Amazing tapas and paella. Service was good considering there was only one food attendant. She was very nice and speaks good English. Ambience was very nice as well. It's just kind of hidden in Madrid. read more

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We started off our trip in Madrid sad because we weren't able to find good food or sangria. I research restaurants that are open in Madrid on January 1st and this place popped up so we decided to try it. I'm so so glad that we did! First off, we've been traveling for two weeks now, and the owners being able to speak English and Tagalog was a breath of fresh air. It made me feel at ease to be able to communicate. It's also nice that this place wasnt super busy. So I guess not a lot of people know about it? They were super hospitable and were courteous to let us know that they charge 20% extra since it's New Year's Day. First, the sangria was amazing. It has a good amount of alcohol in it and it has a nice sparkle to it. Then came the pulpo which was so so good! Then finally, the paella. The flavor has a great balance of salty and the savor of the seafood. It also has a good amount of seafood! Disclaimer: they do charge 1.50 euro extra for the bread that comes with it. As tourists, we had no clue but we were told it's customary here in Madrid. We left feeling a slight buzz and a happy stomach, thank you for making our last lunch in Madrid an amazing one! This spot is a hidden gem in Madrid! read more

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So not going to lie. One of the reasons we stopped here was the word "Pinoy" and that along with their Spanish menu they also have a Filipino menu. One of our family members was not feeling well so we thought that some good ol' Filipino sinigang would do her good. Unfortunately we missed the memo that said Filipino menu was only offered on the weekends. No ptoblem. They also offered paella! Now, my research prior to visiting said beware of "great offers" for paella or if your paella comes out quick, you know it was microwaved. Well, the paella was not on sale and it took about twenty minutes for our respective paella dishes to come out despite there only being one other table of two. My aunt tried a squid ink paella which she liked. We tried the chicken paella. Both were fantastic. The rice was perfectly done leaving the soccarat, the crunchy layer at the bottom of the pan, as the crispy gorgeous bite. So in the end no Filipino food but some yummy food still. Service was efficient but standard at best. read more

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We were visiting Madrid and was craving Filipino food so we came here for dinner. I was born in the Philippines and I know what authentic Filipino food tastes like, but this was at best mediocre. However, their service was great and our server was very attentive. They offer both tapas menu and Filipino food, but we only opted for Filipino food. We ordered fresh lumpia (it was super flavorful in crepe and peanut sauce - probably our favorite), kare kare (pork peanut stew with veggies served with rice and shrimp paste) and sisig (the sisig I'm used to eating is cut up in smaller pieces and has crunch bits which this dish lacked of). I would personally skip this place for Filipino food since there are other options in the area. read more

the food was just not as good as expected. The portions were small and just eh. Too expensive for the small size. They placed bread on our table and charged us for it even though we did not order. never go here PLEASE read more

Had dinner there today. Service was excellent and food was delicious. I recommend the Tinto de Verano, Sangria, Pulpo a la gallega and the Paella de Mariscos. Did I say that the service was awesome? They kept checking on us, although they had a 19 plus group in another table. Small but cozy place! read more

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We came here for a late lunch on our second day in Madrid. Our first night wasn't great for food, but this restaurant was redeeming when it came to flavor and freshness of the preparation. We really enjoyed the paella, it was a very large portion, more than enough for two people but it can feed 3-4. It was flavorful, and nicely prepared. The papas were also flavorful, with a garlicy aoli and red pepper drizzle. They also brought out complimentary olives and bread. Overall, a good meal and would recommend stopping by if in the area. read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Paella with seafood and chicken - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

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As many others have said...This place caters to tourists, but has amazing Paella. We tried the chicken one and it was fire! It had the crispy bits of rice at the bottom that I enjoyed so much. In terms of service, it was very friendly and the staff spoke English very well. Can't really speak to the ambiance because we went during the World Cup final so it was crazy lol read more

