Restaurant in Ponte Ulla, Spain
18th-century stone, Michelin-noted, mid-range price.
A Michelin Plate-recognised traditional Galician kitchen set in an 18th-century stone property near Ponte Ulla, Villa Verde earns its reputation through disciplined seasonal sourcing and unfussy execution — wild mushrooms, angler fish, and baked hake with sea urchin are the dishes to know. At €€ with easy booking and a 4.5 Google rating across 262 reviews, it is the clearest value argument for serious cooking in this part of Galicia.
If you want Michelin-recognised traditional Galician cooking in a genuine 18th-century stone property at a mid-range price point, Villa Verde is the clearest answer in the area around Ponte Ulla. It is not trying to compete with the tasting-menu theatrics of El Celler de Can Roca in Girona or the avant-garde ambition of Azurmendi in Larrabetzu. What it offers instead is something harder to find at this price: a kitchen that takes traditional home-style Galician cooking seriously, sources seasonal ingredients with discipline, and presents it all inside a setting with genuine architectural weight. At a €€ price range with a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, the value case is direct.
The editorial angle here matters: Villa Verde earns its Michelin recognition not through technical reinvention but through technical fidelity. Galician cuisine at this level is about sourcing precision and restraint — knowing when not to interfere with an angler fish or a wild mushroom. The kitchen draws on seasonal Galician produce, with wild mushrooms, angler fish, and veal among the standout preparations. The baked hake with sea urchin is the dish most consistently cited as the kitchen's signature statement — a combination that works because the kitchen does not overcomplicate it. Sea urchin is a testing ingredient; pairing it with baked hake requires confidence in sourcing and timing. That this dish appears in Michelin's own venue notes is a meaningful signal.
For context, this is the kind of cooking that rewards visitors who understand Galicia's culinary identity: a region where the Atlantic sets the ingredients list and the rural interior fills in the rest. If you are arriving from a larger Spanish city expecting creative tasting menus, recalibrate. If you appreciate a kitchen that executes traditional dishes with genuine skill, Villa Verde will hold up. For more experimental Spanish cooking closer to the coast, Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María or Quique Dacosta in Dénia operate in a different register entirely.
The physical space at Villa Verde is one of the more compelling arguments for booking, particularly for a special occasion. The building dates to the 18th century and has been used as a restaurant without losing its architectural character. The stone property sits in a part of Galicia known for its vineyards and country estates, and the interior layout reflects that context: a rustic dining room anchored by a traditional lareira fireplace, an elegant classically decorated second dining room, and a wine cellar housing a traditional lagar wine trough. These are not decorative gestures , the lareira is a working fireplace typical of Galician rural architecture, and the lagar is an actual stone wine trough historically used in the region's viticulture.
For timing, this setting performs leading in the cooler months , autumn through early spring , when the fireplace is in use and the surrounding countryside is at its most atmospheric. A winter lunch here, with seasonal mushrooms on the menu and the lareira lit, is the format this restaurant was built for. Summer visits are viable but the fireplace-and-stone character is less resonant. Check our full Ponte Ulla experiences guide for seasonal context around the area.
Villa Verde works well for a celebration or a significant dinner, with some caveats. The dual dining room format , rustic and formal , gives the restaurant flexibility. The elegant room is the right call for a birthday or anniversary; the rustic room is better for a relaxed group dinner. The aristocratic setting and the quality of the cooking justify a special-occasion booking without requiring a special-occasion budget. At €€, this is one of the more accessible ways to mark an event with a Michelin-recognised experience in rural Galicia. It is not a white-tablecloth high-ceremony venue in the way that Arzak in San Sebastián is , the atmosphere is warmer and more grounded , which suits some occasions better than others.
For couples, the combination of historic setting, quality seasonal cooking, and manageable price makes this a strong date destination. For a business meal requiring neutral metropolitan surroundings, it is a less obvious fit , the rural character is part of the proposition, not incidental to it.
Booking difficulty at Villa Verde is rated easy. The restaurant is located on the AC-240 road in Vedra, A Coruña province , a rural address that requires a car. There is no public transport solution that makes this practical. Plan for a drive, and note that the surrounding area (Ponte Ulla and the Ulla river valley) is worth exploring before or after the meal. See our full Ponte Ulla restaurants guide for other options if you are spending time in the area, and our full Ponte Ulla hotels guide if you are making a night of it.
No phone or website is listed in our current data. We recommend searching for current contact details directly before planning a trip, particularly to confirm seasonal hours, group availability, and dietary accommodation. Hours are not confirmed in our database , call ahead.
| Venue | Price | Style | Booking Ease | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villa Verde | €€ | Traditional Galician | Easy | Seasonal cooking, special occasion, rural setting |
| El Celler de Can Roca | €€€€ | Progressive Spanish | Very Hard | Flagship tasting menu experience |
| Arzak | €€€€ | Modern Basque | Hard | High-ceremony special occasion |
| Azurmendi | €€€€ | Progressive Creative | Hard | Avant-garde tasting menu |
| Aponiente | €€€€ | Progressive Seafood | Hard | Seafood innovation, destination meal |
For other Michelin-recognised traditional cuisine options in similar territory, Cave à Vin & à Manger in Narbonne and Coto de Quevedo Evolución in Torre de Juan Abad are comparable reference points across the border and further south. You can also browse our full Ponte Ulla wineries guide and our full Ponte Ulla bars guide to build a fuller day around the visit.
