Bendita Locura Coffee & Dreams — Restaurant in Madrid

The venue in itself is aesthetically pleasing, but that is the most positive comment I can make. After a mishap with the waitress, who let us know that the restaurant didn't allow us to share a menu, despite my friend not being hungry enough for the entire thing, we hoped that the rest of our visit would go better. However, the staff was rude (after two friends decided not to eat because of the lack of option to share, the waitress didn't even set glasses for them to drink the FREE tap water / my friend was spoken to rudely by the manager later as well, while trying to explain her disappointment). The brunch was quite expensive for a limited amount of food (other places in Madrid offer the double in quantity for cheaper e.g. Carmencita Bar), and mine was quite bland. It's a shame, they didn't only lose 14euros for the menu but several customers for lack of better service.

Though the owner doesn't seem to agree with us, I want to emphasize that this is my word against his and I can assure you that we were talked to in condescending and rude tones. Even the replies to our reviews seemed to not really matter to them, since I received the exact same response as my friend, translated in english. Our issue wasn't with the menus as much as it was about their service, which left us leaving with a bitter taste. Regarding better places, as I mentioned, Carmencita Bar offers you the double amount of food (which tastes better) for a cheaper price and very helpful...

I don't know why this place is popular...

Let's start with the service. There were enough waiters to be attentive to the customers. Around 15 minutes it took to take our order, and the treatment was horrifying. All hectic all the time, throwing the plates and interrupting while asking the order.

Then, the place is so small, that you will never be comfortable. So expect being bumped by people passing by you or with other chairs behind you.

And last, the food. Let's start with the menu: How is it that they offer you two "brunch menus" so if you don't want that amount of food, you have to take it either way because at the end the price won't change.

Then, we ordered the shashuka and roast beef sandwich. They were OK, but forget to actually taste the roast beef as they paired it up with a strong taste bread and sauce, which made the taste of the roast beef to disappeared. We also had the nutella waffle, but we were so desperate to leave that I forgot yo take a picture to it.

Overall, disappointment... The name of the restaurant it's actually very appropriate for the experience:...

We went to Bendita Locura since the restaurant we initially intended to go only opens for dinner from 8pm.

The staff were friendly and professional. We arrived around 7pm and they explained that we could only sit for one hour if we only want to order coffee and cakes. This wasn't an issue for us as we came for dinner, and hence there's no time limit.

We ordered octopus takoyaki for starters, quinoa salad, and mini burgers with braised oxtails for mains. All food were delicious. I was a bit skeptical when ordering the takoyaki as it isn't a Spanish dish, but they did it very well. The quinoa salad comes with smoked chicken, sunflower seeds, spinach, dried tomatoes, orange, and vinaigrette dressing. The braised oxtails in the burgers was nice and tender. They also put avocado and rocket leaf in the burgers.

I asked for a glass of Sangria, but they don't have it. Instead, the staff recommended Tinto de Verano (which is red wine mixed with lemonade), and it was amazing!

Highly recommended to go to this restaurant if you are staying in this...