Cocina Del Desierto

Last week I ventured out with a girlfriend looking for somewhere to chill out and enjoy delicious inexpensive food - this intimate Moroccan restaurant tucked away in a side street off Gran Via in Chueca ticked all the boxes.

Cocina del Desierto is on the small side but this just adds to the wonderful atmosphere already created by the traditional decor and the smells of fragrant spices wafting through the place.  To get the full experience, I recommend calling up to a week before to reserve a floor dining spot on the cushions in the area by the bar rather than in the more orthodox table and chairs area.

We order several dishes between us, including the "Chicken, Caramelized Onion and Sultana Couscous", the "Houmous and Warm Pitta" and the "Sabila" (lightly spiced layers of Butternut Squash, Onion and Minced Beef).  To accompany, we opted for the sweet tea which further complimented the wonderful array of flavors served to us.

The low lighting and Arabic music come together perfectly creating a charming atmosphere making this the ideal place for an intimate evening with friends or your partner.  Put it this way, this place doesn't even have a website and it doesn't really need one given that it's always full of happy customers.

Price: 10-20€ per person.

Service: ☆☆☆☆
Food: ☆☆☆☆☆
Decor: ☆☆☆☆☆

Calle de Barbieri 1