Try the grilled octopus done Galician style. Perfectly prepared and thus, very tasty. Went well with a glass of Roger de Flor cava, which was quite reasonably priced. The Caesar salad came with chicken strips and was more than enough for two. Nearly convinced me that they had forgotten the grilled garlic shrimp. Just too much, too good food! read more

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A casual dining spot in Madrid. This place showed up on Yelp as having good paella so off I went. It was good, but I've had better. My favorite is when the bottom of the skillet is burned and crispy, this didn't have it, but it still tasted good and they were able to do individual paella portions. The sangria is good, prices are okay, and the location is awesome. read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

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My family and I searched for a place to get paella in our first night in Spain and stumbled across this restaurant. It was on the smaller side, casual, and looked a bit disconcerting from the outside. As we came inside, the decor was a bit better, but still unsettling. Our server came out and was very friendly, noticing our Spanish was not great and offered us the English menus. She was able to speak English with us the whole time. We got one vegetable paella and one seafood paella as entrees for four people, as well as, initially, one order of spicy potatoes (patatas bravas). The potatoes came out first and were perfect. The sauce was perfectly even, the whole dish was warm and soft in your mouth, and the taste was exquisite. We called the server over and got a second plate because we couldn't get enough! The paellas came out and they were much bigger than we had anticipated. Four people could not even get close to finishing both paellas. The taste was great as well, with all of the seafood and vegetables being cooked perfectly, and the rice was very rich. The whole dish was very flavorful, well seasoned, and reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend to any travelers in the area, but don't be afraid of how it looks on the outside! Give it a try. read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Vegetable Paella, Seafood Paella, and Potatas Bravas - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

My family and I were looking for a good paella and tried to sit at multiple well rated places but had no luck. We saw the sign that said homemade paella and decided to give it a try. At first we were not to sure because there wasn't really anyone eating in the restaurant but after we were very pleasantly surprised. My family shared a couple of apitizers and the Mixed paella. It DID NOT disappoint!! It was veryyy good from service to the food would definitely recommend. read more

The service and the food was alright. More of a tourist place but the seafood paella came out super rich and flavorful. The bell peppers were soft and buttery. The Galician octopus were also well cooked and seasoned. I would have liked more potatoes but that's just me. It was a busy day with a soccor team and we were seated in the back. The service took a little long but it could have just been crowded. Lastly, the sangria was more on the sweet side and the fruit pieces were soaked in alcohol. read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Seafood paella enough for 2 people - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

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Really homemade paella , good prices and relly nice starters like the garlic prowns we had. We really enyojed the Sangria and the service was nice , accurate and lovely. Come and try this paella because it's wonderful, homemade and not frozen like allá the other paellas we had in Madrid . In this restaurant yo hace to wait 25 minutes for your paella something that make you think about the quality of the food they serve. Highmy recomended!!!! read more

Cyndy's Bottom Line: A restaurant for tourist serving paella. The restaurant caters to tourist. I did not see any local people. We ordered the garlic shrimp and the seafood paella. The garlic shrimp was served sizzling piping hot from the kitchen to the table. It was good but I thought it would have been a lot more flavorful with the garlic. The pan of paella is a good size probably for four people. It had an assortment of seafood. Four pieces of whole shrimps, shrimp out of the shell, mussels, and calamari. The paella had a saucy texture mixed in with peas, and decorated with red peppers. Tasty. Service is good and they have WIFi. read more

