Just steps from Plaza Mayor, this la Casa del Abuelo location is a very popular late night tapas bar with indoor and outdoor seating. Known for their squid ink calamari sandwich. Food is freshly made. Service can be iffy but it's still popular because the food is so worth it and the price couldn't be beat. read more

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We wanted to try this place because of their signature dish, the garlic shrimp. The location we went to was very close to Plaza Mayor so you would expect a lot of tourists but we saw quite a few locals enjoying a quick bite the night we were there. In general, the experience was okay. Your standard tapas restaurant with an extensive selection. Was it good? It was okay. We enjoyed the dishes we ordered and the garlic shrimp was good. Bread is extra here. You get a round loaf that is not even warm. We used it to dip into the garlic oil from the shrimp. We found the service to be slightly standoffish. Was an okay experience. read more

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Went to another location before. This one has nice outdoor seating area right by the arch at Plaza Mayor. We ordered the Bocata de Calamares con pan de Tonya de Calamar (calamari sandwich on squid ink tinted bread). Delicious. We also had the pimientos de Padrón. Fried peppers. Yum! And the gamba ajillo (shrimp cooked in lay pots in garlic and olive oil. It did not disappoint. -The service was ok not impressive though.. I recommend this place. The food makes the service quality a secondary require but definitely not a deal break read more

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3 words - Gambas Al Ajillo. It is a dish so simple and yet so magically prepared. The kind of shrimps they have is sweet and that savory garlic in olive oil is so flavorful but not overpowering. The cook on the protein is just right that it literally almost melts in your mouth. I loved it so much I bought ceramics at a mall to bring back home. I know I wouldn't be able to recreate exactly the dish because of (none) availability of the same ingredients but I'm hoping using the right vessel would help me get close. I would love to come back to get this again. read more

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Decent spot for food in Madrid but nothing too special. We came here on our tour guide's recommendation, since he highly recommended the calamari sandwich here. They have outdoor seating, but it was a bit chilly when we came, so we decided to sit indoors. There were some people seated outside, but it was completely empty inside, so it didn't seem like a super popular restaurant. Not sure why our tour guide recommended it. Anyways, moving onto the food. We started with a beer and glass of white wine for 2.90€ each. Both were pretty good for the price. I had the gambas al ajillo (10.90€ for a small portion) and the bocata calamares (3.50€), while my friend had the tortilla (5€ for pincho). Everything was okay but nothing really stood out. The calamari sandwich, which was my most anticipated item from the meal, tasted exactly like I imagined... just some calamari sandwiched between two slices of bread. It felt weird to eat and tasted a bit dry since there was no sauce, so I only ate a couple bites of the bread before eating just the calamari. read more

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It was just ok. Inattentive service and forgettable dishes EXCEPT for the garlic shrimp. Be aware you'll be charged extra for the bread that you'd expect would come with the dish. read more

We came here on 3.02.24 while in the Plaza Mayor area. The menu here varies from the original location by Plaza Del Sol in that it offers more variety, probably due to the increased volume of potential customers. The staff gave us a friendly greeting and were quick to tend to us. We ordered their famous garlic shrimp, as well as grilled pigs' ears. Their garlic shrimp deserves the acclaim it receives. It is a delicious combination of fresh shrimp, a ton of garlic, some chili peppers, and olive oil. The velvety texture of the oil and spices makes you think the shrimp has been cooked in butter - deceiving but nothing to regret. The pigs' ears were scrumptious - crunchy and flavorful. Every once in a while you would get a slightly rubbery bite of cartilage, but the tender meaty portions and the crispy skin would see you through. I loved them, yet was forbidden to use the word "cartilage" while we ate them. Some things, I suppose, are best left unmentioned. The other Casa de Abuelo location by Plaza del Sol mostly offers just seafood selections, so if you are in the Plaza Mayor, this is a great opportunity to try other offerings. read more

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I went to this place because of allll the amazing reviews but I was kind of let down. I went here for dinner, took a while for us to be seated and even attended to. I felt rushed once the waiter came. The calamari was okay. The papas con huevo and jamón was okay. The fried shrimp were a bit doughy. The garlic shrimp that everyone raves about were good. But I did eat at another place where they were way better. I still give this place 4 stars cus the food was good. But for a one and done type of deal read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

