Review: Excellent Food and Friendly Staff at a Restaurant in Madrid

Plaza del Carmen is a nice square, off the main roads, but packed with personality, plus a couple of good hotels, super close to both Opera and Sol Metro's. We stopped here a number of times whilst we stayed in Madrid for a long weekend...in October, as our hotel was on the doorstop. Great for morning coffee, evening wine drinks and beer, dining, lunch, brunch, whatever. Big plus is that are lots of tables outside as well as a good dining / bar area inside, and the inside tables overlook large open windows onto the square, so all the seating is good. Even when it's very busy, there seems to be a places to eat, the exception being Friday / Saturday evening for dinner when there can be a queue, but we saw it being managed well. All in all we had about 4 visits here, and everytime, very good and friendly service. Orders were prompt and well served, and the only issue was when we came along around 5:30 for wine / drinks and was told we had no leave the table by 7:30; well, needless to say it was 10pm when we left! OK, down to the food and drink ... great draft beer and we tried numerous Spanish wines, all delicious, so no complaints (Botella El Bodeguero Blanc at 16 Euros, Botella Oxido Tinto 17 Euros. They also had some great local almond liquors, ask for Frangelico, it's very good at 4.5 Euros per serving. We ended up opting for tapas; Croquetas de mama (ham and potato traditional croquets), Empanadillas Pollo, Patatas Bravas, and Pan masa madre. Great deserts, including Lemon Pie and Tarta Chocolate y Platano. It's easy to get carried away here, and to just keep the tapas and wine coming. Great place, and can't wait to keep on my MUST GO BACK and visit list when next in Madrid.More in October, as our hotel was on the doorstop. Great for morning coffee, evening wine drinks and beer, dining, lunch, brunch, whatever. Big plus is that are lots of tables outside as well as a good dining / bar area inside, and the inside tables overlook large open windows onto the square, so all the seating is good. Even when it's very busy, there seems to be a places to eat, the exception being Friday / Saturday evening for dinner when there can be a queue, but we saw it being managed well. All in all we had about 4 visits here, and everytime, very good and friendly service. Orders were prompt and well served, and the only issue was when we came along around 5:30 for wine / drinks and was told we had no leave the table by 7:30; well, needless to say it was 10pm when we left! OK, down to the food and drink ... great draft beer and we tried numerous Spanish wines, all delicious, so no complaints (Botella El Bodeguero Blanc at 16 Euros, Botella Oxido Tinto 17 Euros. They also had some great local almond liquors, ask for Frangelico, it's very good at 4.5 Euros per serving. We ended up opting for tapas; Croquetas de mama (ham and potato traditional croquets), Empanadillas Pollo, Patatas Bravas, and Pan masa madre. Great deserts, including Lemon Pie and Tarta Chocolate y Platano. It's easy to get carried away here, and to just keep the tapas and wine coming. Great place, and can't wait to keep on my MUST GO BACK and visit list when next in Madrid.

We tried different restaurants aroud the area but they excelled in customer service, the food was very tasty, good wine selection, and for a reasonable price. Johan was great at coordinating and hosting. Danny was our waiter and he met all of our requests. Highly...recommended: buñuelos de bacalao, risotto de rabo de toro, tarta casera de zanahoria. -Puerto Rico/Party of 7.More recommended: buñuelos de bacalao, risotto de rabo de toro, tarta casera de zanahoria. -Puerto Rico/Party of 7.

The restaurant was around the corner from our rental. My wife and I loved everything about the restaurant. We had four meals - all of which were excellent. The service and the atmosphere was great. The local wine was delicious. Highly recommend for fine and...romantic dining. Close to Gran Via metro.More romantic dining. Close to Gran Via metro.

Nice interior and outside seating - probably a good setting for a romantic meal.

Unfortunately, the food was very mediocre for the price. Was planning to have pizza, but they didn't have any, which was a disappointing start. I had the seitan, which was essentially...schnitzel (breaded). Partnered with some nice potatoes, but then just some salad. No sauce with it so very dry and tasteless. For the price there could've been cooked vegetables and definitely some sauce and maybe seasoning on the seitan.

My mate had a burger, which he had to order chips for as a side. Hope the burger wouldn't have come just on its own, but there was nothing else so that's what we're assuming.