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Taberna el Arco is one of the better places in Madrid that I was able to secure a reservation/walk-in at on less than two days notice. As a few other Yelpers have noted, this place is a huge TOURIST trap. Funnily though, the food wasn't that bad, even if it was more overpriced and less authentic than many other more authentic establishments. The service, however, was a very different matter; it was awful, ignoring and spurning my reservation entirely. Food: 4/5 I had the Iberian ham assortment (overpriced, compared to other restaurants in the area), the seafood paella, peppers tapas, and garlic shrimp tapas. Overall, none of the food was bad, but I hardly got my bang for the buck. The seafood paella for two was priced at $38, and while I can't complain bout the quality of the ingredients, the portion size was definitely not worth it for the price. Service: 1/5 My experience here started off on a bad note... and then it made a turn for the worse. I had a reservation for 3 for 8:30 PM, arrived at 8:20 PM, and the server seemed entirely uninterested in even hearing that I had a reservation and didn't even ask for my name. It took them 30 minutes to seat our party and hand us our menus. Every table in this restaurant consists of smaller tables which can seat two, and though he had a table of 3 tables pushed together, he refused to split off two tables and insisted that I wait for the next party of 3/4 to finish dining before seating us. The time it took to bring our tapas and main plates to us was also ridiculous, and the waiters always told us to wait when we even tried to place our orders. When he did finally take our orders, he spoke in a commanding, harsh, and extremely RUDE manner, as if he was sneering at what we ordered. So much for the customer is always right, huh? Ambiance: 4/5 SO MANY TOURISTS. The restaurant even had an employee stand outside the restaurant to lure more tourists in with an English menu. This place entirely caters to tourists and preys upon those who fall into the trap, and unfortunately, I was one of them. It seems like a kids' playroom was converted into a restaurant, but half the size of a typical playroom. People were constantly bumping into each other, and if I had a nickel for how many times I watched a waiter nearly drop an entire tray of food on his nearest customer, I might actually be able to pay for my meal here. Props to the waiters for their balance though! The lighting though was pretty nice, and the location near the square was quite optimal. It's a nice dining place if you really just want to sit down and eat after wandering Madrid. Nevertheless, I cannot recommend Taberna el Arco to a friend. Madrid has many better options to choose from. read more

Great service, delicious meals, best wine I've ever had. Congratulations Madrid needs more establishments like this . read more

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Came here for our first night in a return to Madrid. Mostly for the high paella rating. A reservation through TA/The Fork allowed for 30% off which was unexpected and pretty cool. Service was excellent and prices were decent. We went with the patatas mojo picon since they were out of the patatas bravas. Let me tell you - that mojo picon sauce has me buying the ingredients as soon as we got home. Delicious. We also went with the seafood paella for 2. It was tasty, more on the slightly saucy side. Definitely not a fav as I like my paella with the crispy bits. Still, a great meal. I'd definitely return. read more

We had a large group of 18 diners recently visit Taberna El Arco, for their paella, the specialty of the house. There were several to choose from, including seafood, chicken and rabbit and black (squid ink) paella; all arrived in the traditional cast iron pans and were beautifully presented, and were delicious! I highly recommend a pitcher of sangria to go along with your paella. The custard dessert was the perfect ending, a cross between flan and creme brulee. Prices were quite reasonable and service was friendly; they handled our large group with aplomb. The only difficulty is booking through thefork, which makes direct communication with the restaurant difficult, and if you don't confirm the day before they will cancel your booking. read more

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Excellent restaurant! Food, service, and ambience were all wonderful. My wife and I ate here twice on our 5 day stay in Madrid because it was that good. We suggest you get the sisig because it is phenomenal. read more

Went here 2 years ago and returned tonight for dinner. It's still very good food and service. We'd Galacian-style octopus and "Lacon", salad, Garlic shrimps and seafood paella. Dessert was passion fruit cheesecake and espresso Our host/waiter was very nice and helpful. Highly recommended to anyone would like to have a local food flavor. read more

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I think this might be a tourist trap. No locals. We had the chicken paella. It was just blah. The best thing was the free croquettes.

Although from the U.S. we travel frequently to Spain, sampling paella along the way. Having said that, the paella we enjoyed last night was definitely on the short list of the best. The rice was well seasoned and perfectly cooked; not dry, mushy or greasy. The seafood was fresh and the chicken tasty. While waiting for the paella, which is finished to order, we tried the grilled vegetable platter; another pleasant surprise. We also liked the atmosphere of this restaurant. The feeling when we walked in the door was warm and inviting. Our server was both charming and attentive, without being a hoverer. All said, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Taberna el Arco, especially for their paella. In this crowded and competitive catagory it is still a standout. read more

Tasty paella seafood We wanted to eat paella and this restaurant was on our short list based on Yelp reviews. We were not disappointed. The seafood paella was great and we noticed that It was a popular dish on the evening that we ate there. The service was friendy and attentive. This was a small restaurant with casual ambiance. read more

Excellent black paella filled with shrimp, clams and mussels. Calamari was very good and tasty, nice and soft not chewy at all.

