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Review content:
Located in Midtown, guests of Majorca Bistro will find the Mallorcan island-inspired cooking style fresh, light and tasty showcasing a variety of fresh seafood and crisp, vegetarian-friendly fare.
A native of Morocco, owner and executive chef Hicham Nafaa is indisputably one of the most inventive Moroccan-American chefs working today. He is as renowned for his well-honed culinary skills as he is for his ability to establish a restaurant that?s both relaxed yet exciting. Majorca Bistro is culinarily diverse in the best way possible.
The warm dining room is heavily accented with dark wood and metal artwork for an intimate, upscale feel. Gracing the walls are imported accent tiles at the tapas bar and throughout the room are murals painted by local artists.
As for the food, the tapas menu includes classics like marinated eggplant with melted goat cheese, roasted with tomatoes and garlic (Berenjena de Mallorca); a Spanish omelet with potatoes, onions, cilantro and spices (Tortilla Espa?ola) and meatballs in a spicy sauce topped with a fried egg (Albondigas en Salsa Picante).
The Albondigas en Salsa Picante. The albondigas, or meatballs, are cooked inside a tagine, a conical clay cooking vessel originating from Morocco. Chef Nafaa cooks fresh tomatoes mixed with a butter sauce for two-and-a-half hours before he even puts the meatballs in. All said, the dish takes about four hours to cook. You can taste it. The steaming process makes the meatballs succulent, and the tomato base is rich in flavor.
The Empanadillas. These are a must-order item. The casing is perfect -- flaky, warm dough bursting on the insides with oxtail, almonds, manchego cheese, and a butter sauce. Spicy harissa, roasted red pepper sauce, and garlic cream make it extra juicy.
For those looking for a more substantial plate, just a sampling of the featured entrees include a Mallorcan Paella full of seafood like mussels, scallops, clams, calamari, a Moroccan sausage and chicken with saffron rice and vegetables made in a traditional paella pan so the rice on the bottom gets nice and crispy. Accommodating the vegetarians, there's also a version with roasted eggplant, tomatoes and more instead of seafood.
To liven things up even more, Majorca Bistro has a Sangria bar and a patio that has an open view of Midtown and downtown Houston. They often host live musicians on the weekends as well.
Strongly influenced by North African cuisine, Majorca Bistro sets itself apart from other tapas bars with bold flavors and unusual pairings, with a focus on fresh, light food that showcase a variety of seafood and crisp, vegetarian-friendly fare. A few of our favorite dishes include the spicy albondigas with a fried egg on top, the variety of paellas including a traditional Majorcan version and the merguez lamb that appears in a variety of options, but most notably in a sturdy sandwich. Albondigas, or meatballs, are fat and filling, especially when topped with a fried egg. The merguez lamb that features in many dishes is wonderful when tucked into a crusty sandwich. The house-made sangria is so good you'll want to go ahead and order a pitcher and down it with friends on the patio fronting Midtown's busiest street.
Majorca Bistro also features live Flamenco shows on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm - 11pm. Majorca Bistro also offers a killer, hangover-curing Sunday brunch from 11am - 4pm with a live DJ, and an all-you-can-eat buffet for just $14.95 as well as bottomless mimosas, bloody marys, sangria and champagne. Happy hour is from 4 p.m. ? 7 p.m. on weekdays and features half-price tapas, sangria and beer.
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