Restaurant in Murcia, Spain
Starred dining at a price that holds up.
Almo de Juan Guillamón holds a Michelin star (2024) and a 4.8 Google rating, making it the strongest case for fine dining in Murcia at a €€ price point that undercuts most comparable starred restaurants in Spain. The kitchen is market-driven and Mediterranean in foundation, with a global reach earned through the chef's career cooking internationally. Book Wednesday through Friday only, well in advance.
Almo de Juan Guillamón is the clearest case for fine dining in Murcia right now. It holds a Michelin star (2024), sits at a €€ price point that undercuts most starred restaurants in Spain, and scores a 4.8 from 872 Google reviews. For a first-timer wanting to understand what Murcia's produce-led cooking looks like at its most technically serious, this is where to start. The one catch: it is genuinely hard to book, and its limited opening hours mean you need to plan ahead.
Almo occupies a two-floor room on Calle Madre de Dios in central Murcia. Floor-to-ceiling windows define the ground level, giving the dining room a brightness that feels more contemporary bistro than hushed fine dining temple. The layout reads young and open rather than formal — an important signal for first-timers who may expect a more austere atmosphere at Michelin level. The two-floor configuration means the room can absorb larger parties upstairs without the ground level losing its energy. Arrive for an early lunch sitting and the light through those windows is the room at its leading.
The kitchen operates around market-driven, Mediterranean cooking with a deliberate global reach. Verified dishes on the à la carte include carpaccio of aged beef with black aioli, cured egg yolk and tartare sauce, and parpatana of red tuna with fennel purée and caponata. Both signal the kitchen's method: a strong Murcian or Spanish ingredient given structural support from a technique or flavour acquired elsewhere. The tasting menu runs alongside the à la carte but carries one firm condition: it must be taken by the whole table. If your group is split on format, go à la carte.
The seasonal angle matters here more than at many starred restaurants. Murcia is one of Spain's most productive agricultural regions, and a kitchen that explicitly prioritises market produce will rotate its menu as the season turns. The red tuna parpatana points to spring and early summer availability; the aged beef carpaccio is a year-round anchor. If you are visiting between autumn and winter, expect the Mediterranean produce base to shift toward root vegetables, citrus, and game-adjacent proteins. The practical implication: call ahead or check the current menu before you decide between à la carte and tasting menu, because the tasting menu's value shifts significantly depending on what is in season at the time of your visit.
Chef Juan Guillamón's background adds credibility to the global reach of the cooking. Six seasons as chef for the Ferrari Formula 1 team and a period as personal chef to the British ambassador in Spain means the kitchen's international flavour references come from direct experience rather than from a cookbook. That matters when you are deciding whether to trust the more unusual pairings on the menu.
The opening hours require attention: Almo is closed Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday. It opens Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for lunch (1:30 PM to 4:00 PM), and Thursday and Friday also offer a dinner service (8:30 PM to 11:00 PM). This makes it a Wednesday through Friday destination only, with Friday offering the most flexibility if you want both a lunch preview visit and a dinner option on the same trip. Spring and early summer are the strongest seasons for Murcia's produce calendar, which aligns with the kitchen's market-first approach. A Friday lunch in April or May, when the region's market gardens are at peak output, is the version of this meal most likely to show the kitchen at its leading.
Reservations: Essential , plan at least two to three weeks out given the starred status, small capacity, and limited operating days. Walk-ins are unlikely to work at this level. Hours: Wed–Fri lunch 1:30 PM–4:00 PM; Thu–Fri dinner 8:30 PM–11:00 PM. Closed Mon, Tue, Sat, Sun. Budget: €€ , competitive for a Michelin-starred restaurant; expect to spend meaningfully less here than at comparable starred venues in Madrid or Barcelona. Dress: No stated dress code, but the contemporary setting suggests smart-casual is the right call. Tasting menu rule: Available only when the full table orders it. Address: C. Madre de Dios, 15, 30004 Murcia.
Almo sits at the more accessible end of Spain's starred dining tier. For context, a Michelin-starred meal in Murcia at €€ pricing is a different proposition from Quique Dacosta in Dénia or El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, where the investment is considerably higher. If you are building a broader Spain itinerary and want to compare the format at different price tiers, Arzak in San Sebastián and Azurmendi in Larrabetzu represent the higher end of the same creative Spanish tradition. Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria and Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona offer further reference points. For European modern cuisine comparisons outside Spain, Frantzén in Stockholm and Maison Lameloise in Chagny sit in a similar territory of technically serious cooking with strong regional produce credentials.
Within Murcia, the closest alternatives are covered in the comparison section below. For a fuller picture of eating in the city, see our full Murcia restaurants guide. If you are planning a longer stay, our Murcia hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest. Nearby restaurants worth knowing include Keki, Taúlla, Frases, Magoga, and Alborada.
The room is described as young and contemporary — two floors with floor-to-ceiling windows — so polished casual fits without feeling underdressed. A Michelin-starred setting warrants dressing up a notch from everyday wear, but strict formality is not implied by the space or concept. Think neat, put-together rather than black tie.
Lunch is the safer booking given the schedule: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all offer the 1:30 PM–4 PM service, while dinner only runs Thursday and Friday. If you have flexibility, a Thursday or Friday dinner gives you more time at the table and suits the tasting menu format. For a quick starred lunch on a budget, the midweek lunch slot is the practical pick.
At €€ pricing with a 2024 Michelin star, the tasting menu is good value relative to starred dining elsewhere in Spain. The catch: it requires the whole table to commit, so it only works if your group is aligned on format and appetite. For a mixed group or anyone wanting flexibility, the à la carte includes verified standouts like carpaccio of aged beef with black aioli and red tuna parpatana.
Solo dining is workable here, but the tasting menu is off the table since it requires the whole table to order it. The à la carte is available regardless of party size, so a solo diner gets full access to the kitchen's output at the counter or a regular table. Book ahead — limited operating days and small capacity mean solo seats fill as fast as group bookings.
The restaurant is closed four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday), so check your dates before planning a trip around it. It was previously called AlmaMater, so older reviews use that name. Chef Juan Guillamón's background includes six seasons cooking for the Ferrari Formula 1 team and a stint as personal chef to the British ambassador in Spain — that global experience shows in the menu's reach beyond the Mediterranean.
Yes. A Michelin star at €€ pricing is a strong value case in the context of Spanish fine dining, where starred meals routinely sit at €€€ or above. The market-driven à la carte and optional tasting menu both sit within a format that justifies the spend. If you want a starred experience in Murcia without the price ceiling of Madrid or Barcelona equivalents, Almo is the clearest option.
Two dishes are verified on the à la carte: carpaccio of aged beef with black aioli, cured egg yolk and tartare sauce, and parpatana of red tuna with fennel purée and caponata. Both reflect the kitchen's Mediterranean base with deliberate global layering. If your table agrees on the tasting menu, that is the fuller picture of what Chef Guillamón's cooking can do — but the à la carte alone is worth the visit.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
