Our Moroccan food cravings had been strong for some time, owing to our need for vegetables (France…read moreand Spain both really pile on the bread and cheese, but aren't so vegetably, I think, unless you cook at home) and the fact that the Moroccan place we tried to go to in Toulouse ran out of food at 6pm. Luckily, Gibraltar was right down the street from our AirBnB, and did have food! We ordered the lamb tagine and a bowl of their soup of the day. The soup was hearty, beany and cinnamony, and the tagine had a spare amount (a perfect amount, in my opinion) of nice soft tender lamb surrounding a big marrow-filled bone. There were ample veggies - squash, zucchini, and grilled onions - as well as chickpeas, all piled in a neat, geometric pyramid. My only complaint here is that the zucchini was quite bitter. €11 for both of us though... what a steal! And it even included the ever-present sweet mint tea.

After having visited Morocco (Fes, Chefchaouen, Meknes) I asked myself, after eating at Gibraltar,…read morewhy I ever left my neighborhood to try Moroccan food. Rather than laud it too much from the get-go, I'll just tell you how our experiences went. Gibraltar is on our route between the house and the supermarket, so we are always passing by there, and I have waved hello to the waiter (whose name I learned is Ismail) several times before we finally made good on our promise to ourselves to stop in. We ordered some tea and it came hot as any Moroccan tea, but with rosemary instead of mint. I wondered if there was a second type of Moroccan tea, one with rosemary, and wrote it off to my enduring ignorance of Moroccan culture. It was still good tea. With the tea came a plate of tapas...tapas?! With tea? It was a plate of chopped chocolate (nutella?) crepes. I'll let you imagine how delicious they were. We went to finish and pay, but Ismail brought us two more teas, citing how he'd forgotten to sugar the first two appropriately. We didn't have anywhere to go, so we smilingly accepted and enjoyed another pair of rosemary teas, finishing them just a little faster than we'd finished the first round. When I went to pay, Ismail wouldn't let me! I demanded to the point of pressing money into his hand, but he refused! He was worried that we'd had a sub-par experience and the gesture was one of goodwill. I want to make something clear: I have never had such good service in Spain, or really...anywhere else in the world, given the trappings of the place (by all accounts a typical, low-rent cafe) and the size of the order (two teas!). No server has treated me, as a customer, with the care and kindness that Ismail did that day. I spent some time in the foodservice industry, and I remember how I didn't like customers gushing over good service...yet here I am, singing the praises of a man who seems to be made purely of class. I was so impressed I returned with friends, and the experience was just as good the second time around. We tried the tagines and the couscous dishes, which arrived in a reasonable space of time. I found them superlative (better than many I tried in Morocco) and less expensive than their Moroccan counterparts. Hear me: this place is still a hidden gem in Madrid. You can still see lots of Moroccans hanging about, taking their tea on the street corner with their unsupervised kids playing around the door. "Ethnic" restaurants which still appeal to their native ethnicities are rare and seem to lose their magic when outed to the world. Get here before that happens!

The name has changed, the interior is different. The guy working doesn't really tend to you much…read more Overall decent hookah though

Been here a few times, it's a nice teahouse. They have tea AND alcohol - my kind of tea place. ;-)…read moreCasa Blanca is right on Calle de Atocha, near Kapital nightclub and within steps from Renfe station and the line 1 metro. The tall strong dude is super friendly. He always serves us and he's great. One time he even sat with us for a shot. It was a fun night. I'm not a hookah person, that's the only thing I don't like, all the smoke and such. But they have a nice selection of teas, which is always nice. If you like your tea unsweetened, like me, make sure you say so! Otherwise it'll be sweeter than honey.

We missed our flight to Morocco (seriously), so we decided to look for the next best thing. It was…read morea bit of a hike from our hotel, and my wife kept asking if we were going the right way. The area was mostly deserted, and located in a community with Chinese and Mexican restaurants. The streets were steep, and not the best for my wife's heels. The entrance belies the rest of the neighborhood, but it gives a clue to what's inside. The interior is gorgeous. North African music weaves a lively tune to provide the perfect backdrop. We opened with hummus, which had the silky quality you expect, and a beautiful presentation. The flavor was very chickpea-forward, but something tasted different from the hummus I've enjoyed in Dearborn (which has the world's largest concentration of middle easterners outside the Middle East). Then, I realized it: there was no detectable garlic, and no salt. Salt is available upon request, though. The pita served with the hummus is the flat pocket type, not the puffy baked type. Not bad, but nothing special. The tagine is a conical clay cooking vessel used in North African cooking. An order of tagine means you will get a dish prepared and served in such a vessel. Well flavors may differ someone, one thing is assured: the food inside will be succulent and fall-off-the-bone. The lamb tagine was slightly sweet due to the raisins used in the preparation, and the large amount of carrots. It was served on a bed of couscous. The chicken tagine was less sweet, and served with peas and smaller chunks of carrots. The beef tagine played a bit like steak and potatoes. All of them were very tasty, though they did need a little bit of salt. While the lamb was served with couscous underneath, chicken did not have any sort of grain so we ordered rice. Wow, was this a great idea. The rice was seasoned with ras el hanout, which was exploding with flavor. This worked beautifully with all three of the above. Drink selections are limited, but we were honestly happy that they served alcohol at all. Prices are not bad, with most dishes costing around 19€. Our waiter was fast and friendly, and he was happy to call us a cab when it was time to leave. I advise taking a taxi there, too, unless you have some high quality footwear. I can't imagine doing better in Madrid if you want an authentic experience with Moroccan food.

