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Reviews - El Barril de las Letras

Reviews

9
of 10

Excellent
2660 reviews
Ambience
9.0
Food
9.0
Service
8.8
Real experiences from real diners
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  • Bernardo W.2 reviews

    May 8, 2025

    10/10

    Great food and attentive service. I had the Merluza in an olive oil and garlic sauce. Also, the arroz con leche for desert. All delicious. The waiter was very friendly and the ambience was very pleasant. Highly recommended.

  • Stanley K.19 reviews

    April 30, 2025

    10/10

    Great food and a well curated wine list. The green salad is terrific.

  • Juan D.7 reviews

    May 1, 2025

    10/10

    Second time I plan a dinner at the restaurante and once more I leave very happy and satisfied. Great food great service.

  • Sylvie W.2 reviews

    May 1, 2025

    10/10

    Really delicious food ( emphasis on fish) in lovely neighbourhood restaurant with impeccable service.

  • Stanley K.19 reviews

    April 27, 2025

    10/10

    Our favorite restaurant in Madrid. Excellent food and service and a comfortable and attractive room.

  • Deborah L.14 reviews

    April 25, 2025

    10/10
    +1

    Very surprised by the quality and the value for money of this restaurant. All the dishes were delicious. I highly recommend the tortilla with bacalao , the duck and the meat with truffles. For desert the caramel cheesecake… yum!

  • mj s.2 reviews

    April 6, 2025

    9.5/10

    Excellent entrees, and starters/small plates. Quality high, preparation high. we went twice.

  • Ilan G.1 review

    April 8, 2025

    9/10

    The food

  • Luis L.2 reviews

    April 5, 2025

    6.5/10

    Nc

  • Roxana G.2 reviews

    March 28, 2025

    8.5/10

    the food was excellent, so we made a second visit. not very inspired choice, as being Friday the restaurant was crowded and extremely noisy making conversation at table almost impossible

  • Ramón T.1 review

    March 28, 2025

    10/10

    Last day at Madrid needed a good farewell dinner, this is exceeded by far this intention

  • Rory D.4 reviews

    March 28, 2025

    10/10

    Great dishes of fish!

  • Haluk T.1 review

    March 15, 2025

    9.5/10

    Everything was good and delicious however the fish plates could be served warmer

  • Nathalie F.

    Nathalie F.1 review

    March 10, 2025

    7/10

    Barrio de las Letras offers a pleasant escape from Madrid’s tourist-heavy areas, providing a more relaxed atmosphere where English speakers can feel at ease. Based on a friend’s recommendation, I visited a restaurant in this neighborhood and was delighted by the exceptional callos—the best I’ve ever had. However, the service was disappointing. The manager seemed to rush both the staff and us, the customers. After our meal, we wished to enjoy a digestif while waiting for a taxi, but he refused us re-entry. Despite the initial service issues, I decided to give the restaurant another chance, especially since friends were visiting near Gran Vía. Regrettably, the service remained subpar. The waitress was overly controlling, dictating our food choices and even removing our chilled wine from ice, insisting it was better at room temperature. While the salted fish was excellent, the consistently poor service overshadowed the dining experience.

  • Gareth M.

    Gareth M.1 review

    March 2, 2025

    10/10

    The food. The food was incredible. I've had seabass before but not like this. So simple, sympathetic and delicious. It was incredible. The crêpe dessert? Other worldly. I had it twice. The wine? Perfect for the menu. The espresso? Perfect. If you go to Madrid and you love seafood, you're a fool (A FOOL I TELL YOU) If you don't pay a visit here. ( I cannot stress this enough. You're a FOOL to miss this place)

  • Alokita J.4 reviews

    January 1, 2025

    10/10

    Fantastic food, nice service and lively ambience.

  • Ana R.1 review

    February 23, 2025

    10/10

    Fantastic food and helpful staff with great service. I would recommend to all

  • Robert T.7 reviews

    February 8, 2025

    6/10

    Just very average overall.

  • Vernhet A.1 review

    February 9, 2025

    3/10

    25 euros for a little piece of octopus bathed in oil...greasy, tasteless croquettes. The wine was bad even though it was expensive, and the waiters were in a hurry. In short, we wouldn't recommend the place.

  • Hyunim K.1 review

    February 9, 2025

    8/10

    Fresh and excellent seafood (the grilled carabinero and fideua pallea were very good) and they have the extensive wine list

  • mesut a.1 review

    January 31, 2025

    10/10

    friendly staff, tasty food.

