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    El Barril

    4.7 (27 reviews)
    PriceySpanish, Seafood

    El Barril Photos

    EL BARRIL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - El Barril

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    Menu Sept 2019 page 1
    Susan C.

    One word. SQUID. Actually...not squid, CUTTLEFISH. (Bc they are different now that I looked it up on google.) Get the grilled cuttlefish with garlic salt. Top notch, the most drool-inducing cephalopods I've ever tasted/consumed in my life. Walking in sans reservations on a drizzly Monday evening in Madrid, the restaurant was about 60 % full. The space is rather deep and essentially occupies the first floors of two adjoining townhouses. Deceptively large since upon entering you walk backwards thru the restaurant but u-turning right and walking back towards the front of the building, there is an equally long space with tables lining both sides of the wall and a larger open seating area by the front windows of the restaurant. Service was polished and super professional. The atmosphere was a bit on the more formal side and most men wore sports jackets. Being a seafood restaurant, the menu had an extensive list of options, including both oven-finished and fire-top grilled items. We ordered as appetizers: a plate of Iberico ham, fried white anchovies with roasted red peppers, sea bass and scarlet prawn ceviche. For mains: grilled cuttlefish, baked hake, grilled sole. For dessert we split one item: (we were stuffed by then!): brioche French toast with a scoop of ice cream. We had a bottle of white wine recommended by the restaurant and it paired well with the food. The servings were very generous--and all was cooked well. The olives they served on the side before the meal were delectable. The fried anchovies were a bit difficult for me to eat since they were fried pretty much so you could eat bones and all, but I couldn't help being a bit paranoid about some of the slightly larger bones, but the amazing-ness of the squid ...oops, CUTTLEFISH... alone would bring me back here in an instant.

    Daniel R.

    Ecellent place for seafood. They open for late lunch on Sunday which is great when your traveling. Food is top notch. The ham (jabugo) in this seafood place is so Good. Had the cigalas, ceviche, percebes, rice with carabineros is amazing.

    Hans D.

    In a Spaniah city with so much good and honest food this was a waste of time and money. I've made pulpo a la Gallega just once at home and it was 10x better than this mediocre version that just got 5min of heat from a broiler. I expect "croquetas del chef" to be an explosion of flavour and it was merely a dry tasteless croquette with a couple small bites of what I think was regular ham. Oh, I forgot to mention that half or what I initially ordered just wasn't available and it was still very early in the night. This was not worth €72...

    Seafood paella
    Todd B.

    This was recommended by hotel conseri. They made reservations but not needed. There is another El Barril across the street with same owner. This location is upscale compared to the original, but the menu looks the same. Food was outstanding along with the service. In this area, there are many good eating establishments to choose from. Walk around, if it's crowded with locals, it's good.

    Dessert, crepes with cream and fried banana
    Ruth L.

    We wanted a good restaurant and close to our hotel, and we found this. We made reservations on a Saturday night but when we arrived, it wasn't busy. The food was excellent! We had clams for our appetizers and it was sooo good. Forgot what it's called but the waiter recommended it. Highly recommend. I had hake fish, very good too. And my son tried grilled lamb for the first time and he enjoyed it a lot that he doesn't wanna share with us. Overall, fine dining at its best with excellent service too.

    Red shrimp
    Jay W.

    Nice classy place around the corner from our hotel. All the dishes were flavorful and in proper Madrid order. I love it that they allowed me to order off the menu. Would definately come back for dinner.

    Navajas asadas or grilled razor clams
    Melinda C.

    All dishes and wine were deliciously fresh. Top notch service! A few feet from AC Recoletos.

    Pulpo and Mediterranean Langoustine...not pictured was the delicious ceviche and local Madrid wine. Meals come with fresh, warm bread.

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    5 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Food was very good but overpriced. Tough to get charged for the bread (that was not clear to us at the time) and not get olive oil.

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    7 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very nice dining experience. Food was very good. Our favorite was the scallop appetizer.

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    El Barril Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - El Barril

    We are well traveled and accustomed to different types of food and fine dining.

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    O'Grelo

    O'Grelo

    4.8(24 reviews)
    1.3 kmRetiro
    €€€

    My friend and I decided to treat ourselves on the last night in Madrid. Surf and turf!…read more The waitress/chef that had to work the front was super grumpy with us. But the maitre'd was totally nice. Give us a break, we were trying with our broken Spanish! lol. The restaurant was beautiful. We treated ourselves to sea urchin - Which was filled with a lovely cream that had leeks? It was really tasty. I really loved the scallops but the CLAMS! They were cooked perfectly al dente. Weirdly though, I loved the steak the best. Perfectly cooked, with the fat cap crispy and the meat done medium rare. The fries were also amazing! The drinks were so-so. Food was so amazing though - definitely a treat yoself meal though!!!

    Tucked into a quiet, residential corner of Madrid, O'Grelo is a seafood lover's dream. The room is…read morebright and spotless, the counter gleams, and the air smells like nothing at all, which is exactly what you want when the catch is truly fresh. It was packed to the gills (pun intended) with immaculate product coming in throughout the day, laid out in a dizzying variety that looked as beautiful as it tasted. You won't find much in terms of elaborate dishes here. O'Grelo is all about the fresh catch itself. We loved it so much we went two nights in a row. Over those visits we bulldozed our way through oysters, sea urchin, carabinero prawns, langoustines, razor clams, percebes, and a handful of other crustacean curiosities I couldn't even name before this meal, "slipper lobsters" among them. Many of the species on offer were new to me, yet every plate arrived pristine and delicious, proof that ingredient quality and careful handling do most of the talking here. In a city spoiled for extraordinary food, O'Grello still stands out. It's un-touristed, fairly priced for the caliber, and run with care. If the sea is your happy place, this is a must - one of those experiences you'll wish you could bring home with you.

