* 3.5 Stars * I think my expectations for this place were too high. We ordered blood sausage, squid in ink, and ox tail. The blood sausage was a surprise: it was presented on top of bread in a mushy, paste-like form, and I think that threw me back a bit. The boyfriend didn't like it at all, but he does have a slight aversion to blood sausage. I was really looking forward to the squid in ink, but it was a bit of a letdown. There were pieces of ham and the squid was plenty, but I think the flavor was too salty. It left an odd numbing taste in my mouth and I found I had to keep on rinsing my mouth out with beer. The ox tail was balled up and covered with a tasty sauce, and I think I preferred it over the others. However, it too was a bit salty. My tastebuds were crying from salt towards the end. Service was excellent and our server was incredibly friendly. It was nice that she cut up and mixed the squid for us, and she checked back often enough to make sure we were doing okay. Although we didn't take advantage of the wine, I really liked the big and colorful wine list they had over the bar. Keep in mind this place is tiny and you will have to wait if coming during peak hours. By waiting I mean at the small bar if you can squeeze in, or standing right in front of the door looking awkward if you don't have a beer in your hand. Oh one last thing.. the location is really nice. The street is so romantic and a great place to walk at night! read more

Casa Lucas undoubtedly delivered the best tapas experience during my short stay in Madrid. Not only was the food divine but the surroundings and the service was so friendly and hospitable that it would guarantee a re-visit if we are ever in Madrid again. Selma, our waitress, got us a table after only waiting 10 minutes which we were quite impressed by since the place was full. She guided us through the menu and gave us her recommendations which we followed. Also we were allowed to order half a dish which meant we could try more. Price was good. All in all, we had a very pleasant experience and I'll recommend this treasure for everyone I know who are going to Madrid. read more

Quaint atmosphere. Great service. Somewhat of a local hangout. It's very small make a reservation read more

Casa Lucas - Seafood was shrimp - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

Just what I like in a restaurant; small (7 tables) family owned obviously and great food. They keep the menu small but focus on excellence. Wine list is small but also very very nice. Staff is knowledgeable and helpful but not pushy. Two guys run the front with no issues at all serving a nice size crowd. My only suggestion would be that it's a little bright in terms of lighting. Love this place and would return to this place in one of my favorite cities in the world. Suspicions: - to many Americans - to easy to get in I was suspicious until I tasted the octopus in squid ink.... read more

Very small place but close to La Latina neighborhood. Service is good and the food is also amazing. We tried the Risotto (which is a lot more wet) but still delicious with the wild mushroom and poached egg. The mushroom croquettes were delicious, the chicken pincho, and the curry chicken with cous cous. All of the food was made fresh and tasted amazing. Their wine selection was also delicious!! read more

The best food we had while in Madrid! While we usually had less expensive food, this was definitely worth the small price hike on the food (still very affordable, like most Spanish food!). The seafood cannelloni was incredibly refreshing, and the fresh squid ink pasta they made for the cannelloni was the best fresh pasta I've ever had. The rest of the food we got was all classic Spanish dishes and tapas, but often done with more elaborate preparations, highlights of which include Iberian ham croquettes and an incredibly tender and refreshing oxtail. Would definitely recommend, but if it's possible make a reservation, the restaurant was packed the whole night and we just lucked out with a table, and there were people out the door when we passed it on other nights! read more

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Came here off a friend's beaming recommendation and left pretty happy. We got the English menu after sitting down and didn't have any problems ordering as the waiter spoke English too. We decided to get two of the hot pinchos, the chicken and the blood sausage. We overall liked them both and never really ate anything like them before. We split an entree of calamari and as the waiter was cutting it up, we realized it was way too much for just the two of us. It was fried perfectly and very meaty so we got filled up quick. Whenever calamari is on the menu, it is almost always ordered when we go out to eat but this ranks up there with some of the best calamari I've had. We weren't particularly fond of the squid ink mousse but the squid itself was very tender and delicious. read more

Casa Lucas - 2 hot Pinchos, Madrid (blood sausage) and Alella (chicken with corn and onion) - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

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A lovely stop on a night dedicated to the adventure that is tapas hopping in Madrid. With no reservations on a Saturday night, we managed to squeeze into a few inches of space available at the bar. The atmosphere is definitely welcoming. Our night ended with two complimentary glasses if Cava. For non Spanish speakers, there's a menu in English for your translating pleasure. The food, I hate to say, was mediocre. The blood sausage was not as expected - rather than being served in a link, it was removed from the casing and spread across a toasted slice of bread in a paste like fashion. Perhaps they were going for a different interpretation? The soy chicken was very salty. Wouldn't order either again. The hospitality, however, speaks volumes. A wonderful experience on a tapas filled night! read more