Yes, clearly. A Michelin Plate restaurant at €€ in a setting of this quality is good value by any Spanish benchmark. You are getting recognised cooking with genuine seasonal discipline and an 18th-century stone property for mid-range spend. If you are comparing on pure value, Villa Verde outperforms anything at the €€€€ tier for the traditional Galician format.
It works well, particularly for a birthday, anniversary, or celebratory lunch. The elegant dining room and the historic setting give it occasion-appropriate character, and the Michelin Plate recognition adds confidence. It does not have the white-tablecloth ceremony of Arzak, but that is often a point in its favour , the atmosphere is warm rather than formal. Book the elegant room rather than the rustic one if the occasion warrants it.
Our data does not confirm whether Villa Verde operates a tasting menu format. The kitchen is described as traditional home-style cooking, which in Galicia typically means an à la carte or set menu structure rather than a multi-course tasting progression. Confirm with the restaurant directly before booking if this format matters to your decision.
For traditional Galician cooking at a similar price, check our full Ponte Ulla restaurants guide for current options. If you are open to travelling further and want to move up in ambition and price, Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona or Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria operate in a different category entirely. For a comparable traditional-cuisine experience with Michelin recognition at a similar price tier, Villa Verde does not have many direct local rivals.
The dual dining room layout suggests the restaurant can handle varied group sizes , the rustic room with the lareira fireplace is the more relaxed option for larger parties. However, specific group booking policies, minimum numbers, and private dining availability are not confirmed in our data. Contact the restaurant directly to confirm capacity and any group-booking requirements before planning.
No information on dietary accommodation is available in our current data. The kitchen is rooted in traditional Galician cooking with a strong emphasis on seafood, meat, and foraged ingredients , a format that can be limiting for certain dietary requirements. Contact the restaurant in advance to confirm what adjustments are possible.
Our data does not confirm bar seating at Villa Verde. The venue is described as having a wine cellar and two distinct dining rooms, which suggests a sit-down restaurant format rather than a counter or bar dining option. Check directly with the restaurant if informal seating matters to how you want to experience the meal.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villa Verde | Traditional Cuisine | Located in a privileged setting in a part of Galicia famous for its vineyards and magnificent country houses. The aristocratic feel of this area is also reflected in this restaurant occupying a delightful stone property whose origins date back to the 18C. Nowadays, it boasts an attractive wine cellar home to a traditional “lagar” wine trough, a rustic dining room with a typical “lareira” fireplace, plus a dining room with an elegant, classic decor. The traditional home-style cooking here is enhanced by seasonal ingredients, with wild mushrooms, angler fish and veal particularly popular. The baked hake with sea urchin is a must!; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Quique Dacosta | Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| El Celler de Can Roca | Progressive Spanish, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Arzak | Modern Basque, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Azurmendi | Progressive, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Aponiente | Progressive - Seafood, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Villa Verde measures up.
The venue database does not confirm a bar-seating option at Villa Verde. The restaurant has two distinct dining rooms — a rustic room with a traditional lareira fireplace and a more formal, classically decorated space — so the booking decision is really about which room suits your occasion, not whether bar seating is available. check the venue's official channels to clarify.
Yes, with the right expectations. The 18th-century stone building, wine cellar with a traditional lagar trough, and dual dining room format give it more atmosphere than most mid-range (€€) restaurants in Galicia. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms the kitchen is consistent. For a formal celebration, request the classically decorated dining room rather than the rustic side.
Ponte Ulla is a small rural area, so meaningful alternatives require a short drive into the broader A Coruña or Santiago de Compostela province. If you want higher technical ambition in Galicia, the region has several Michelin-starred options within driving distance. Villa Verde's case is its combination of genuine historic setting, traditional home-style cooking, and a €€ price point — alternatives at that price tier rarely offer the same physical character.
The dual dining room layout — one rustic, one formal — suggests the restaurant has meaningful capacity for groups, though exact room sizes are not confirmed in the available data. A rural Galician stone property of 18th-century scale typically supports private or semi-private dining arrangements. check the venue's official channels to confirm group minimums and room availability before booking.
The kitchen focuses on traditional Galician home-style cooking with seasonal ingredients, with dishes like baked hake with sea urchin, angler fish, and veal prominently featured — a fish-forward and meat-forward menu. Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented. Given the traditional format, guests with complex dietary requirements should call ahead rather than assume flexibility.
A tasting menu format is not confirmed in the venue data, so this cannot be answered directly. What is confirmed is a traditional home-style kitchen at a €€ price range earning Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025. If the restaurant does offer a set menu, the kitchen's strengths — seasonal wild mushrooms, angler fish, veal, and the noted baked hake with sea urchin — make it a reasonable bet at this price level.
At a €€ price point with two consecutive Michelin Plate awards, Villa Verde offers solid value for traditional Galician cooking in a genuinely historic setting. You are not paying for technical avant-garde cuisine — you are paying for well-executed seasonal dishes, a wine cellar with a traditional lagar, and a stone property with real character. For that combination at mid-range pricing, the answer is yes.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
