Restaurant in Madrid, Spain
Santceloni's heir: tasting menu or à la carte.
VelascoAbellà earns its Michelin star through precise, seasonal cooking from Óscar Velasco, one of Madrid's most experienced chefs. At €€€, it is notably more accessible than most starred peers in the city. Book the tasting menu for a first visit; return visitors with a group should request El Apartamento, the private dining space with its own dedicated kitchen.
If you have eaten at VelascoAbellà once, the question on a return visit is not whether the kitchen still delivers — it is whether you choose the main dining room again or finally book El Apartamento, the private space with its own dedicated kitchen. First-timers should start with the tasting menu in the bright main room. Return visitors with a group of four or more should go straight for the private room. Either way, this is one of the most purposeful Michelin-starred openings Madrid has seen in recent years, and the €€€ price point makes it notably more approachable than most of its one-star peers in the city.
VelascoAbellà is the project Óscar Velasco and Montse Abellà built after the closure of Santceloni, where Velasco spent over two decades earning two Michelin stars. The couple describe it openly as a lifelong project, which matters here not as biography but as a booking signal: this is not a chef testing a concept. The cooking has direction, and the menu reflects it.
The cuisine is seasonal and market-driven, rooted in what Velasco knows — contemporary Spanish technique with classical discipline and, by his own description, slightly more freedom than his previous work. The tasting menu is the format that leading shows that range. But the à la carte is genuinely worth considering too, offering half-plate options that make it easier to build a meal without committing to a full progression. A dish like white prawns al ajillo with fried egg and potatoes , which appears at the insistence of Velasco's son, according to OAD , tells you something about the register: technically grounded but not austere.
The kitchen also brings back dishes from the Santceloni era for diners who knew that restaurant. The smoked ricotta ravioli with Paris 1925 Oscietra caviar is one of them. If you have history with Santceloni, that signals directly what to expect. If you do not, it tells you that Velasco is working with ingredients and combinations that have been refined over a long career rather than invented for novelty.
Desserts are handled by Montse Abellà, whose role as pastry lead gives that part of the meal more weight than at many comparable restaurants. If you are cutting courses, do not cut the dessert.
The strongest argument for VelascoAbellà as a group or special-occasion venue is El Apartamento , a separate private dining space with its own kitchen. This is not a partitioned corner of the main room. It operates as a distinct environment, which changes the experience meaningfully for groups who want exclusivity without moving to a different restaurant entirely.
For corporate dinners, milestone celebrations, or any occasion where the room matters as much as the food, El Apartamento is the booking to make. The main dining room is bright and well-considered, but it is a shared space. Groups of six or more who want full privacy should ask specifically about El Apartamento availability when reserving, as it functions independently from the main dining room and may have different lead times.
The kitchen runs a tight service window: lunch from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM and dinner from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM, Tuesday through Saturday. Monday and Sunday are closed. At €€€ pricing, the lunch service offers better value in the broader context of a Madrid dining day , you can build around it more easily than a late dinner slot. If you are visiting from outside Madrid and have flexibility, a Tuesday or Wednesday lunch is the path of least resistance for securing a reservation. Saturday lunch and Friday dinner are the hardest slots to get.
There is no strong seasonal reason to avoid any particular time of year in Madrid for this style of cooking, but a market-driven kitchen will naturally shift emphasis as produce moves through the calendar. Spring and autumn tend to bring the most interesting seasonal ingredients into kitchens of this type across Spain.
The OAD classical ranking is the most telling credential here. It places VelascoAbellà in a specific register , rigorous, technique-led, classically anchored , rather than the avant-garde or fire-and-smoke directions that dominate Madrid's higher-profile restaurant press. If that is the style you are after, these rankings confirm the kitchen is operating at a credible European level.
Book at minimum three to four weeks ahead for a standard weekday slot. Weekend slots and El Apartamento will require more lead time , six weeks is a safer target. This is a hard booking at peak periods; do not treat it as a walk-in venue. The address is C. de Víctor Andrés Belaunde, 25 in Chamartín, a residential neighbourhood north of the city centre. It is not on the tourist circuit, which keeps the room local and focused. A taxi or rideshare from central Madrid takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes depending on traffic.
See the comparison section below for how VelascoAbellà sits against DiverXO, Coque, and other Madrid peers. Within the broader Spanish fine dining context, Velasco's background places him in company with kitchens like Arzak in San Sebastián and Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria , long-running projects with a defined culinary identity rather than a trend-driven programme. For two-star and above ambition within Spain, Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona, and Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María are the reference points. VelascoAbellà sits below that tier on star count but delivers a more personal, less theatrical experience than most of them.