Not a bad joint but I don't really get the hype. I kept thinking I was in the wrong place. It's less tapas oriented (about 10 items on the menu, most of which are served on top of bread), and more a regular meal type situation. Small and over-lit like most places on this street. I feel like I could have had the same meal elsewhere with a bit more ambiance. They have menus in English. Is that why this place is so popular on Yelp? *****Actually, screw this place. Go to Txirimini around the corner. Super inventive and award winning tapas for less money. You can thank me later.**** read more

Tourist trap. Quite expensive. When you go to a restaurant and they have menus in 5 languges watch out! Some yelpers said the squid with bacon was one of the best dishes of their trip....it wasn't. It wasn't terrible but it certainly wasn't anything special. The price however, for Madrid was very 'special'. 18 euros. We ordered wine by the glass and they were mighty small glasses indeed, I would say about 100ml. No locals were dining there. read more

One of the quieter and more sophisticated (in terms of food) tapas bars along Cava Baja. Not inviting to the rowdy crowd which is fine with me. Great wine and we had the Huevos Madrid dish which is scrambled eggs with blood sausage, pine nuts and prunes served over pan con tomate. Food is pricier than other tapas bars closeby. You pay for the quieter ambiance and more refined food preparation. read more

We made sure to stop in this place during our little Cava Baja tapas crawl because we'd heard so many good things. Maybe we ordered wrong stuff, but we were not blown away. We went with two tapas: ratatouille with ham and quail egg, and blood sausage with scrambled egg. We enjoyed the nice, rich flavored but nothing in these two really stood out. The vermouth we had was nice, though, and the service was good. Maybe you have to do a full meal here to get the right experience... read more

This was our first meal in Spain during our 9 day family trip and it made a lasting impression. I contacted the restaurant via email to make a reservation for lunch at 13:30 on a week day and they responded to confirm. When we got there it was still not open even though it's already 13:30. We almost left in disappointment but decided to wait around a little longer to try our luck. Sure enough eventually two guys showed up to open the door and the place was packed full right away. Since it was our first meal, we had no idea where to start and just randomly ordered some dishes. The staff was friendly and communicated well in English. We especially enjoyed the calamari with ink sauce and the ox tail. Like others have said the menu isn't very big but everything was delicious. Price was fair as well for the quality of food read more

The street where this is located is adorable. We came here first before heading to other places down this row for drinks. Yum! They start you off with this pate that is delish. If only I could have it again. I ordered the tataki which was ok. The canelloni was much better! read more

So good. Coquettes were the best. Tomato with goat cheese was to die for. Tuna sashimi was ok, calamari bathed in squid ink was so so good. And would you believe the lentil soup was more than a soup?! So good wish we could eat there again! read more

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We were recommended this place for a local guide. One of the best meals I've had while out in Madrid! Authentic Spanish food. Very small and very busy but it's worth it for the food read more

Casa Lucas is a small restaurant, probably has about 3-4 tables for parties of 4-5 or less. The food and waiters here are fabulous. I definitely recommend the black ink squid and foie. Try to come in before 8 or 9 PM for a seat or possibly on a weekday. read more

Madrid is not really well known for food as some other city in Spain like Barcelona or San Sebastian, so it might be a 4star rated places comparing to others in the city. Very tiny place like everyone mention, service was nice, portion was good, taste was just typical food nothing too memorable. read more

Wow, just wow. We tried to come here 2 times. Both times were packed but luckily we were able to snag a table on the second time. I would like to thank whatever food god graced us with this meal. I have to say that it was one of the best meals I have ever had and this is coming from a girl who felt like garbage on arrival. We shockingly got a table pretty quickly and settled in for an epic meal on a Tuesday night. We grabbed a bottle of wine (which soon turned into 2) and started to decide on what to order. Everything looked delicious so we chose to share between the 4 of us. Our server spoke english very well but the manager and other bartender did not seem to speak much but were all very sweet. Thankfully, our server was able to suggest some pretty amazing dishes for us. We started out with Alella which is a warm tapa; soy chicken topped with purple onion and sweet corn mousse. It was sweet, it was salty and most importantly, it was delicious. Next up was calamari and bacon in a squid ink garlic sauce mixed up right at your table. I don't eat seafood. It was still tasty. Yeah I only had one bite, what of it. Everyone else enjoyed it to the last drop. The next course was oxtail on the smoothest pureed potatoes that I've ever encountered topped with a (I believe) a plum sauce. It was not very sweet but it was absolutely delicious. I can say with confidence that one of my favorite well cooked meats is oxtail. This one knocked it out of the friggen park. It just melted in your mouth and if I could, I would gladly have this dish every 3 months for the rest of my life. Just enough to not get sick of it and just enough to long for the next time I got it. The last dish was the creamy risotto with duck foie and a poached egg. It is also mixed up right there beside you. Let it be known that it was super heavy. Thankfully it was our last one because we were positively stuffed after this. The rice was super creamy and fatty because of the foie. To top it all off, this meal was shockingly cheap. All of this delicious, hearty food for 120 euro! In NYC, this meal easily would have been double or triple the price depending on where you got it. I have to say that Madrid was full of some of the most delicious food I've ever had with this easily being the top of my list. read more