I stopped by La Casa del Abuelo in Madrid recently and tried their Gambas al ajillo (Garlic Shrimp) and Vermouth (Casa Alberto). The shrimp was nice but the drink would need some getting used to as it had a strong aftertaste. Overall, I'd rate my experience 7.8/10 read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

I fell for the hype and got the garlic shrimp. It fell extremely short, the shrimp were mushy and had an odd aftertaste. I was very disappointed that I got a double portion, I just knew it would be good. We also got the oxtails cooked in wine and the wine taste was overwhelming. The quality of the meat was there but I didn't like the flavors of this dish. Nothing was salty but nothing was great. Service was a bit slow, we asked for extra napkins and didn't get them. There was also a bit of language barrier, I asked for the free water but was given 2 bottles of water. They charge for the bread but you need it for the garlic shrimp. The bread was hard and forgettable. I will try another location but I would definitely skip this one. read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Oxtail stew: heavy on the wine flavor. Didn't care for this. - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

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Famosos por las gambas al ajillo... no desepcionan! Estaban en su punto! Y remojar el pan en el aceite con el ajo Pedimos la croquetas para acompañar y la verdad no nos gustaron mucho. Demasiado cremosas y demasiado sabor a salsa bechamel o algo similar por dentro... pero entendemos que puede ser simple preferencia. Sin lugar a dudas regresaremos por las gambas al ajillo. Buen servicio, atienden pronto. read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Croquetas de gambas rojas - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

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Small chain, good service, but food quality was sub-par. May have good once upon a time but very disappointing when we tried it in March 2025. Maybe we went to the wrong one - there are 3 within walking distance of each other. Did not live up to the hype. read more

Very rude staff. Points fingers and raises their voice to customers! Would never dine here!

Pretty good! Staff is nice and I like that you can sit outside; great people watching. I had the Gambas Al Ajillo and tortilla espanola. The Gambas were very flavorful and tasted great with bread. Be warned that they are piping hot when first served; I burned my tongue with my first bite. But it was worth it - very tasty. The tortilla espanola was just okay - could have used more flavor with some onions and even simple salt. All in all though an above average meal here! read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Tortilla espanola - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

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These gambas al ajillo were by far the worst I've ever had. I'm not sure if they were spoiled or overcooked, but they tasted horrible. My stomach was turning trying to eat them. They were also very small and as mushy as mashed potatoes. They had an extremely weird aftertaste. The gambas a la plancha weren't bad, but €20 for them was a bit much considering the small size of them. I'm so disappointed that I wasted my money here. I'd recommend the other locations, this Plaza Mayor location absolutely sucks. read more

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I saw La Casa del Abuelo as one of the best places to try some traditional Spanish cuisine, such as cocido madrileño. We also saw in Somebody Feed Phil that he loved their garlic shrimp. So we ordered both as well as sangria, which was one of the better sangrias we had. I really enjoyed all the food, but we were unfamiliar with how the cocido madrileño was eaten, so when we first got the jug of noodle soup we were really confused and thought we were given the wrong dish. We asked our waitress and she just said more was coming (in English, though she didn't speak much of it), so we waited. Then we got the dish of chickpeas and meat and were still confused. Another waiter was cleaning another table nearby so we asked him. He didn't speak English, but was really sweet and explained it all in Spanish more slowly and really thoroughly so my broken Spanish could understand. The variety of meats that were provided was good, and all the food was the perfect amount for the two of us. Overall, I really enjoyed our experience there, and the waitstaff was really friendly and accommodating. We had made a reservation as I heard it got busy, but when we went in there was only one other pair seated; it was 8 though, so a little early for dinner in Spain, and there are a number of other locations across Madrid. And definitely feels like you're eating at grandpa's house with the homey aesthetic! read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Garlic shrimp - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

