Cafe Madrid

This place is pretty awesome and has been one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas for over twenty years. I lived in Spain for several years and visit Madrid every other year or so. Café Madrid is the real deal —- very, very authentic! Whenever I yearn for one of the old mesones around the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, I head to Café Madrid for some tortilla or patatas braves or a nice plate of Iberico and Spanish cheeses! If you have not tried tapas, this is one of the ultimate sharing experiences — you order several small dishes for your table and if you’re still hungry, simply order some more!

I love café Madrid the atmosphere and the customer service is always topnotch! I always get the croquetas de queso manchego OMG they are to die for and the paellla perfectly cooked to the point. My only complaint is why a glass of sangria is $ 7 thats whay too pricey. Besides that everything else its fine (: been a customer here for three years and i will keep coming back

I adore this place! I love how simple yet authentic this place is.

A great gem of a place in a very busy and growing neighborhood. Atmosphere is ok but the food is good, fresh with a friendly waitstaff. I’ll keep going and hope it doesn’t ever leave.

The atmosphere is wonderful. It’s very romantic. The service is stellar. The fried calamari was average and is much better at my favorite Greek restaurant and at my favorite Japanese restaurant. The veal sweet cakes are in a wonderful white wine caper sauce, but that particular cut of veal is from the neck and it had a repulsive texture that we disliked intensely. Sangria was the best. The Paella was not very flavorful. I didn’t enjoy the overall meal.

Perfect fit an afternoon or evening of eurostyle eating. Give yourself at minimum two hours to enjoy the wine, the dishes and the ambiance.
Everything we have had has been delicious. The calamari not rubbery, the sweetbreads sublime… could go on and on but the great thing about tapas is there is always going to be something someone loves. Great for food, conversation and overall great vibes.

It was completely disappointing! It was the combination of the terrible waiter, the mediocre food and being overcharged.
First, the bread was cold and dry. It was literally the sliced bread you buy at the market put in a basket. There was just a few slices and it costs $ 2. I was hoping there would be dip/​butter but there was none. In fact you had to buy it for additional price. Our waiter said that the aoli would be spicy but it was not at all! They also put too much aloi on the other dishes too… it was like a «special sauce» that was put on everything
We also got the paella and it was good BUT our waiter put in two orders of it!!! There was three people total and we ordered a lot of dishes so I thought it would be obvious that we wanted the tapa size. But instead our waiter put in double order and was charged twice which turned out to be $ 40. He defiantly should have asked us before putting the order in. Speaking of our waiter, when we were almost done eating he came by and said he suggests this imported ham. We ordered it cause it sounded good but it turned out to be $ 16! It was obvious that he wanted us to spend more money… I mean we were pretty much finished with the meal and he suggested it. Why didn’t he suggest it in the beginning? He also suggested other thing as well and of course they were the most expensive on the menu. I am mostly upset about the waiter as he tried to make us spend a lot of money.
I was really excited to get the fried blood sausage but it was so disappointing. It was over fried and turned out to be just super crunchy… stuff. Honestly, it kinda hurt my mouth eating it cause it was over fried which made it hard and felt like it was cutting my mouth.
The other stuff was just okay. The description on the menu sounded a lot better than what was served. I’ve defiantly had WAY better tapas than this.
P. S. I signed up for Unilocal just so I can post this… this shows how upset I am about my experience here

We went for happy hour (M-​F, 5−7pm), but ended up mostly ordering off the main menu due to the reasonable prices. Everything was delicious!
We enjoyed fried smelts, calamari, octopus in vinaigrette, and fried goat cheese with caramelized onions & honey. The fried fish was perfectly seasoned and crisped with no traces of grease. The octopus was tender and tangy. And OMG, the goat cheese tapa was that perfect balance of savoy and sweet with a paper thin batter on the outside.
My hubby loved the smooth taste of his Estrella beer ($ 3 on happy hour). I had cava cocktails ($ 5 happy hour) which made me feel like I really was in a little café in Spain.
We are already planning our next trip here.

In a nut shell: Worth every cent, the food is fresh, our waiter was awesome and the food tasted outstanding.
We came here just before our cooking class a few doors down at Sur La Table. This place serves small plates so you get a taste of many items which I really enjoy. We had the…
Tortilla española $ 2 This has an amazing scalloped potato like taste. With a fresh crème sauce on the side. I would highly recommend this dish.
Tabla de quesos $ 14 which is a cheese plate. It had 5 types of cheeses, crackers, almonds and a fig type bar that was very nice.
Cesta de pan $ 2 that is a basket of rustic bread that was fresh and good.
Sangria was very good
Burata cheese, grilled Texas peach, Serrano ham, arugula, radicchio $ 14 I would have never thought to put these items together but they were fresh and lovely.
Our waiter was charming and very helpful. The rest of the staff seemed a little plastic to me, but our waiter was top notch.
The reason they did not get 5 stars was because the «plastic» feel of the hostesses and the fact that this place is small and a bit crowded. I did get the «Madrid» small café feel however.

Food is delicious always! Try the gambas and the fried goat cheese! For dessert the turron ice cream. Ask for Atilo, best server and will definitely take care of you! Dont forget the sangrias!!!