Trust the 5 star reviews. I'm adding to them. We got to this gem about 9pm on a Monday night. There were 3 of us. We were pleasantly surprised to find a couple of tables open and snagged one. Happy that they served a carafe of water. We ordered a moderately priced bottle of wine from a varied and large selection. The vibe was sort of upscale casual and the wait staff polite and professional. We ordered and shared the oxtails and calamari with squid ink which they cut and mixed at the table. It was the best calamari I've ever had. It was rich and creamy. We were full after sharing those 2. Go! read more

Tasty, but they mixed up what we've ordered and we were to hungry to fight with that. Try to order using Spanish menu, not English or any other. read more

This place was recommended by a friend and I am so glad I went! At first, it was a bit empty so i was worried that I got the wrong place but right after we sat down it filled up. The staff was great and accommodating - provided some good wine recommendations to pair with the food. The food itself came out at a good pace and was overall yummy. The oxtail was delicious! I recommend ordering a few different dishes and splitting them with whomever you are there with to enjoy all of it. We ordered about 3 dishes between 2 people and were full at the end. read more

Worth the hype! Tapas looked expensive @ €6 each, but they include two large ones and the ones we had were delicious. We ate the chicken with corn purée, the pork loin with onions, and the spinach mousse. read more

Enjoyed the tinto de Verano - ordered calamari with squid ink and the oxtail. Delicious! Waiters speak perfect English and extremely attentive and helpful! read more

We went to Casa Lucas on recommendation from an American friend who is a bit of a foodie. We weren't disappointed. I've heard CL is spendy, but we found the opposite. For 6 adults, we had 3 of the small plates (2 pieces each plate) and 4 of the large plates, and split them all. Add to that 3 bottles of wine, and it was a very reasonable bill. Thougjh everything was amazing and unique, our favorites were the shrimp and leeks, caramelized onion and pork, the calamari, Black cannelloni, and oxtail. Thank you to John who helped make our night so enjoyable! read more

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My mom and I had an early dinner last night. We walked in the door at 8:15pm and were able to be seated immediately. Even that early in the night, there were already a number of Spaniards there. You'll likely see a lot of tourists, since the restaurant has excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. As some reviewers have noted, the tables and chairs aren't exceptionally comfortable, but the food makes it worthwhile. The place was packed when we were there, but the service was great: our waitress was pleasant and attentive. My glass of wine (3 euro) was fruity and tart; I didn't note the name but it was recommended by our waitress. We shared a delicious pinxo of chicken in soy sauce with corn mousse and sesame oil (6euro, but it comes with 2 tostas, so not a bad deal) for our appetizer. Our main dish, the oxtail stuffed and mixed with dried prunes and served with a potato puree and vegetable sauce (20 euro) was absolutely delicious. The sauce & puree were so good that we used our bread to sop up all of it after we finished the oxtail! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves good food more than a comfy place to sit. (My mom just chimed in, "Give lots of stars to the place we went to last night!" when I told her I was reviewing the places we've eaten at.) read more

Situated on Cava Baja in Madrid's La Latina neighbourhood, Casa Lucas catered for both locals and tourists, with menus available in English. It's a very small bar, with about four tables and some stools at the bar where you can also order tapas. We visited around 8pm on a Saturday evening and enjoyed a drink at the bar whilst waiting for a table. By the time we were leaving after 9pm, the place was full of people waiting so I'd recommend going early (by Madrid standards!). As everyone else has said, the wines are excellent and the service good. The waiter spoke English and explained the different types of Spanish wine available as we wanted an alternative to the usual rioja wines. The tapas menu wasn't extensive, but the small selection didn't disappoint. Definately recommended if you're looking for modern, innovative tapas in Madrid. read more

The perfect way to end the perfect Madrid day. Casa Lucas is relatively unassuming but it serves the most delicious food. We had the solomillo (pork with caramelized onions on toast) which was lovely. The pork was very tender and the onions gave the perfect balance of sweetness to the dish. We also had the risotto with mushroom, foie, and poached egg (the latter two were mixed in table side by the server). The risotto was a revelation. It was simply divine, the perfect blend of creamy, savory, and innovative. But probably the best part of the evening was the service, with the server and the bartender/owner providing us with extremely warm and friendly service (including moscato on the house!). Thanks so much for a truly memorable meal that will stay with us for a very long time. read more