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Located in the parameter of Plaza Mayor. This is one of many location is probably the oldest (more run down location). We walked by a couple other locations that looked much nicer. We made reservation for lunch but not necessary. The place was empty on Saturday lunch time. We were sat in the back room where they didn't fix Thai flickering light which was quite annoying. The food: garlic shrimp was good, fried calamari (no bread) was the big size which looked like cuttlefish was oily but not heavy. The jamon croquette was really heavy and was okay (probably wouldn't order again). They charge for water if you don't get tap. It's around 3 euros. Don't accept the bread if you don't plan to eat it because they charge for it. read more

Food was ok with smaller portions. Went here for the Gambas had small shrimps and very oily, needs more garlic for my taste, not as good as promoted in social media. They didn't have any paella when we went so had to eat the Callos, calamari and gambas with bread. A little overpriced for me. read more

Right in the plaza mayor but on the side street so less craziness. The tapas are great and so is the service. We were a group of 11 and they didn't miss a beat. The only negatives are that the chairs a little uncomfortable and the people coming right to the table to try to sell you stuff is annoying. There is no barrier around the seating area like other restaurants but tolerable. read more

Nice outdoor seating right by plaza mayor. They have the squid bread that they make in-house with the calamari which they are famous for. That and two glasses of red wine was under €12. read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

We were taken to another location of Casa del Abuelo on a tapas tour, and loved it enough to come back! This location was great, the server was fantastic and it allowed for great people watching. The chato wine is beyond incredible, and the gambas al ajillo are what brought us back in the first place. We tried the cuttlefish and croquetas while we were there, and they were great too!! Overall, fantastic! read more

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We were introduced to the bocato de calamar on a food tour and we returned on a separate day. It was that good The bread is dark because it is made with squid ink. The bread is soft and the calamares are crunchy, but the best is the mayo garlic aioli. So good! read more

La Casa del Abuelo - So good!! - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

I'm unsure where the hype comes from this place. The waiter charged us for the wrong dish, even though we ordered it exactly as it is stated on the window. The beer and wine were good, but the shrimp really had no garlic or chili flavor at all. We have had better gambas at every other spot we have tried in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. read more

La Casa del Abuelo - Tapas Bars Near Me - Madrid, M

Sorry but nothing really impressed us in this place. Food is not that great (May be only our group). But we really don't see any WOW factor in here. Definitely won't come back. read more

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DIRTY! SUPER DIRTY! But what can you expect from a location that has been there for decades? Lovely and delicious tapas - particularly their tripe, their battered shrimp and garlic shrimp. The wines are TERRIBLE! but who cares? Food is good and service is delightful. A historical dive, probably one Hemingway got kicked out of too! read more

This is a century-old restaurant near Plaza Mayor in Madrid with a quaint & homey vibe. No reservations were required as they sat us right away. I would highly recommend the garlic shrimp. It's made just the way I like it, deshelled. The garlic shrimp is full of flavor, tasting the distinguishable flavors from the shrimp, butter and garlic. Definitely get the spicy home fries! There's a kick to the spice from the sauce with the perfectly fried potatoes to accompany it. This is a great spot for tapas and drinks. The codido madrileño (chickpeas, vegetables and meat pot) requires an acquired taste. I liked it when it was just the chickpeas and vegetables, but for the meat part of it, some of the meats will be tough, bone-in, fatty and/or have some tendons on them. Not my type of a good time when eating meat, but if you like that kind of stuff then would recommend. If you order the codido madrileño, make sure you have a big group of more than two people as my wife and I were super stuffed after eating the codido madrileño. read more

Amazing food and local experience with central location. Chefs kiss! Definitely recommend friends.

Excellent food, fresh and tasty. Very affordable and not a tourist trap. Had their famous shrimp with garlic sauce and the croquettes, it was so worth it. read more

My friend and I were staying around the corner at the Pestana Plaza Mayor and were in serious need of coffee. We stopped in and sat down for two quick cups of cafe con leche. We were seated at a back table and the cups were poured tableside with milk served to our liking. This place is situated right off Plaza Mayor and serious tourist trap. It does not boast much by "customer service" but it was quick, inexpensive and the coffee was good. read more