tapas Bars in the area and yet I keep finding myself coming back to Cafe Madrid. It's wonderful to sit on the patio at the front of the restaurant on a cool evening in Dallas. Order a pitcher of the Sangria or the house red wine. We always end up ordering the same few tapas as well as some new ones. But we always order the Tortilla Espanola, Calamari, Shrimp in this Spicy Garlic sauce, and the cheese plate usually choosing the tetilla cheese for its mild flavor that complements the slices of apples that are on the plate. If you are super hungry, order the paella. Cafe Madrid is a great place for a casual date or with a big group of friends. read more

The sangria mixed drinks are refreshing and delicious. The mixed paella is outstanding. I love the nice chill atmosphere. Especially when the weather is nice the backyard is quaint. read more

I have been dining at Cafe Madrid for over 10 years now and I LOVE this place! I have always had a wonderful experience here with the friendly staff, the relaxed atmosphere, the option to dine inside often with live music or outside when the weather is nice like it was last night. Their house red wine is delicious and my favorate dish is their Spanish Potato Omlete which comes with a side of a mayonaise based sauce. I have had two birthday dinners here and have celebrated numerous other occasions with friends. I highly recomend this place for dinner, especially if you have a couple of hours to spend nibbling on tapas, sipping good wine and enjoying extended conversation with friends. My only complaint is that they no longer have their fabulous International Nights on the First Wednesday of every month... bring it back! read more

Came here with a girlfriend for her birthday. I didn't read any reviews before hand... I wish I had. Unfortunately I too agree with those that rate the Tapas as just okay. We asked for a wine recommendation. After recommending a particular bottle. Another server returns with a different bottle. Doesn't mention it is different, we weren't really paying attention - as we were catching up. When our original server returns she asks us how we like this different bottle, adding she just ordered it for us since they were out of the one she recommended. That whole exchange rubbed me the wrong way. We continue to order a few tapas - the goat cheese, the eggplant, the watermelon salsa/ salad. They are the only ones that were memorable, and I'm not necessarily saying that in a good tone. The watermelon salsa/ salad was missing something and needed bread or chips served with it. Same with the goat cheese. Everything was just "okay." I've been to much better places. And for the price I think you could find something better too. read more

I have eaten here a few times and the food and service is typically decent. I think its tough to find a place that has a european tapas/cafe look and feel in Dallas so I give them credit for the effort. In my opinion, its a little over priced for the very casual atmosphere and tapas portions. Tonight we had a party of 8 and the service was less than desirable, I would call it inconsistent to say the least and we are a very low maintenance group, maybe this particular waitress was not used to handling a larger group, I dont know but I probably wont be rushing back anytime soon. Something to consider: Its a nice place for a 2 person dinner but I would not recommend a larger group if you plan to request separate checks because they do not provide that service, which I found odd being that its such a popular practice in Dallas. read more