Are you going to get the best tapas in the world for the dirt cheap price of McDonald's food? No…read more Are you going to have some delicious tapas and lovely service that makes the price worth it? Yes. Came by on our first night in Edinburgh with my boyfriend because of some decent yelp reviews and we weren't disappointed. The host/server (manager? owner?) took the time to explain ALL of the dishes to us, including all of the specials. [sidenote, being from CA, and hearing Catalonian Spanish with a Scottish accent was such a trip.] He presented and explained all of the dishes table side like you expect in a fine dining restaurant, and brought some olives and bread on the house. We had the four specials, papas bravatos (I think) were my boyfriend's favorite, and the Sancho and Calamari were menu staples that were lovely. Everything we had was cooked perfectly to us, and all of the meats so tender. We washed it all down with a liter of sangria, which had cinnamon as a new twist for us. Great service, great food, no regrets!!!

Came here for a yelp girly lunch following Jenny's weekly newsletter on the best Spanish food in…read moreEdinburgh. My taste buds were a tingling. And tingled they were!! The tabla quijote platter of meat and cheese allowed us to taste every variety on offer. Some were nicer than others (I'm not a fan of blue cheese!) but it was a great sharing plate for anyone who loves cured meat and chorizo. I also ordered a tapas sized of small peppers with white asparagus and topped with an Andalusian sauce. Phallic looking as they were (haha!) I rather liked them. The dish was chilled, asparagus was soft (not crunchy how I normally like asparagus) but tasty nevertheless. The sauce was nice too and I'd order them again. For my main I ordered the Pork Cheeks stew which was recommended by jenny. I went for the medium side but boy it was big! watch out on the sizes if you're having starter tapas too! The stew was basically a big bowl of soup like stew. Not what I was expecting but extremely tasty. I've never had pork cheeks before but the meat was slow cooked and fell away from the fork. Yum! The only thing was the lack of "chunky homemade chips" as described in the menu. There were bits of potato in the stew but chips? Nope. Would I go back? Definitely. The food was authentic and tasty and its really near my work so v handy! It's small but cute with terracotta pots and plants dotted around inside. Quite quaint. If it wasn't for the garlic in the food it would be an ideal date venue! :)

My daughter and I stumbled across this place and we totally fell for the whole experience; the…read moreservers were friendly and efficient, the food was outstanding and the atmosphere welcoming. Our food choices were: TAJINE DE CORDERO Slow-cooked lamb tagine with paprika, cumin, tomatoes, cinnamon, sultanas & apricots ENSALADA ANDALUZA VG GF Asparagus, artichokes, sun blush tomatoes & lemon hinamin dressing

I'd give Cafe Andaluz a 2.5 stars based on this first time visit. The restaurant is actually quite…read morelarge - it expands far back, which you initially can't tell when you walk in. We arrived after the lunch rush, assuming it would be easy to get a table. We could be seated right away as long as we could finish our meal in 90 minutes. Evidently Cafe Andaluz is very popular even in the afternoon! I took this as a good sign that the food must be good then. Unfortunately more disappointing than I thought. We ordered the patatas bravas, calamari, gambas pil pil (king prawns roasted in olive oil, chilli, paprika and garlic) and pollo y panceta (skewers of chicken, pancetta and red onion marinated in chimichurri, with rocket, pine nuts and chimichurri salsa). I've had patatas bravas many times in Spain so was excited to see this on the menu. Cafe Andaluz's interpretation of patatas bravas is not as authentic. The potatoes were mushier rather than firm. The calamari was lukewarm and tasteless - like I was eating semi fried rubber. The real head scratcher was the pil pil. It looked appealing and promising but the whole dish was tasteless. The shrimp sat in red oil that was tasteless. There was zero garlic flavor. We were perplexed at how something colorful and vibrant would have no taste?! The only thing that truly redeemed this meal was the pollo y panceta. The garnishes and chimichurri helped enhance the dish. So all in all, an overpriced and mostly flavorless tapas late lunch that did **not** meet expectations.

Food was tasty and the ambiance is intimate and relaxing. This place is run by a man and his wife…read moreso service was relaxed and slower, but it was worth it. He was so kind and everything was plated beautifully. Wish we were in town longer to try more things. Prices are very reasonable.

We got the Greek salad, chicken taouk, moussaka and a pitcher of sangria. Everything was very tasty…read moreand the presentation attractive. The service was very good and the owner very friendly. (The sangria was a little weak, though, but we would definitely go back.)

This is a Spanish/Tapas restaurant owned by the same family that used to run the renowned La Ducal…read morein Cowdenbeath. The high standards that made La Ducal so popular continue here. Just around the corner from the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum & the Dunfermline Glen Park, the restaurant is well located. With the park so close by, you can have a stroll either before or after dining, especially in the summertime. Dunfermline Abbey is also less than five minutes walk away. The restaurant itself is very welcoming with a very pleasant owning family and great waiting staff. The food is absolutely superb. I've just returned home from dining there this evening and four of us ordered the Paella portion for two, eight Tapas dishes plus drinks and desserts and it was an extremely tasty and satisfying meal. In true tapas style, we just shared everything. If you have a hankering for Spanish food, I can highly recommend this restaurant.

