Restaurant in Madrid, Spain
Serious Galician seafood, easier to book than rivals.
O'Pazo is one of Madrid's long-standing Galician seafood restaurants, located in the Tetuán district and best suited to diners who prioritise pristine ingredients over conceptual cooking. The formal room and serious wine program make it a dependable special-occasion choice. Booking is easy by Madrid fine-dining standards.
Yes — if Galician seafood done with precision is what you're after, O'Pazo has been one of Madrid's most dependable addresses for that specific brief for decades. It sits in the Tetuán district at Calle de la Reina Mercedes 20, away from the tourist corridors, which already tells you something about its clientele: this is a restaurant people seek out rather than stumble into.
The room is formal without being stiff. Expect tablecloths, attentive service, and a dining pace that assumes you are in no hurry. The spatial experience is classic Madrid fine dining: intimate enough for conversation, structured enough that you feel the occasion. This is not a loud room, which makes it a reliable choice when the conversation matters as much as the food.
The kitchen's focus is Galician seafood — the kind of cooking where the quality of the raw ingredient carries most of the weight. Expect pristine fish and shellfish treated with restraint rather than transformation. If you are coming from a creative tasting-menu mindset, recalibrate: the ambition here is sourcing and execution, not conceptual novelty. That distinction matters when you are deciding whether to book O'Pazo or one of Madrid's more technique-driven rooms.
Wine list at a restaurant of this profile and focus should logically skew heavily toward Galicia , Albariño and Godello from Rías Baixas and Valdeorras are the natural partners for the kitchen's output. A serious Galician seafood house lives or dies by how well its wine list amplifies the food, and O'Pazo's reputation in Madrid suggests the list is built with that pairing logic in mind rather than assembled for show. For context on how Spain's finest kitchens approach wine-driven menus, compare how [Arzak in San Sebastián](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/arzak-san-sebastin-restaurant) or [Azurmendi in Larrabetzu](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/azurmendi-larrabetzu-restaurant) treat regional wine pairings , O'Pazo operates in a similar spirit of regional coherence, even if the register is different.
Reservations: Booking is classified as easy , you do not need to plan weeks ahead to secure a table, which is a meaningful advantage over Madrid's harder-to-book rooms. Dress: Smart casual at minimum; the formal room warrants the effort. Budget: Specific pricing is not confirmed in our data, but the restaurant's positioning and style place it firmly in the upper tier of Madrid dining , budget accordingly and treat it as a special-occasion spend. Getting there: The Tetuán address puts it north of the city centre; a taxi or rideshare is the practical choice from most central hotels. For broader context on where O'Pazo fits in the Madrid dining scene, see our full Madrid restaurants guide.
If you are building a Madrid trip around food and wine, also consider our Madrid hotels guide and Madrid bars guide for a complete picture.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| O'Pazo | Easy | — | |
| DiverXO | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Coque | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Deessa | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Paco Roncero | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Smoked Room | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, with caveats. O'Pazo's formal room, attentive service, and Galician seafood focus make it a dependable choice for a celebratory dinner where the food is the centrepiece. It suits occasions where precision and pacing matter more than a buzzy atmosphere. If the occasion calls for theatrical cooking or a tasting menu with more creative range, DiverXO or Smoked Room are better fits.
Arrive expecting a formal, unhurried meal — tablecloths, structured service, and a room that sets a deliberate pace. The kitchen's strength is Galician seafood, so ordering anything outside that lane is a missed opportunity. Booking is easier here than at most serious Madrid restaurants, so you don't need to plan far in advance.
O'Pazo's formal dining room and structured service style can handle groups, but it is better suited to small parties of two to four where the pacing works naturally. Larger groups should call ahead to confirm seating arrangements, as the room's character skews toward intimate dinners rather than celebratory tables of eight or more.
For creative tasting menus, DiverXO and Smoked Room operate in a different format entirely and suit diners who want a more experimental experience. Coque and Deessa offer serious cooking with broader menus if Galician seafood is not the priority. Paco Roncero is worth considering for a technically precise meal with a stronger avant-garde lean.
It works for solo diners who are comfortable in a formal setting, though the room and service style are built around the table rather than a counter experience. Solo visits are easier to book here than at counter-only spots, which is a practical advantage. If you want a more engaging solo format, a counter-based omakase or bar-seat option elsewhere in Madrid may feel more natural.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
