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Majorca Island Bistro and Tapas

MY REVIEW: Wow! Terry C. was very, very negative. But let us be fair & honest when we write our comments for a restaurant review. As for this place "Majorca", my wife & I have been frequenting the place since the opening and probably go there every month if not on a biweekly basis. I love spicy foods, adding heat to the food is even better to my liking. Although, in general Spanish foods may carry a number of spices but no heat (hot peppers). The Owners at Majorca know this and always attempt to accomodate to the customers. La Casa de España (CdeE) Houston Chapter is a cultural organization and occasionally parties at the Majorca, not only there have hardly been any complaints from the members (exception to the heat) everyone has always been satisfied to the food, service & decor of the place. Most recently we also had a group of the CdeE-San Antonio Chapter (they came to Houston for a Spanish art exhibit) join us for a late lunch of which they had enjoyed and only had compliments for the Chef.

In conclusion, meals are not only delicious but also prepared fresh, in my case, as I want it. The "ambiance"is just perfect.

NAME: Cisco d' Cuisine Critique
SUBMITTED: 3/6/2013   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/2013
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: The most memorable part of the meal was the water. You know when you have to start a review like this that it speaks of how bad is the food. I would give Majorca the undistinguished honor as having the #1 worst paella in the country. I have eaten paella all over the country and the world and can now honestly say this by far is the worst of the worst. Great honor Majorca chefs…Not!

The meal started with my dinner companion and I ordering a cocktail called the Mallorca. It sounded better than it tasted and it was supposed to come with sliced almonds on top. No almonds. Guess they were out. Oh well, we were not there for the alcohol so we let this one slide. Server brought us the water which was very good. Now we moved on to the tapas. We ordered the Tortilla Espanola (Spanish potato omelet with onions, cilantro, and Spanis spices). Yes, on the menu it is called Spanis spices. They need someone to check their spelling on the menu since I assume it is supposed to read Spanish spices. What was served was like a dried up piece of potato with salt and pepper….not much else. Very dry, very disappointing. More water to drink. Very good water. Next we had the Gambas al ajillo (Shrimp in garlic herb sauce). Shrimp was extremely overcooked and so tough that when we took a bite, we had to both take it out of our mouths so that we could cut it with a knife. Sorry, yet no reputable chef would or should serve shrimp so tough that you could not bite all the way through it with your teeth. The garlic herb sauce was good yet it’s like putting a nice butter sauce on a pair of old sneakers. Once again, more water and the water was very good.

Next we ordered the Croquetas de pollo y queso (Chicken and goat cheese croquettes). Wow….in a bad wow way. I think the chef opened a can of chicken condensed soup, mixed it with an ounce of cheese and battered it up and served it to us. Yuck. Forget where’s the beef… Where is the fricken’ chicken? Back to the wonderful water.

Finally the moment we were anticipating since we both consider ourselves paella connoisseurs yet with the prior dishes our expectations were low. Oh chef Nafaa, or whoever was cooking in the back, you did not disappoint our low outlook. The WORST paella ever. Does this chef really know how to cook? I can go to Fiesta, buy a box of the Goya paella with all the canned ingredients, and it will taste 100% better than what they served us. It was awful. We ordered the Mallorcan Paella with shrimp, mussels, scallps, clams and calamari. Once again, we were greeted by our old friend (and I stress the word “old”) the shrimp. The same rubber and tough shrimp yet this time they included pieces of calamari that I swear was like chewing gum. If the Wrigley gum company ever wants to make calamari chewing gum…come to Majorca and get the recipe from their chefs. It was so extremely chewy that we both had to spit it out and could not swallow due to the fear both of us would need someone to do the Heimlich maneuver on us. Once again, we drank the wonderful water.

The manager walked around asking people how were their meals and for some odd reason he skipped our table. Maybe it’s because he saw the uneaten tough shrimp and pieces of calamari chewing gum spit out on our plates. Bottom line…they have terrible food, would never go back, would never recommend this place to anyone, and warn people to stay away. If you do go…stick with the water.

