Cafe Madrid has been open for business since Aug. 26 in the former Michele’s on Main location in Salem. It is, as far as I know, the only restaurant in the valley that exclusively serves Spanish food. For some background on the owners, check out this entry in our So Salem blog.

For that reason, I’ve been pretty excited to see the menu and how it differs from our other options around town. My hubby was over that way yesterday, so he snagged me copies of the lunch and dinner menus.

I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Cafe Madrid’s dinner prices are exceptionally reasonable. We are talking in the $17-$18 range for several dishes. Of course, they do have two $26 dishes, but those are both paellas that serve TWO people! In fact, I would say that dinner at the cafe is probably a better deal than lunch, although I have yet to see the portion sizes.

For lunch, they offer up a selection of salads and sandwiches that range from $4.99 for the house salad to $10.99 for a grilled Spanish sausage served with smoked cheese and roasted red pepper aioli on sourdough bread. My tummy is growling just thinking about it.

In the middle range, they have a manchego cheese and tomato salad, a grilled vegetable sandwich and a pork loin sandwich with caramelized onions on rosemary sourdough bread. Lunch entrees are $10.99 to $12.99 and include a mixed tapas platter with assorted chorizo, cheese, roasted vegetables and the like. Then there are the pork ribs with sweet paprika sauce, chicken or pork skewers and a shrimp in spicy tomato sauce.

Read more »