The toast with fresh cheese and carmelized onions was really good. My wife also had the salmon with roasted vegetables and she loved it. Our waiter was really nice too. I ordered the arroz con jamon iberico and it was alright. read more

Carmela is what you dreamed Spanish food should taste like and beyond. The service is incredible, prices are reasonable and the food delicious!!! We wasted our time and money following travel guides and web recommendations. This place offers not only a full menu but also yummy free tapas with your drink. Is close enough from plaza Santa Ana but far enough from all noisy tourists. The food presentation is impeccable and you can tell immediately with the first bite that they also use the best ingredients even in the free tapas. I have 2 more days left in Granada and i expect to have the rest of my meals here and try their extensive menu; maybe even adventure to their 2 other locations in the city: La Cuchara de Carmela & El Pescaito de Carmela. read more

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Worst service... our food came out cold. They were busy and did not attend to provide good service to the table.

Ate here for a late lunch after building an appetite on the Alhambra. We ordered the croquettes with ham (previously well reviewed), the tostada with ham, tostada with onion and melted cheese, and the Iberian paella. All dishes were mediocre at best, croquettes were probably the best thing we ordered even though they were mushy inside. They only give one croquette per order. The tostadas were both the worst things we ate in all of Spain. The paella just adds insult to injury. It was way too salty, mushy, and the rice was undercooked. read more

Carmela has a lovely outdoor dining area and friendly service, and it made for a peaceful break after eating at chaotic tapas restaurants. The food was hit-and-miss though: the blood pudding and caramelized onion croquettes looked gorgeous and were super crisp on the outside, but I was really put off by the incredibly soft, mushy texture on the inside. I couldn't really bring myself to eat it. The taste was fine, but it wasn't for me. On the other hand, the black rice with prawns and cuttlefish was quite good - if a bit salty, but the rice was creamy and the seafood was very fresh. The homemade pasta was also very well made, with a hearty Bolognese sauce. I enjoyed my glass of wine at the waiter's recommendation. It's fairly reasonably priced, and has an interesting menu that will have something for everyone, and makes a nice change after a lot of the other same-y restaurants. read more

Absolutely amazing food! It is one of the pricier places in Granada, but totally worth it. It has many options for vegetarians. Try the berenjenas fritas con miel and the queso tostada. Also get a gin and tonic. At 8 euros, it may seem like a lot, especially since you would pay much less for a glass of wine, but gintonics have been elevated to an art in Spain. read more

The goat cheese salad and bolognese are to die for. Had such a good time here and the waiters are kind and attentive. Definitely a must go to in Granada! read more

We are enjoying the creative, flavorful, and well-presented dishes here this afternoon. My wife's rosado and my cerveza are excellent. The waiter is friendly, helpful, and efficient. The positive reviews that led us here are correct. We highly recommend this restaurant. read more

I don't care what the other reviews say. Carmela was by far the worst restaurant we went to in Granada. The sangria, lettuce, and chicken were fine, but the lamb and the paella were subpar. Lamb was smelly and the cheese under it is not for the weak hearted. The paella came out undercooked, so we sent it back, and it came back still a little undercooked but edible. Worst paella we've had in a week. Service was okay but slow in putting our order in. This. Is. A. Tourist. Trap. You can get way better food for much better prices at places like Plaza Nueva. read more

Food was really good but the service was very poor. Our waiter didn't see us for over twenty minutes, the people next to us left after 30 minutes of not being seen. read more

Can't speak to the lunch/dinner but the breakfast here is dank. Huge tostadas slathered in fresh tomate, thick slices of jamón serrano, perfectly melted manchego cheese...I dream about it. Their mantequilla/mermelada tostada is also delicious as they use legit butter from Asturias. Come sit on the terrace with a relaxing cup of café con leche and order a tostada and you will thank me later. read more

We have been to several places in Granada and we were quite impressed with this one. The food was so clean and healthy tasting and the service was excellent. A nice place to enjoy a lovely meal with a great view of the square and to be treated well. read more

Loved, loved, loved this place! Went on a Saturday night and it was rocking (the guests at the table next to us started singing). Crowd was mixed...lots of locals, but tourists as well. The sangria was fantastic, and each of the tapas was really tasty. The best part was the staff, as they could not have been more welcoming and friendly. Not only did they not mind we didn't speak Spanish, they went out of their way to make us comfortable. Only in town 2 nights and seriously thinking of going for dinner both of them. read more

It seems like we arrived at the Asian hour (early lunch?) and that made the place and atmosphere uniquely warm - only tourists here. Waiter was very friendly and welcoming. The sangria was exceptional and the dishes suggested upon request were great for lunch, served promptly. Can't get better for the service, food, price & location. read more

nice place with nice ppl and delicious food, only what we had had too much salt in it, tried our best still couldn't finish the dish. read more