For farm-to-table cooking in a European context, Au Gré du Vent in Seneffe and BOK Restaurant in Münster operate in comparable registers, though VelascoAbellà operates at a higher technical level given the kitchen's background.
Also worth knowing about in Madrid's broader scene: Bugao Madrid, Gala, and ita for different price points and formats. Full guides to Madrid restaurants, Madrid hotels, Madrid bars, Madrid wineries, and Madrid experiences are available on Pearl.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| VelascoAbellà | Chef Óscar Velasco, ably supported by second in command and dessert maestro Montse Abellà, is back! Here, the couple, who view this challenge as a ”lifelong project”, focus on cooking that is close to Óscar’s heart and always showcases contemporary market-inspired cuisine that champions seasonal ingredients yet with a little more freedom than in his previous projects, while at the same time demonstrating equal levels of technique and elegance. The à la carte, featuring dishes such as white prawns “al ajillo” with fried egg and potatoes (which finds its way on to the menu at the insistence of his son), is complemented by an impressive tasting menu, although there’s also the option of ordering half-plates. In addition to the bright dining room, a separate space called El Apartamento (with its own kitchen) is also available for private dining. On the menu, it was a pleasant surprise to find iconic dishes from his successful stint at the helm of the erstwhile Santceloni, such as the legendary smoked ricotta ravioli with Paris 1925 Oscietra caviar.; Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Ranked #269 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #439 (2025); Chef Óscar Velasco, ably supported by second in command and dessert maestro Montse Abellà, is back! Here, the couple, who view this challenge as a ”lifelong project”, focus on cooking that is close to Óscar’s heart and always showcases contemporary market-inspired cuisine that champions seasonal ingredients yet with a little more freedom than in his previous projects, while at the same time demonstrating equal levels of technique and elegance. The à la carte, featuring dishes such as white prawns “al ajillo” with fried egg and potatoes (which finds its way on to the menu at the insistence of his son), is complemented by an impressive tasting menu, although there’s also the option of ordering half-plates. In addition to the bright dining room, a separate space called El Apartamento (with its own kitchen) is also available for private dining. On the menu, it was a pleasant surprise to find iconic dishes from his successful stint at the helm of the erstwhile Santceloni, such as the legendary smoked ricotta ravioli with Paris 1925 Oscietra caviar.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | — |
| DiverXO | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Coque | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Deessa | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Paco Roncero | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Smoked Room | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Lunch is the stronger choice for most visitors. The 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM service runs Tuesday through Saturday and typically offers better availability than dinner slots, which fill earlier on weekends. The kitchen format is the same across both services, so the deciding factor is pace: lunch allows a more relaxed two-hour window without competing with late Madrid dinner traffic.
The venue database does not confirm a bar counter option at VelascoAbellà. The documented formats are the main dining room and the private El Apartamento space. If counter or bar seating matters to your decision, confirm directly with the restaurant before booking.
Viable, but not the strongest solo case in Madrid. The à la carte option and the half-plates format mean you can structure your own meal without committing to a full tasting menu length, which helps when dining alone. For solo diners who want counter energy or a more casual atmosphere, Smoked Room is a closer fit.
Yes, particularly if the group is four or more. El Apartamento — a separate private dining space with its own kitchen — is the strongest argument for booking VelascoAbellà over peers for a milestone dinner. For couples, the main dining room at €€€ with Michelin recognition and Óscar Velasco's seasonal market cooking delivers enough occasion to justify the spend.
DiverXO is the high-spectacle alternative if budget and availability are not concerns (three Michelin stars, far harder to book). Coque offers a more architectural tasting menu experience at a comparable level. Deessa holds a Michelin star and suits those who want a hotel fine dining setting. Smoked Room is the call for modern technique in a smaller, more informal format.
Book three to four weeks ahead minimum for a standard weekday table. Weekend slots require more lead time, and El Apartamento — the private dining space — should be secured six weeks out or more. Tuesday and Wednesday lunches are the most accessible entry points if you have schedule flexibility.
At €€€ with a Michelin star, a full à la carte option, and half-plates available, the value case is strong relative to Madrid peers at the same price point. Opinionated About Dining ranks it in the top 270 classical European restaurants for 2025. The half-plates format means you can control spend while still accessing the full range of Velasco's cooking, which is a practical advantage over fixed-price-only competitors.
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