We stumbled upon this little beauty in our travels through El Centro in Madrid. What drew us in were photos of a variety of Paella and Tortilla de Potata. Our server was fantastic and offered helpful information regarding the menu and wine selection. Based on the our wine profile he suggested a wonderful bottle of wine and shared details about Spanish wines available in the area. We ordered the mixed meat paella which to clarify is a mixture of seafood, the traditional tortilla de potato (it's like a spanish quiche with potatoes) and the cheese plate. It was a lofty order for the two of us but we enjoyed it equally as much at home. The paella is made at the time of order, our server made sure we were aware it would be about 25 minutes for the food to arrive but not to worry as the tortilla de potata and cheese platter arrived shortly after we ordered. The Tortilla de Potata was the best I've had. It was perfectly cooked with the right blend of seasoning. My husband had a extra servings which is unusually because he hates eggs. The cheeses were each different and very unique. I even liked the blue cheese because it seemed milder than others I've tried in the past. The paella had a generous offering of seafood including mussels, clams, prawns, and squid. We finished the crepe with dulce de leche. On top of all of this, the meal was very affordable. The food was superb and the staff was delightful. It's only been open for a few months and I expect they'll take off quickly making it difficult to get a seat. Get in while you still can! read more

It was quiet in the afternoon when we arrived just after the lunch crowd. We had a bottle of tempranillo to go with our shrimp starter and mix paella. It was delicious and the staff were friendly and helpful. I'd recommend this place to any party other than someone with small children. Great place! read more

Our first meal in Madrid and were not disappointed. We shared Galician style octopus and mixed paella. It was the best octopus I had in Spain. The restaurant was busy, so book in advance if you can. We were lucky enough to be seated without reservation but were told to finish before 8:30 since the table was booked after. read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Mixed Paella - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

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Nothing about this place stands out. It does the job of providing decent food with a reasonably responsive service at the price level one would expect for the setting and food quality. This place, one would discover rather quickly, caters entirely to tourists. Whether that is good or bad depends on one's perspective, I suppose. read more

Came by for early dinner on a Friday and the place was. It busy at all. The seafood paella was excellent, one of the best we had in Madrid. The calamari tasted fresh and was very good too. We will come back to try other paella next time. read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Seafood paella with plenty of squid and shrimp mixed in the rice - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

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This is probably the Best Negra Paela since we arrived in Madrid. The Garlic Prawns were HUGE and delicious!!! All the dishes were perfectly cooked. They served wet towels at the end of the meal. We'll be back soon. read more

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Paella and Sangria Cielo (Heaven) thee best !!!! Gracias por todo al Padre (God). Amazing Amazing. First time ever having Paella!!!! Service is 10+ read more

El arco pinoy tapas - Patricia Baltierra Joanne and Phillip Jimenez - Arroceria / Paella Near Me - Madrid, M

Please avoid this place. It's very tourist trap-y. The paella was pretty bad, zero socarrat. It felt like it was cooked from a frozen package. For tourists that enjoyed their meal, I noticed staff were asking them to leave positive online reviews. read more

Hands down the best Paella I have anywhere in the world! The sangria is also very good! It's a must stop for anyone looking for best paella in Madrid!! read more

This was a great find, the garlic shrimp was wonderful, the tripe stew one of the best things I've eaten in Spain, and the seafood paella was on point with copious amounts of mini shrimp, muscles, squid, and two large prawns to top it off. The sangria is inexpensive and comes in large portions and the service is the best I've had since coming to Madrid! Definitely check it out! read more

This place looks like the stereotypical tourist trap but it's actually really good. It has good reviews on all of the rating sites and the paella was very tasty. I got the chicken paella. Yum yum read more