I have to admit, Tapas is never top of my list of food when choosing somewhere to go. I have…read morenothing against Spanish food but I am always looking for something that will blow me away. There are so many great flavours there and great potential. I ended up at Malvarosa in an attempt to find somewhere to eat after a trip to Fort Kinnaird. It's a small place, with a nice family feel. You end up sitting pretty close to the kitchen. We went for 5 tapas dishes (and some bread) between two of us. We weren't hugely hungry but this seemed a good amount. Overall it was mixed bag; the chorizo bread (which we didn't order but ended up with) was quite cold, and some other bread was a bit hard for my liking. Patas bravas tasted pretty much as it should with a nice kick. Chorizo in cider was nice but I wish it had a bit more punch. The haddock bites were a real high point however and the standout dish. Fresh and more-ish. The garlic chicken was also great. The goats cheese onion tarts arrived a while after we finished everything else and were fine but didn't blow me away. It was rounded off with a nice Rioja though. It doesn't quite make the 4 stars because although the staff were friendly, the service wasn't quite up to scratch. We had to wait for the dishwasher cycle to finish before getting some drinks, we waited quite a while with our menus and we received some dishes we didn't order and didn't receive some we did. I think if you like Tapas though this is a safe bet. The food tasted fresh, generally seemed of good quality, and prices are fair. I don't think I would make the trip out to Portobello to come here but if in the area I'd come back.

If this isn't the best Spanish restaurant in the Edinburgh area I'll eat my hat…read more Great food, really good service and a pleasant atmosphere so absolutely nothing to pick out as a negative.

What a great wee place! The chef/owner Rafael makes you feel incredibly welcome, and the food is…read morereally impressive. Their potato, asparagus and dill soup was just lovely. I immediately asked Rafael for the recipe, and have already taken the opportunity to recreate it, at home. The lamb shank main was lovely, too. I even got lured in to trying a very chocolatey dessert, which is rare for me. Hearty, flavour-packed cooking at its best, Rafael's is worth a visit, soon. Overall, we said: "Rafael's was seriously good. Rarely have a spent a more enjoyable evening as a solo diner. The quality of the food on offer was first rate, with excellent ingredients prepared with considerable care and attention."

Rafael was very welcoming. He made his recommendations on the food and the specials for the…read moreevening. We were very impressed. Will definitely come back.

I will have to say this was the best Spanish place I have eaten at over here!! The food and service…read morewas on point. Everything came out nice and hot. The food had soo much flavor, great portion sizes, enough meat and sauce!! The staff made sure you were ok. Make sure I was aware of what I was ordering and checked on me while I was eating. You don't get that much or any in the UK usually. The pork cheek just melted in my mouth.. I could of just had that and been good but I also tried a few other dishes. The chorizo and potatoes was good but nothing out of the ordinary but the seafood paella was it!! It had shrimp, squid and fish in it (I had them remove the mussels). I wish I had a place like me near me.

Lovely spot! Came here for a friend's birthday and it was just the thing…read more It was pretty quiet on a Monday night, but we didn't mind since that meant we got plenty of attend from the very friendly and funny owner! We got the veggie paella, they ask you how many "portions" you want, but it will come in the traditional very wide paella pan! We had three portions, which was more than enough for the 5 of us with some tapas for appetizers. Check out my picture of the paella for reference. For tapas, we tried patatas bravas (potatos), champinones rellenos (cheese stuffed mushrooms), and some tasty shrimp. I can't say the patatas bravas were much to write home about, but the other tapas and certainly the paella and sangria made it worth it. We had a lovely time, got to meet the owner and chef, and celebrated my friend's birthday in fine style. It wasn't too overpriced, but was definitely a bit more expensive than a casual night out. I will likely be back!

Reservation for 3, seated immediately at the table against the front window. We ordered appetizers,…read morea bottle of wine, and three plates of pasta. Service was very good, they kept our glasses of water topped up and there was plenty of extra parm for those who wanted it on their pasta. And surprise, they brought a beautiful complimentary dessert for the table because they overheard it was my birthday. A lovely and memorable meal.

We were seeking Italian in Old Town and saw this restaurant on Yelp. Small place with open kitchen…read more Sadly, online menu did not reflect their current offerings.i came for the promise of authentic Carbonara, which they couldn't provide. Basic pasta dishes with limited quality wines.

They may have been decent before the lockdowns, but they could not care about you as a customer and…read morethe place being completely empty at 7pm is for good reason. We went there tonight for my wife's birthday and we were treated horribly from start to finish. I would never go here again and would highly recommend that anyone thinking of going here goes elsewhere. My wife's steak was hard. Yes, hard. It didn't come with the sides stated on the menu. For the price of £29, it sure tasted like last year's frozen beef and was cooked dry. The burger was "meh" at best. The food was cold and my guess is that the poor service is why the steak was hard and the burger soggy and cold. Let me add that the place was empty, so there was no excuse for the poor service We had to chase down the waitress, the older and blonde lady working there tonight on the 8th of June, to get pay our bill. We were completely ready to leave and when we got the bill she dropped it and walked away. I had my wallet in my hand and nothing left on the table. We yelled after her to come back and she never did. We had to get the younger chap in the place to come with a card reader to pay so we could leave. How unbelievably RUDE. JUST SAY NO! GO ELSEWHERE!

Really nice place with well cooked food…read more Despite its location a bit away from the city centre, it's definitely a place that worth a visit. Not particularly expensive (in the £10 range) with a good variety in the menu.