Restaurante Casa Gallega — Restaurant in Madrid

We just finished viewing the Easter Sunday drum performance so looked for lunch. This place was close to the Plaza Mayor and had good reviews. We popped in and went downstairs as it seemed more informal. We ended up at a high table with tall chairs so not the most comfortable but it was the last available when we arrived.

The menu looked good and we ended up over ordering, so skipped pretty much all the carbs. Started with white wine and they brought a plate of garlic mayo potatoes which we polished off before the main courses arrived.

First dish was a Mediterranean salad with smoked salmon. Surprisingly the salmon was wrapped around cold sweet melon. See the pictures. Tasted good and was a refreshing start to the meal.

Then came our grilled squid. That was so good! Squeeze of lemon and it was perfect! We regretted not getting any bread to sop up oil and juices!

Then we had a plate of razor clams. We saw the table behind us having it and the waiter noticed and told us that they were out. Only to have another waiter coming by a couple of minutes later to say they had one last order available and do we want it? Immediate yes! And when it came, it was also delicious!

Last dish was the bacalao. The cod was perfect cooked and the sauce was drinkable on it's own. We were quite full by then so left most off the potatoes, etc.

I had an espresso to end and they brought a couple of digestifs as well. Overall, it was a great meal and my wife and I left planning on when to return for...

My wife and i decided to go to Casa Gallega for our first night in Madrid. One thing everyone knows is the Spanish have dinner late at nights, typically at 9 PM or after. We were able to get into Casa Gallega at 8 PM on a Saturday with no one at all in the dining room. Ambiance was okay but the head waiter and waiters spoke relatively little English but they had an English menu.

After looking at some reviews, we decided to have the mixed grill. Assorted grilled seafood including scallops, shrimps (3 types) and razor clams. While the seafood was grilled and nicely seasoned, the $85 Euro's was on the "high side". If you look around off the main tourist strips (2-3 blocks away), you can have many mixed grill for 2 dishes for around $65 Euro's that had more food including lobster and tuna. There were no vegetables served with this dish so we ordered a house salad with tuna. The salad was just average and lacked any presentation.

I would suggest you look at other restaurants off the beaten track and you will find better seafood. The best advice is to look walk around and look at what other locals/tourists are eating and ask the waiter on the name of the dish and cost. We found this was the best way to get the dish you want as it was sometimes difficult to navigate through menu's as they were not...

My partner and I’ve just spent the last three weeks travelling from Santiago de Compostela to Seville by bicycle. We are taking the train back to Santiago and stopped off in Madrid for a couple of nights. Tonight was our last night in Spain so we thought we would book a good restaurant to celebrate our achievement. The restaurant looked promising and the menu look good, however we finished our meal very disappointed. The food was okay, but the service was diabolical, rude and lacking any empathy with the customer.

Maybe restaurants like this are getting used to having tourists who just pay or maybe they’re fed up with too many tourists. Anyway there was no care and attention to our meal, our food was served hastily in the wrong order . We were treated abruptly when trying to engage with the waiters about the wine we should choose. This is not a cheap restaurant experience. I would certainly would not return here again to be treated with such contempt. Strong words I can tell you that we had much better food served by much nicer people for half the price , on our journey. The owners and managers of this restaurant need to shape up and the waiters need to start caring otherwise they will find their business...