Fun atmosphere with a really authentic vibe. I felt like I was in Spain. Extensive seating. They have a delicious seasonal watermelon salad. It’s a must if you go during the summer! The calamari is also great. Try the peppers stuffed with goat cheese. Good wine selection.

Parking is a mess. The place is not cozy nor inviting, is just too old fashion, like for your parents. Sangria is average, and tapas are ok but almost as expensive as a full meal, not worth it. They dont «split» checks which piss me off… just invest and get a good and modern software to please your customers. Service was good, our waitress did what she could with what she had.

The food was outstanding! We had the shrimp, ribeye, flank steak, iberico plate and the asparagus. FANTASTIC!
We were seated and waited a bit before anyone really paid attention to us. Then Carlos came over and said he saw us looking around and wanted to be sure we had been taken of by someone. His service was impeccable. He was kind, attentive, informative on the menu and is what made our experience 5 stars! The food on its own was stellar — but without Carlos we never would have tasted it because we were about to walk out. Highly recommend giving this spot a try, just ask to be seated in Carlos’ section!

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/​café 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.

Love this place! Reminds me of a tapas bar I went to in Barcelona :)
Get a basket of bread and a few other items to share with friends. Prices are great for how many dishes you can try.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Croquettes with manchego and spinach
Patatas bravas
Piquillo peppers with goat cheese
Fried goat cheese with caramelized onions and honey
Tortilla espanola
Will be back to try the rest!

The ambiance and music is definitely great and similar to be in Spain. When it comes to food… Some is good and some is bad.
I’m Spaniard so I should know about authenticity. The tortilla Española was excellent and so is their bread. Sangria was good.
Patatas bravas, croquetas and ajillo shirmp where very disappointing. Nothing to do with the real stuff.

Finally got a chance to try Café 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.

Not too long ago, my parents were in town and we wanted to show them the Knox Henderson area. My mother is also talking of going to Madrid, so we took them to Café Madrid in Highland Park. Having also been to Madrid, I can tell you this place is very authentic. The décor is totally Spanish and even has the leg of a pig on display with the hoof intact! It’s a little gross, but you cant look away!
We ordered a bunch of tapas plates and passed them around. For the table, we ordered Plato ibérico (Assortment of Spanish cured meats, served with manchego cheese, olives, and marcona almonds $ 14) There was something for everyone on this dish and was a great warm up for the rest of the meal. We also got a Cesta de pan (Basket of rustic bread $ 2) Next, was the highlight of the meal– The Paella! If you really do paella right, it is sooooo good, and they have it down. Very authentic and flavorful. They have a small tapas portion that was perfect for lunch ($ 9.5).
I got the Vieiras al romesco (Seared sea scallops with romesco sauce $ 11) Perfectly seared with an interesting Spanish sauce. My dad got the Carne a la plancha con salsa de cabrales (Grilled ribeye topped with cabrales blue cheese $ 11) It was cooked medium rare and was VERY tender. My son ordered the Piquillo relleno con queso de cabra (Imported piquillo peppers filled with goat cheese $ 6.5) He loved it so much he got 2 more plates!
One of the best things about our experience here was that the owner not only came to our table to ask how everything was, but he also stopped to talk to us for a bit. He told us a little about the dishes we were eating and where the food was imported from. He told us about some of his experiences in Spain, let us know about their «running of the bulls» celebration in Dallas and even drank a a beer with us that was imported from Spain. And he let us take the bottle home, which looks very unique and is now a decoration in our home.

I love café Madrid. I think the food is well prepared, and tasty.
The owner was on hand at my happy hour visit, a bit aloof.
I dove into a sample of tapas and wine. The portions were tiny but the quality was excellent.
I had pulpo $ 3, marinated. 3 – 4 lovely pieces. The pattata $ 3, cute like a small cheese cake slice, luscious. The fried olives stuffed in anchovey, $ 3 — as good as anywhere.
The croquette — fried potato stuffed w cheese and spinach $ 1.75 — perfect.
Calamari — 6 pieces for $ 3, perfectly fried.
3 glasses of house wine — 4.50 each.
Sangre del toro — a good house.
My waiter kept trying to upsell me from the cheaper tapas menu, to the full regular menu. My bill was just under $ 30, and I left over 20% tip, so I felt like I paid for my table in a restaurant that was one quarters full.
When the waiter erroneously brought me anchovies instead of calamari, the owner made the correction but wasn’t particularly gracious.
This place is very cozy and the food is great, but I felt like the service was insincere and a bit cold.
After I paid my bill, the waiter did not make eye contact or say one word to me.
If I hadn’t been sitting on the cute patio, he might have kicked me out the door.
Dear owner,
Thank you for some great food and wine on a quite street that almost transports you to Europe. The live guitar was seductive and not too loud to distract from conversation. However this time machine took a detour to Miami. As the meal continued, I felt like I was a bit nickeled and dimed like at a bistro in touristy South Beach. If you don’t want your customers to enjoy the value happy hour, then take away the menus.

Hemmingway’s The Sun Also Rises planted my obsession with the Lost Generation of Spain in 7^th grade.
When you desire to loose your mind and free it from the city bricks o’ Dallas, look no further than Café Madrid
Legit details of Café 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