A'Barra

This place promises in abundance; decor, ambiance, cleanliness, presentation and nice staff… but! The food just isn’t up to the standard that the Spanish are renowned for, particularly with a Michelin star. I had black rice with prawns for a starter and for €36 I would have expected more than one prawn. I even had to ask them to keep the head, as half the meat was still in it! The main dish was Venison with mushroom risotto; two small pieces of meat and no more than a very small spoonful of risotto. The meat was cooked very nicely, but the risotto was so small, it barely covered one piece of meat as an accompaniment. I paired the wine and my other half had pumpkin to start and fish for a main. Cooked nicely with good flavour, but nothing special. Bill was €210. For this money, you really can do better elsewhere and only your average uneducated tourist might fall for it. Pity. Unfortunately, very disappointed. Perhaps the Michelin star is a poisoned chalice these days?

This restaurant blew my boyfriends and I away. The restaurant itself was stunning and the service was impeccable. We absolutely loved it and would recommend coming back here again. Our favorite dish was the Iberian Wellington. We both thought it was beef instead of pork - that is how succulent the dish was.

A’Barra is a true fine dining gem in Madrid. Every dish was beautifully presented and full of flavor — the blue lobster ravioli and steak tartare were outstanding, and the Crêpe Suzette dessert was the perfect finish. Excellent wine selection (the Finger Lakes Ravines was a great recommendation), and the service was professional and discreet. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an elegant and memorable dining experience.

Great experience. We had the tasting menu with the “Senaorial” wine pairing, and enjoyed it fully. Food was delicious, wines very interesting and helped to get the most out of each plate, and service was top-notch.

The waiters were very nice and attentive. They were always available and helpful. However, some waiters' English was very hard to understand. Not what I expect from a restaurant at this price point. We had the tasting menu. The dishes are tiny beyond belief. We had to eat a lot of bread to feel anywhere near full. We found a fish scale in our food. Again not something I expect from such an expensive reataurant with microscopic dishes. We pointed it out to the waiters and they did nothing about it except a brief apology. Some of the dishes were good and well presented, but the flavors were underwhelming. The dishes were exorbitantly overpriced.

As someone that was expecting something incredible, it was alright, I mean putting caviar and truffle on everything doesn’t mean it automatically tastes better. We had the tasting menu, I felt like there was something lacking… oh yes, flavor, that’s it. You can tell it’s just a place where the super rich go to tell others they’ve been to a “Michelin star”, but the ingredients were so simple, I was expecting something more complex, using rare Spanish ingredients. Also they fill you up with a big bread with butter and olive oil since the dishes are extremely tiny. Other than that, service was good. I went for someone’s birthday, we had called earlier to confirm it was for a birthday and they completely forgot, only after we paid the check and reminded them, is when we got a little birthday surprise.

restaurant is a little tucked away in the middle of a residential area. so best to get there by walking or Uber. food was excellent. I loved the beef and appetitiser. beef looked a bit raw but when slicing it, you realise it is cooked but yet still very tender and easy to cut. fish was also very fresh. desserts was OK with some chocolate pieces and ice cream with some accompanying gelatin. but I thought service was slightly inconsistent. dishes were not served to entire table at once and at times, some dietary restrictions were also slightly overlooked.

I am very disappointed in this meal. A restaurant of this price point, with a star and the assumed caliber, should not miss this hard! This ranks among my most disappointing meals. The highlight of the meal was the private select wine pairing. The Somm was wonderful; he was really the only driving force behind the meal. I looked forward to each new wine. The Ambience was solid! The service was kind and very attentive. The food feels lost. The menu started nicely with the initial bites, but as the meal progressed, we devolved into increasingly unfocused, poorly executed dishes. Salt levels in dishes were all over the place, starting high and ending nonexistent. Not a single dish wowed or felt well executed. While there was no standout star of the meal, three dishes were particularly bad. The soupy egg yolk mess: apparently this was egg yolk, ham and smoked eel. It was all soupy sadness and felt like eating a raw egg yolk with a few unrecognizable accompaniments. The primary fish course was inedible, flavorless, and undercooked. The main meat course, while cooked nicely, didn't taste like anything and felt like it was missing a general identity. As a way to finish a tasting menu it felt sad and unfinished. I wished for the best, my experience was far from that. Given everything, I can not recommend this to anyone.

My experience here was like eating a too ripe apple. It looks nice on the surface, but after a bite it leaves a sour and bitter taste. This is particularly true for A'Barra, especially being Michelin rated. Service was not prepared or organized. When we came in there were still fixing the lighting, making the "fine" dining experience not so fine. There would be 5 people waiting on our table but when we asked for someone only 1 person would show up, not because the others did not know English, but for some reason they were ordered to do so - it was weird and uncomfortable. They said we were given these complimentary starters but then get charged after. The waiter that misinterpreted our order in the beginning did not apologize and instead we got a new waiter and he ignored us the rest of the time. Food was inconsistent in presentation and taste. Those with better taste had poor presentation and vice versa. Nothing wowed me but I would choose the yolk dessert if anything. Overall not a fan.