  • Koen P.3 reviews

    February 1, 2025

    7.5/10

    Food was very good, but not amazing, expected more. Service was very basic and slow. But overall, it’s a nice place for arroz

  • Ant H.56 reviews

    January 11, 2025

    8.5/10

    Lovely staff and good ambience. Wines reasonably priced. My pil pip cod was beautifully cooked but came in a creamy sauce rather than the spicy sauce I was expecting. Monkfish was excellent.

  • Marina E.1 review

    December 31, 2024

    10/10

    Great atmosphere and delicious food during the New Year evening

  • Shouq A.1 review

    December 22, 2024

    9/10

    The clamps were amazing and delicious

  • Leonardo L.2 reviews

    November 15, 2024

    10/10

    Located in a charming neighborhood, with a very well decorated and welcoming dining room, we enjoyed an excellent "arroz negro a la tinta del chocco". Very friendly and attentive service. Of course, all this comes at a price that could be a little more affordable.

  • MARTYN N.2 reviews

    November 18, 2024

    9.5/10

    Excellent quality food and service. The seafood was excellent. A touch of class. Good value for the quality

  • Ross B.3 reviews

    November 12, 2024

    6.5/10

    We had eaten at this restaurant last year and loved it; made a reservation to return this trip with a group of 8. We were seated immediately, while the hostess was away from the desk but the person who sat us checked the reservation and put us in the right table. The hostess challenged him in front of us about the location. She then continued to berate and be verbally abusive to one staff member for the next half hour right next to our table (he was doing a very good job for our table). The head waiter was pleasant, but very pushy and rushed us throughout the meal. We had an early (21:00 hours) reservation and the restaurant was certainly not crowded and there was no excuse for the rush. The food was all good - not amazing but tasty and very enjoyable, but the service definitely put a damper on the evening and we will not be planning to return.

  • Lizbeth A.1 review

    November 10, 2024

    9.5/10

    Great sea food, very nice restaurant

  • Myra P.1 review

    November 10, 2024

    10/10

    Wonderful atmosphere, great service and excellent food and a wide variety of delicious offerings. Highly recommend!!

  • Deborah D.1 review

    November 7, 2024

    4.5/10

    There is very little fish/prawns in the paella for the price. The service was shocking. Half an hour to take an order. A beer that never came but that they charged for. Waitress in a bad mood. Dessert arrived after they had brought the little cakes they give you to go with the coffee.A Maitre D who ignored us when we were trying to get attention.

  • Hristo G.2 reviews

    October 23, 2024

    10/10

    Very delicious food, I recomend for seafood lovers and not only!

  • INGRID S.1 review

    October 15, 2024

    9/10

    A reasonable Italian restaurant. Good focaccia pizza and pastas. Creative menu.

  • George B.1 review

    October 25, 2024

    6.5/10

    I traveled a distance for a seafood meal, solo, tourist. I used TripAdvisor to narrow my search & this restaurant was the best on a busy Friday night. The fish selection was probably good by local standards. I was disappointed that the few choices remaining were for two people, apparently two people only. I identified one of these items, first asking for the tuttlefish, then when that request was declined I asked for the chipperones. To clarify, the server said vegetables several times. She went to the kitchen to verify, I supposed, then returned to say it was okay. I was served a plate of rice. I called the server over and showed her that there were no chipperones in my rice . I never saw her again. I asked a waiter and he sent over a manager. We repeated chipperones, we repeated tuttlefish. I wrote a note using MS Translate. He quickly resolved the problem by sending me a large, grilled squid. Problem solved? No. I paid 44 euros for 10 asperagi and a $2 squid.

  • Lisa S.1 review

    October 18, 2024

    4/10

    The lobster paella was tasteless and disappointing. The service was really terrible - plenty of staff on the floor but it took 30 minutes for me to receive my first drink, after we received and ate the appetizers.

  • Mark S.2 reviews

    October 20, 2024

    8/10

    Excellent food service and hospitality - always consistent with great fish and meat options

  • Sergey S.10 reviews

    October 20, 2024

    10/10

    very tasty food, pleasant atmosphere

  • Amir K.4 reviews

    October 13, 2024

    10/10

    Excellent food. We visited the restaurant twice and enjoyed both times. Recommended.

  • Amir K.4 reviews

    October 9, 2024

    9/10

    Tasty food well made and served with a smile. We enjoined and recommend warmly. Don't forget to make a reservation.

  • Luis A.2 reviews

    October 8, 2024

    8/10

    Very good food at Very good price specially for its location

Tripadvisor reviews

Tripadvisor
1184 reviews

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