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Great place for Tapas, small meals and drinks. Wait staff is really friendly and sitting outside with the heat lamps is lovely in the winter. Free (substantial) tapas with every drink. The croquetas are amazing and home made -- don't leave here without having one (or four)! read more

Totally a tourist trap. Ordered sangria(great but didn't get a tapa with it), pork paella(was okay/good), croqueta de jamon(good), entrea tosta de que(okay/good). We wait for super long and it was quite pricy. They also forgot our paella and we had to remind them. Not worth the time nor money. Staff was friendly tho. read more

On a hot night in Granada, this was a very nice find. We enjoyed the salmorejo cordobas - very creamy and wonderful flavor; stuffed eggplant (pimientos piqillorellenos); tostada de queso - which went beautifully with the rest of our foods. The cold beer came with a serving a rice/sausage paella. My husband ordered tatki de atun which he thoroughly enjoyed. The atun was more like sushi, which can only be enjoyed if it is a very good piece of tuna. No sides to the atun. On the high end for tapas, service was very good and they worked at making guest comfortable and welcome. read more

Solid food with some imagination behind it and enough variety in the menu to keep everybody pleased. Some dishes seemed a bit overly salted and there was a little grit in the Galician octopus but I would still come back for all of it. Wait staff was professional, attentive, but didn't hover. "Fried Milk" dessert is fantastic -- basically lightly fried panna cotta. read more

The ambience of the restaurant is lovely. Clean and classy is how I would describe it. I had the fried eggplant (i.e., aubergine) with honey drizzle and grilled salmon with vegetables. A glass of semi-sweet white (possibly a riesling) that the waiter chose for me and was very good. Minus a star for cost and minus a star for the fact that my salmon was undercooked and bland for the price I paid. Considering that there are so many high quality but lower cost restaurants in Granada, what you pay at Carmela was a bit higher for the food quality. I paid about 15€ for the salmon, which was very undercooked in the middle. Normally, I can eat salmon a little undercooked, but it was very raw and cold in the middle. So, when I asked them to cook it a little more, it came back overcooked and dry. The vegetables that came with it was nothing special. The fried eggplant was fairly good and enough for two people, but not great and a fair price at 7.50€. read more

Carmela - Fried eggplant. - Spanish Near Me - Granada, GR

3.5 This place has a nice ambiance and was always hopping with customers every time I passed by! I finally caved when I saw people eating the paella (free tapa) that came with the drinks! The paella was good (and so I was happy). I also ordered the croquet (morcilla) and while it was tasty, I didn't expect the sweet taste, so I was slightly disappointed. read more

Convenient location, great staff. Iberian pork loin and salmorejo were delicious. Good wine list too! read more

We got a rice dish and a sirloin dish. The rice was pretty good. The sirloin was a bit grisly and a bit dry for a €16 dish.

Great food and friendly staff. You're good to go even if you just order "To share" options because the portion sizes are BIG, but for those brave enough both salmon and steak are fantastic choices for the main course. read more

Poor food. Onion soup that looked bad and tadted bad. Octopus with potatoes that tasted like smoke essence. We left our plates full. The stuff did nor care..... read more

We decided to come to Carmela for drinks and tapas when we walked by it and everytime no matter what time there was always quite a bit of people there. The sangria is the best I've had in Spain so far and the food is delicious. We actually came here twice! I just had to have their sangria again before leaving Granada and try other food since it was delicious. read more

3 stars for all the English speakers in Granada that want something familiar. I was not especially impressed. All dishes, even the savory ones, were really sweet and flavors were very one-noted. Service was excellent. Prices were relatively good. Meh. read more

We ordered moussaka, the arroz iberico and the grilled octopus and potato dish- overall the rice was the only tasty item. It's possible that my first introduction to moussaka was just too new but I did feel the top was a tad heavy with cinnamon and the flavors didn't blend. The octopus was a little off in terms of flavor and texture. Nice staff but not the speediest service. read more

Long wait for food, undercooked hamburger and obnoxious waiter. I've never been treated as badly in a restaurant as I was at this place. Avoid it! read more

In Spain last 10 days. Stellar meal at Carmela. Best of our trip. We're huge eggplant lovers and never had better--berenjenas frites con miel de cana. Also, sirloin tip with an incredible sherry sauce. Warm, attentive service. Yes, they have a menu en ingles. read more

Too bad I can't give more than 5 stars. Fantastic restaurant that is opened from breakfast to late at night. We went for dinner and came back two nights later. Great service, ambience and food. You can order everything from traditional Spanish main dishes to pasta to tapas. Although these are the most expensive on the menu, I highly recommend the lamb (heavenly) and the rabes de tores (oxtail stew). But everything is delicious. read more

reasonable price, good food, friendly helpful staff. Great place, would recommend the croquettes.