7 Best Restaurants in Madrid, Spain

One of the buzziest restaurants in Madrid, this modern seafood mecca—with sleek wooden tables and floor-to-ceiling windows—serves rare delicacies from the country's top fishing fleets. On the ever-changing menu, you might find quisquillas de Motril (sweet white shrimp with bright blue roe), precious little elvers, or Basque lobster stew—all accompanied by wines selected by Sergio Otero, of DiverXO fame.

Step back in time in this pocket-size seafood restaurant specializing in boquerones en vinagre, freshly shucked oysters, and prawns a la plancha.

Welcome to mussel mecca—this Ponzano restaurant spotlights the oft-overlooked mollusk in dishes like curried moules frites; fried bechamel-stuffed tigres; and zippy ceviches and escabeches.

Seafood lovers shouldn't miss this modern, Ibiza-chic marisquería (seafood restaurant) with original wrought-iron columns, white tablecloths, and ample alfresco seating. The griddled prawns from Dénia are always a treat, as are the cloudlike roasted sole and any number of rice dishes.

Owned by the proprietors of one the best fish markets in town, Pescaderías Coruñesas, this seafood restaurant with a warm modern interior welcomes guests with an impressive window display of fresh seafood—red and white prawns, Kumamoto oysters, goose barnacles, and the renowned Galician Carril clams are just some of what you might see. Fish (including turbot, sole, grouper, and sea bass) is cooked to your liking in the oven, on the grill, in a pan with garlic, or battered and fried.

Pristine fish, salt, roaring open flame—these are the main ingredients at El Señor Martín, a white-table seafood restaurant beloved by local food critics that makes a great venue for romantic dinners and special occasions. Consider springing for a gloriously obscure fish you've never heard of, like Mediterranean sand eel, wreckfish, plaice, or alfonsino—all meticulously filleted and grilled to juicy perfection. 

Crack open a can of pristine Spanish seafood—elvers, scallops, cockles, and more—at this veteran bar on Ponzano and you'll never think about tinned food the same way again.