NAME: Terry C
SUBMITTED: 8/13/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: August/2012
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Very good food and sangria. Went on a Groupon coupon so I can't complain about the prices. Got a great deal of $35 for at least $75 worth of food. The Tres Leches cake and the flan were excellent. Really best I've every had. Would go back for sure. All the tapas we had were delicious. Mushrooms had a spicey kick to them. Excellent service all the way around.

NAME: Gloria
SUBMITTED: 6/21/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/15/12
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Sunday afternoon and I decide to stop by and try out the buffett. As I walk up the music is blasting and the live band has everyone in a good mood (or maybe it was the bottomless sangrias). The patio is jammed pack and the inside area has a few spots at the bar.

I fill my plate with EVERYTHING. There is spicey beef, chicken kabobs, grilled eggplant, hummus, collard greens, paella, fresh fruit, salads just and endless supply of yummy food.

I clean my plate off (like I said before everything was yummy) as I sip on my sangria. The ambiance was great and the music was entertaining. The owner was very visible and even stopped by to ask me how things were going.

If you are looking for something different then Majorca fits the bill. The buffett offers you a huge variety of food. The regular menu looks promising and I hope to go back to Majorca soon.

NAME: Ms. Impressed
SUBMITTED: 5/6/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: may/2012
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My husband and I are "foodies", always scouring Houston for the best of ethnic restaurants. Our first experience was wonderful! We had the duck and lamb shank. Both were really rich and cooked perfectly, of good portion size and priced reasonably. The wine selection was good as it had some offerings (from Argentina) that satisfied my "let's try something new" desires.

There were many interesting dishes that I will come back to try (such as the brandy onion soup). Tapas were a little over priced, however that is my only complaint. The wait staff was friendly and well informed and the owner came by our table to check if everything was going well. We love patio dining so that encourages us to make a repeat visit soon. Overall, a great addition to our neighborhood and they will definitely see us again.

NAME: Cynthia
SUBMITTED: 9/4/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I visited this place soon after it had opened. The midtown location is great so one is able to walk to another spot for dessert or a drink. Ambiance is good and feels exotic although the background music at times was pretty boring. My friend ordered a pasta that did not have the roasted peppers or almonds as described in the menu. I had the vegetarian paella. It was presented in such a huge almost ridiculous sized skillet that could have easily satisfied two people. After requesting a normal sized plate for this our table had room once more to enjoy the meal. Service was good. I think the owners need to come down on the prices some if they expect people to come back often.

NAME: David
SUBMITTED: 8/23/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/19/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I really enjoyed my visit during lunch where I shared 4 tapas with another person. The tapas serving servings were large and having 4 was more than enough for the 2 of us. Initially there was some concern about the price of the tapas but the serving size and excellent taste were well worth it. I especially enjoyed the use of fresh time. The people working there were extremely friendly. I will definitely return, probably for dinner in order to try out some of their wine.

NAME: Patrick
SUBMITTED: 8/10/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: August 8
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Nice decorations from last restaurant that was there ( 3 restaurants have failed at this location so far), did a great job with the Morocan decorations and red and black fixtures and chandelliers.

Food: The food is good, limited tapa menu but plenty of entrees , but not high cuisine, not presented with any culinary skills,however they do charge as they are! shrimp ajillo was good and big size , the empanadas were too soggy and were swimming in 3 different sauces , but the taste was good. The paellas was different as it came out "moroccan style in a tangine" and the rice was very wet and was more like a rissotto, the fish in it was great with plenty of saffron but again was a little too "runny" .The food was not seasoned well we had to ask for salt and lemons. Overall the place was average, the tapas prices from the tapa bar ($4) a piece were too pricey as not one person sat at it and would not think that anyone would order a $4 piece of pita bread with some topping. Too expensive for the midtown crown I would think .There is also no pork on the menu??!!! except for the regular Serrano ham tapa. But I was told the owners are Muslim and decided not to use pork on their menu and even the paella? they do have a very delicious marguez sausage made of lamb and beef. The food is more a fusion of Majorcan cuisine, with plenty of Moroccan influence as well as Italian and some Spanish

Overall good job for just being opened a few days and hope that they stay in the neighborhood long and we will be back

NAME: Tapa lover
SUBMITTED: 8/1/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

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