First time in Madrid and used Yelp to find a restaurant nearby. Aladino was close by and the…read morereviews were dated but good. We decided to give it a try. The food was very good but the caveat is that there is a 27 euro minimum per person charge. With a main course, drink and dessert the minimum charge wasn't an issue. I would recommend this restaurant.

In a sea of touristy and overpriced restaurants this place is a tasty and inexpensive find off busy…read moreArenas walking street. Stay away from the cheap shwarma options, they are not good. What's good here is the Tajines at 10€, soups, fresh made falafels, hummus and baba ganoush. Very friendly proprietor, and some English spoken. Nicer inside than the facade.

This place's probably 1 of the coolest spot I've ever dined in. The décor is totally superb and…read moreunique like none other. The layout and atmosphere totally transported me to a romantic getaway in Middle East somewhere. Unfortunately, I was dining alone -___- Cuscus de Carne - Beef couscous. It's just ok, the couscous was done decently nice, but the beef could've been done better. Te Frio - Iced Mint Tea. This is very refreshing, I'd recommend it! FYI - The workers here speak 0 English. When I said I felt like I was transported to somewhere in Middle East, I wasn't kidding lol... I was lost even looking at their menu, I had to google translate everything! They only got 1 employee serving, so your food'll take awhile. However, it's the perfect date spot!

This place is gorgeous! I mean, the entrance alone was enchanting. Great date spot!…read more The service is over-eager as they kept taking things away that we weren't done with but at least they were attentive. The food is why I would return. Their Cous Cous pots are sublime and their chicken in a pastry was superb. It's supposed to be tagine but they don't call it that. My calabaza and milk (yes, leche) pot was a hit and the hubster's fave. And all super cheap for the quality of cooking you're getting. Let's not overlook the perfection that is their hummus. One note, however, the hubster's niece found a hair in her dish. Ew, I know, but the food is seriously that delicious that I'd overlook it. They also have seating on the floor but since my mother-in-law wouldn't be comfy, we opted for a large table in the back. If you come, ask for the floor seating for a more authentico experience.

We are unhappy with the scam the restaurant tried to pull on us. We were in a group of nine people…read moreand the server brought out appetizers (mostly bread) that no one ordered. We eat them because we all thought someone else ordered them. When the check came they wanted to charge us almost 30 Euros for them. When we brought it up they didn't even have an excuse for what they did. They eventually took it off the check.

Beautiful tiled historic building. Classic hummus was outstanding. I also had the eggplant dip…read moreand the sea bass on couscous. My husband had the lamb skewers. All good. I wish the complimentary appetizer plate had had something on it that was not meat. But my husband enjoyed it.

Hands down my favourite restaurant in the world. Amazing food, prices, and atmosphere. I almost…read morehesitate to write this review because I don't want more people to find out about this place, but I owe it to them. When I tell you I went here 3-5 times a week I'm not exaggerating. The tajin de polla con calabasa is spectacular and a must have. Crema de berenjena is amazing, honestly you can't go wrong here. Literally the BEST food for an AMAZING price.

Don't usually give negative reviews, but our experience deserves it. We made the mistake (eight of…read moreus) of making reservations to this place. I'm sure the experience is much better if you don't do that, and perhaps look more local than we did. Anyway, our table of eight arrived and was ignored a good long while, giving us plenty of time to peruse the menu and choose our dishes. When the waitress finally came, she informed us that the only menu choice available to us was the "menu del dia", which is easily the most expensive item on the menu. Having worked in food service, I understand that there are lots of reasons a restaurant would adopt this policy, and all of them benefit the restaurant and not the customer. One of our party members, a Spaniard, spoke at length with the waitress and then the manager, but finally we were denied the freedom to choose items from the menu that sounded good to us, personally. We walked out and no one tried to stop us. Probably I will return to try the food, because it does look good and the decor and ambiance are just lovely. I will not make a reservation, and I hope that you don't either.

super coin .very nice place for who wanna take a good hookah.and also who need to taste the…read moremoroccan's food.... very delicious