Restaurant in Madrid, Spain
Thirty years in. Still earning its Michelin Plate.
O'Grelo is Madrid's most credentialled address for Galician seafood, holding consecutive Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 after more than three decades in Retiro. Spider crab and Burela hake anchor a menu that runs deeper than most regional restaurants in the capital. At €€€ with a Google rating of 4.6 across nearly 4,000 reviews, it's the booking to make when serious fish and seafood is the point.
The common assumption about O'Grelo is that it's a nostalgic regional restaurant coasting on decades of goodwill. That reading is wrong. After more than 30 years on Calle de Menorca in the Retiro district, O'Grelo has earned consecutive Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, not because it chases trends, but because it executes Galician seafood at a level few Madrid kitchens match. If your occasion demands a table where the fish is genuinely the point, this is the booking to make.
O'Grelo is a classic Galician restaurant in the fullest sense: the menu is built around the seafood and produce of northwest Spain, sourced with the kind of specificity that tells you this kitchen is paying attention. Spider crab appears as a standout, and hake from Burela, a coastal port in Lugo province known for landing some of the finest hake in Galicia, is offered in different cuts rather than a single preparation. That specificity matters. It signals a kitchen that understands its ingredients well enough to let them do the work.
The menu extends beyond seafood. Savoury rice dishes add range, and Galician meats give the table a broader set of options for guests who don't eat fish. The result is a menu that can handle a mixed group without anyone feeling like an afterthought.
O'Grelo reads as a room where the energy comes from the food and the conversation, not from a designed soundtrack or a theatrical dining room. The Retiro address places it away from the louder tourist corridors of central Madrid, which means the ambient feel skews toward a local clientele who come regularly and know what they're ordering. Expect a warm, busy room during peak lunch and dinner service, but not the kind of noise level that forces you to raise your voice across the table. For a special occasion, a date, or a business meal where the conversation matters as much as the food, that's a meaningful distinction.
Lunch on weekdays tends to attract Madrid professionals, which makes it a credible setting for a business lunch if you want somewhere with genuine kitchen credibility rather than a corporate hotel dining room. In the evening, the room shifts toward celebratory tables and couples.
For a restaurant rooted in Galician cuisine, the drinks list carries real weight. Galicia produces some of Spain's most food-friendly whites, and a serious Galician restaurant in Madrid should be pouring them well. Albarino from Rias Baixas is the natural companion to the seafood here, and a kitchen this focused on provenance typically extends that thinking to the cellar. The broader Galician wine category also includes Godello from Valdeorras and Ribeiro whites, which offer more textural complexity for richer dishes like the rice or the crab preparations. If the drinks list matches the kitchen's sourcing ethos, this is a strong pairing-led meal. Ask the room for guidance rather than defaulting to the obvious choice.
Against Madrid's Galician alternatives, O'Grelo sits at the more established, formal end of the spectrum. Garelos and La Penela offer Galician cooking in Madrid with different price and format profiles. O'Grelo's Michelin Plate recognition and its three-decade track record place it above casual regional dining. For the closest reference points in terms of Galician culinary rigour, the real benchmarks are venues in Galicia itself: Ceibe in Ourense and As Garzas in Barizo represent the regional ceiling. O'Grelo is the leading Madrid proxy for that standard without leaving the city.
If you're comparing it to Madrid's broader high-end restaurant market, the frame shifts. DiverXO and Coque are in a different category entirely, both in price and ambition, at €€€€ versus O'Grelo's €€€. Deessa offers modern Spanish at comparable ambition. O'Grelo's case is simpler: it's not trying to redefine Spanish cuisine, it's trying to bring Galicia's leading produce to Madrid's tables, and it has been doing that with consistency for over 30 years.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, which reflects the restaurant's size and operational confidence rather than any lack of demand. That said, evenings on weekends and Friday lunches at a Michelin-recognised address in Retiro will fill. Book a week to two weeks ahead for a standard weekday dinner. For a weekend evening or a special occasion where the date is fixed, two to three weeks is a safer window. Walk-in availability is more realistic at weekday lunch than at any other service. There is no evidence of a lengthy advance booking requirement on the level of Madrid's three-Michelin-star venues, so this is genuinely accessible compared to, say, trying to secure a table at DiverXO.
At €€€, O'Grelo is priced in the upper-mid tier for Madrid dining. The value case rests on the sourcing: Burela hake and spider crab at this level of preparation cost money, and the Michelin Plate signals that the kitchen is delivering on that investment. For a special occasion meal built around serious Galician seafood, the price is fair. If you're looking for a cheaper regional experience, there are lower-priced Galician options in the city, but the sourcing specificity and the consistency won't be the same.