In conclusion, not worth the price. HOWEVER, we only had two things from the menu, so this review is not comprehensive. The waiters seemed rushed and stressed, so we may well have caught them on a bad day, as the other positive reviews would suggest.More schnitzel (breaded). Partnered with some nice potatoes, but then just some salad. No sauce with it so very dry and tasteless. For the price there could've been cooked vegetables and definitely some sauce and maybe seasoning on the seitan.

My mate had a burger, which he had to order chips for as a side. Hope the burger wouldn't have come just on its own, but there was nothing else so that's what we're assuming.

In conclusion, not worth the price. HOWEVER, we only had two things from the menu, so this review is not comprehensive. The waiters seemed rushed and stressed, so we may well have caught them on a bad day, as the other positive reviews would suggest.

My family enjoyed tapas and drinks here. It was a good menu with options for picky eaters. The steak was very tender, empanadas were crispy, and prawns tasty.

I was there for a business dinner. The food was good, plentiful and good variety. The octopus was excellent, the grill is a speciality and I appreciated that they had a variety of vegetables served with the dishes.
The service was just ok. We were...a large group and had problems to get water and refills for the beer jugs. I stress, we were a large group.More a large group and had problems to get water and refills for the beer jugs. I stress, we were a large group.

Excellent food and a nice environment! It's a great place to have dinner with your date! Great drink's Special thanks to Miguel and George's!

The food was amazing and the service was fast. In the center of Madrid, i recommend this place. Chicha and Georges were great servers if you come here, you will not be disappointed!!

Gracias :)

Food was excellent, table service was good but food service wasn’t great - meals all came out at different times hence only 4 stars. However had a nice meal nonetheless - would go back. Looks a really nice restaurant inside too - we ate outside.

Do yourself a favour and avoid this place. Slow service , some of the food still semi frozen and generally a bad experience. Don't go here.

A delicious beef burger with a Pina Colada including excellent service from Christina. We will visit again in Madrid.

Miguel was a great waiter!!! I was at this restaurant with friends and he was so prompt and attentive. Food arrived and was super tasty and made sure to answer all our questions!

Would definitely return!

We came here as a group and had a fantastic time. Miguel was very accommodating to all our requests and always kept an eye on our table to see if we needed anything else.
We were all really pleased with the food and the service...More

The place was lovely with incredibly attentive staff (served by a wonderful waiter called Miguel). Such a varied and tasty menu; so much so we’ve been twice on our visit. Would definitely recommend the charcoal activated pizza!

Bryan was a really nice guy and very gentle! The place is super and the location is good. We were here with friends. A place in the sun!

We ordered ceasar salad, pizza with truffle and mushrooms & a beef burger. The prices are considerably high, but the main problem was that we had to wait over 1h to eat the pizza and the burger. Something's gone very wrong. I do not recommend...More

The food is truly exceptional. My friends ate the stake that they had mentioned is amazing and always get. I don’t eat meat, so I ate the tuna tartar. It was amazing. BUT! The true star of the show was our waitress Alba! She was...More

Very nice place to eat and drink in the center of Madrid. Pizzas with local ingredients and nice sangria wine. Very good prices and friendly staff.

We were staying at the hotel across the plaza and noticed how crowded the restaurant constantly was so we had to try it out. Location is right between Sol and Gran Via but in a quieter plaza. Very lively, large outdoor seating area that did...More

We had lunche there, prices were fair and the meals good and healthy.
They offered different menus of the day.
The terrace is nice and they have water sprinklers to cool down the temperature so the we could easily sit outside despite the very warm...More

I am a fan of La Mucca restaurants in Madrid. This time I came back to La Mucca del Carmen. I enjoy sitting in the shades on the terrace enjoying the summer time. The waiter was kind, fast and careful to our requests. The menu...More

Very good food, thanks to my Madrid friend for the recommendation! The menu is creative, I personally loved the dessert we had which was a chocolate cake with spicy taste and some kind of little things that exploded in your mouth. We were so surprised!...More

The restaurant has a lovely large outdoor seating area, with a variety of options on their menu. There are also some vegetarian options too. The only issue was that we had to ask for the menu several times and it took 30+ minutes for them...More

We went to this place for a coffee. The place was quite big and had separate spaces for lunch and for drinks. They also had a bar, although I'm not sure if you can order drinks there.
We only spent a few minutes there having...More

This restaurant was next door to our hotel (Petit Palace, 4Plaza del Carmen) and was great for first and last night dining. Always busy, so I booked for our last night. Building, atmosphere, staff and food really good. You might have to wait a while...More