    Photos
    O'Grelo
    O'Grelo - Apple Pie with Ice Cream

    Apple Pie with Ice Cream

    O'Grelo

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    Cervecería Monje - Assortment of croquettes

    Cervecería Monje

    5.0(5 reviews)
    1.6 kmPalacio

    Small place next to our hotel Palacio de los Duques. It wasn't open until 8:30 pm but we waited…read moreuntil then. Wait Staff spoke a bit of English so no worries. We had the grilled artichokes with jamon, the assortment of croquettes and the octopus shrimp risotto. All of it was very tasty and blew our minds, especially the croquettes! Best taste better than in Seville and Barcelona!! No kidding, you should try them. The artichoke wad prepared a totally different way than I've ever seen. Very tasty, small amount sold as unit but we ordered two pieces- enough to enjoy for each of us. I would go back- this know for the seafood. Lots of specials including clams/ conches/ fish dishes. Felt full enough afterwards, really enjoyed their cuisine. A hidden gem.

    What a fantastic find! We are staying at the Gran Melia Palacio De Los Duques. The concierge…read morerecommended other tourist traps for Tapas. Thankfully I searched yelp for a five star Tapas restaurant and saw that there was one right next door. We met the owner Luis and his wife Roxanna were fantastic. We ordered squid al Galicia, white clams in garlic oil, white shrimp and Jamon. Everything was so good including the wine. Luis gave us tips on where we need to go. Great food and wine and more importantly great people!

    Photos
    Cervecería Monje - Artichokes

    Artichokes

    Cervecería Monje - Delicious clams in a garlic broth...perfect for sopping up with the bread!

    Delicious clams in a garlic broth...perfect for sopping up with the bread!

    Cervecería Monje - This is an revised version of an earlier photo I submitted during my wonderful trip to Madrid.

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    This is an revised version of an earlier photo I submitted during my wonderful trip to Madrid.

    Marina Ventura - Seafood Paella and Campero Paella

    Marina Ventura

    4.5(83 reviews)
    1.1 kmCortes
    €€€

    The dinner here was probably the highlight of my visit to Madrid! I was so happy to get paella -…read moreArroz negro con sepia y chipirones specifically...I still can taste in my dream, lol! Make sure to have a reservation as it looks to be a very popular restaurant. The ambiance was simple and bright. The service was excellent - in fact all servers that I encountered were very friendly yet polite. They'll be happy to provide recommendations as well. I would really like to go back there sometime soon...

    Perfect meal to kick off our vacation in Spain. We were a party of 6, making reservation was easy…read moreand we were seated as soon as we walked in. They have a lot of options on their menu and we decided to go with their tuna salad, seafood salad, croquettes, fried baby calamari, seafood paella and lobster rice. The veggies in both salads were fresh and crisp. They provide you with vinegar and olive oil so you can mix it yourself to your liking and it's perfect for hot summer days. The shrimps were firm and springy, and calamari tender. The croquettes came with 3 flavors. Iberian ham, mushrooms and mussels. They were fried perfectly with it being crispy on the outside, warm smooth on the inside with each flavor coming through as you eat it leaving a savory and pleasant after taste. The fried baby squid was also perfectly fried and seasoned. There wasn't a drop of oil on the paper. The highlight of the meal was definitely the paella and lobster rice. We decided to order 2 different style of rice dish instead of 2 paella just to try out different dishes that they offer. All the rice dishes are priced per person and there is a minimum of 2 order per dish. Since we have 2 young kids and 2 elderly who don't eat that much. We ended up ordering 2 portions of paella and 2 portions of the lobster rice. The paella was heavenly. The rice was flavorful and perfectly seasoned, al dente but has a nice crispy bottom from being cooked in the pan. The seafood was fresh, including various dish and shellfishes. The only thing was they included 2 different types of shrimps and one of them, not that it's not fresh, but has a more mushy texture which I'm not a fan of. The lobster rice was scrumptious. It was cooked in broth and is soupy. The broth was extremely rich and favorable yet it's not creamy so you won't feel too heavy. There were plenty of seafood and topped with one whole lobster which has big chunks of meat. This was my favorite dish for the evening. We weren't able to finish everything and ended up bringing some of this rice back and it reheated well the next day. The restaurant was comfortable and spacious Europe standard. It was a super hot summer in Madrid as we got hit with the heat wave. Most of the restaurants in Europe have little to no AC but I was happy to walk into the restaurant with sufficient AC. Our servers were also very friendly and attentive and we were offered a complimentary after dinner drink as well. I highly recommended Marina Ventura!

    Photos
    Marina Ventura - Table setting

    Table setting

    Marina Ventura - Salad with Jamon Iberica - very nice but overpriced.

    Salad with Jamon Iberica - very nice but overpriced.

    Marina Ventura - Paella de pollo.

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    Paella de pollo.

    El Barril - spanish - Updated May 2026

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