For broader context on where to eat and stay in Madrid, see our full Madrid restaurants guide, our full Madrid hotels guide, our full Madrid bars guide, our full Madrid wineries guide, and our full Madrid experiences guide. For Spain's wider fine dining picture, Quique Dacosta in Dénia, Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Arzak in San Sebastián, Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, and Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria are the relevant reference points.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025 | €€€ | Retiro, Madrid | Google 4.6 (3,883 reviews) | Booking difficulty: easy | Leading for: special occasions, business lunch, serious seafood.
Go in knowing that this is a Galician seafood restaurant with over 30 years of operation and back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition. The menu is built around northwest Spanish fish and seafood, with spider crab and Burela hake among the most noted preparations. It's priced at €€€, so expect a proper sit-down meal rather than a casual lunch stop. The Retiro location is easy to reach and away from the main tourist drag.
One to two weeks out is sufficient for a weekday dinner. For a weekend evening or a fixed special occasion date, book two to three weeks ahead to be safe. Walk-in availability is most realistic at weekday lunch. This is considerably easier to book than Madrid's starred venues like DiverXO, so don't let the Michelin recognition deter you from making a relatively last-minute reservation on a quieter night.
Yes, for what it is. At €€€, the price reflects genuine sourcing: Burela hake and spider crab are not cheap ingredients, and the kitchen's three decades of consistency and Michelin Plate recognition suggest you're paying for execution, not just location. If you want Galician seafood at this level in Madrid without travelling to Galicia itself, O'Grelo is the most credentialled option available.
The available data does not confirm a specific tasting menu format at O'Grelo. The restaurant is documented as offering an extensive à la carte selection across seafood, rice dishes, and Galician meats. If a tasting format is available when you visit, the sourcing quality of the kitchen makes it a reasonable choice. Confirm directly when booking.
Spider crab and hake from Burela are the two most noted preparations in Michelin's own documentation of the restaurant. The savoury rice dishes are a strong secondary choice, particularly if your table wants range beyond straight seafood. Galician meats round out the menu for guests who eat broadly. Pair with Galician whites, particularly Albarino or Godello, which the kitchen's sourcing ethos suggests the wine list takes seriously.
Practically, yes. The Retiro location and the à la carte format mean there's no structural barrier to eating alone. The room skews toward tables of two or more, so solo diners may find a counter or a smaller table available on shorter notice. The menu is well-suited to solo exploration given the range on offer. Weekday lunch is the most comfortable solo timing.
The menu's strong seafood and fish focus makes it less direct for guests who don't eat fish or shellfish, though Galician meats and rice dishes provide alternatives. Vegetarian or vegan guests will find the options limited given the kitchen's regional focus. Contact the restaurant directly before booking if dietary restrictions are a factor, as the current data does not include specific allergy or dietary accommodation policies.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| O'Grelo | Galician | €€€ | Easy |
| DiverXO | Progressive - Asian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| DSTAgE | Modern Spanish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Smoked Room | Progressive Asador, Contemporary | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Paco Roncero | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Coque | Spanish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
O'Grelo's menu is built almost entirely around seafood and Galician produce, so it works well for pescatarians. For vegetarians or those with shellfish allergies, the menu offers limited flexibility — the standout dishes centre on spider crab, hake, and savoury rice. Flag restrictions clearly when booking, as the kitchen's strength is in its sourcing, not in substitution.
Go in knowing that O'Grelo is a Galician seafood house, not a creative tasting-menu restaurant. The focus is on precisely sourced produce — Burela hake and spider crab are the headline acts — and the room reflects that: food-forward, conversation-driven, without theatrical staging. At €€€ and with a Michelin Plate held across 2024 and 2025, it rewards guests who want quality product over format novelty.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, but that doesn't mean walk-ins are reliable, particularly for evening slots in the Retiro neighbourhood. A few days' notice is generally sufficient mid-week; book a week or more ahead for weekend dinners. For larger groups, give yourself more lead time.
Tasting menu details are not confirmed in available venue data for O'Grelo. What is documented is an extensive à la carte centred on Galician seafood and meats, with rice dishes alongside. If you want a set tasting format, DSTAgE or Smoked Room are better-documented options in Madrid — O'Grelo is the stronger call for à la carte Galician product.
At €€€, the value case rests on sourcing quality: Burela hake and spider crab at this level of consistency are hard to find in Madrid. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and over three decades in operation back that up. If you're comparing on price alone, cheaper Galician options exist — but O'Grelo's sourcing and track record justify the spend for a proper Galician seafood meal.
O'Grelo works for solo diners, particularly at lunch. The à la carte format means you can order to your appetite without committing to a multi-course set menu. That said, dishes like whole spider crab are better shared across two or more — solo visits are well-suited to hake cuts and rice dishes rather than the larger sharing formats.
The documented standout dishes are spider crab and hake cuts from Burela — ordering either is the clearest way to understand what O'Grelo does. The savoury rice dishes and Galician meats round out the menu and are worth exploring if you're with a group. Pair with a Galician white from the drinks list, which is built to complement the seafood focus.
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