This is my favorite tapas/wine bar in Madrid. The wine (vino tinto, guapo) and the tataki (seared tuna with onions and apple sauce in soy sauce) were perfect. Great service, cool vibe. There are a lot of good options on Calle Cava Baja, but this is the most interesting. read more

Casa Lucas was one of the best meals that we had in Madrid. It is a small restaurant but was even full on a Monday night. Our memorable meal started off with the mixed croquettes and vegetable salad. Then we shared the calamari with bacon and squid ink, huevos macarenna and finished with the oxtail. Such interesting and flavorful dishes! Our server Carlos was great and recommended a delicious wine for our meal. He was very helpful and changed out our plates after each dish. His service made the experience that much better! read more

Wonderful food and great prices. We had the ham croquettes and the mushroom croquettes which we thought tasted really good. Then he brought the Alella...wow! The corn mousse on top was outstanding. The flavor of all of it together was very well done. Then we had the mushroom and egg risotto. The water brought to the table and then mixed it up which was fun to watch. The taste was another winner. read more

Casa Lucas - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

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Casa Lucas hits 5 stars in all three categories: food, service and atmosphere. The dishes are creative, using very fresh ingredients and are extremely tasty. The service was impeccable and friendly. The restaurant is very warm and welcoming, with dinner tables sitting by the small bar. read more

Casa Lucas was great! We came here on a Wednesday night around 9pm and had no problem getting a great table. Our server was awesome, attentive, and made sure our food came out in the right order. And our food was AMAZING. We had the croquettes, a hot pinchos (I can't remember the name of), and the risotto. Highly recommend. read more

Food is great... Service was great and staff had some great recommendations for us on our stay in Madrid ... Rabo was outrageous! Definitely making one last stop before we're off read more

Arrive early or make a reservation because there are only a handful of tables and they cannot accommodate large groups. The place it's tiny but the food makes it worthwhile. The place was packed when we were there, but the service was great: our waitress was pleasant and attentive. They have a great selection of tapas and pinxtos. The English menu we were given helped, I didn't note the name but everything was recommended by our waitress. I loved bacalao and squid tapas. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves good food. Excellent and reasonably priced food with professional service. read more

This restaurant was great for a night out having traditional spanish tapas that aren't too expensive! We ordered a variety of things and found that everything was very shareable and there were generous portions. The gazpacho was particularly creamy and reminded me more of a tomato bisque but was phenomenal nonetheless (the best gazpacho I had, period). We also had patatas bravas and the pulpo. The only reason I am rating this restaurant four stars instead of five is because they are a little chintzy on the portion. The tentacle was not sizeable, but was cooked well. We went on a Thursday night and easily found a table. I don't know if this was a rarity but our service was fast as well. And of course, un jarra de tinto de verano es delicioso! read more

A clean, friendly, and modern bar in the La Latina area. Try the Jamon and the mushroom croquettas, you won't regret it.

one of the best meals of our trip. heard that it gets real busy so we went close to opening and got two seats at the bar. sure enough within 10 minutes the place was packed and people were waiting. started with a bottle of the house wine for like 17 euros. one of the best bites of the entire trip was the allela - piece of chicken topped with very tasty carmelized onions and corn mousse. im still thinking about it. next we had the canelon which were two wrapped squid ink canole things stuffed with seafood and topped with a cream sauce. also real good. lastly we had arroz cremoso which was a risotto with foie. they mix it for you in front of you. awesome. would come back here in a second as it was one of the few places in madrid where people were actually friendly. great meal. read more

The calamari with bacon and squid ink may have been my favorite meal in madrid. This is seriously a quality place. Worth taking a subway from wherever just to try this dish. The other food was great as well. read more

Alas, none of the photos I took of Casa Lucas fare look pretty at all. But suffice it to say the food was as tasty as my pictures probably don't make them look. I found Casa Lucas on a random blog recommending various supposed eat-like-local venues in Madrid. After being gruffly treated at Tempranillo, another venue recommended on said blog, best friend and I decided to leave and visit Casa Lucas instead. The right choice. Our waitress was beyond friendly and helpful, recommending us the most delicious, perfectly balanced-between-sweet-and-dry tempranillo that I'm still kicking myself for not asking the label of. We ordered the foie de pato, some croquetas, oxtail smothered in salmorejo, and a squid-ink-sauce calamari. While the oxtail was slightly overwhelming with the rich and gooey cartilage texture (I guess it's oxtail, we shouldn't really have expected otherwise), the foie with its berry-based sauce was perfectly creamy and smooth (if a little guilt-inducing) and the croquetas -- and especially the thin fries that accompanied -- were fried just right and delicious. I'm usually a die-hard crispy-calamari fan, but I almost revoked that MO altogether when I tasted this perfectly seasoned, chewy calamari. Loved the little tableside mixing action (call me a sucker for a good show). Even the pre-meal olives we ate here were delicious. Definitely returning someday. read more

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