My Madrid Oyster Crawl
Over the past few years, I’ve had countless friends and acquaintances reach out to ask for my advice on where to eat oysters in Madrid. This post is really meant as a cheat sheet for friends and colleagues who ask in the future.
Between 2021 and 2025, B and I have been bouncing back and forth between our Brooklyn home and Madrid. Why Madrid? Long story short, B was offered a unique opportunity by his company to work remotely from the capital of Spain in 2020, so we said, “Why not?” It took a good six months to complete the special visa application that would allow us to enter Spain as borders were still closed to tourists. Neither of us had visited Madrid before. I had only been to Barcelona once, just prior to starting college. We didn’t know what to expect, but were ready for an adventure.
Dios mío, what an adventure we found!
We fell in love with just about everything the city had to offer. In hindsight, I realized just how special our first six months were. Tourism had ground to a halt, so we found ourselves masked up, living mostly among locals. We walked through the city’s great art museums, like the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Sorolla Museum (probably my favorite overall), without the usual crowds. We took the high-speed trains in every direction that Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo offer—to Valencia, Alicante, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, Barcelona, Cuenca, Cambados, Cádiz, and more. And best of all, we ate SO, so very well.
Where to Find the Best Oysters in Madrid
Madrid has amazing seafood culture. Full stop. Every neighborhood has its own pescaderia, a seafood shop, and marisquerias, restaurants that specialize in shellfish. But despite the city being blessed with an abundance and massive variety of clams, cockles, scallops, mussels, shrimp, and octopus, the western “oyster bar” is not a very popular concept.
Every respectable seafood restaurant will offer at least one live oyster, maybe two—likely the ostra gallega, when in season, or a premium French import such as Gillardeau or Sorlut year-round. The Ostras Sorlut raw bar is an easy pitstop to make when you’re wandering around the famous Mercado de San Miguel. But if you’re looking for more variety, there are basically two oyster bars in the city center to concern yourself with.
Mohamed, El Puertito’s head shucker, carefully dressing platters for service.
El Puertito
For the largest variety of European oysters in Madrid, arguably across the country, you need to head to El Puertito. (Check out my IG Reel.)
In May 2023, owner-proprietor (and single-ingredient-concept master) Inaz Fernandez opened a second El Puertito location in the heart of Madrid, after having 10 years of success with his original one in Bilbao. We were lucky enough to attend the opening just before moving back to Brooklyn.
El Puertito curates a list of 16 to 24 oyster varieties from France, Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain. You can also find up to three species available at certain times of the year (the Pacific, the Portuguese, and the European native). Open daily from noon to 11 PM (or 12 AM on the weekend), it allows anyone to satiate their oyster and champagne craving at any time. I respect El Puertito because they know what they’re good at and what makes them special. They’re not trying to compete with other more traditional marisquerias or seafood restaurants. That means don’t come here expecting a full-on meal. They specialize in naked oysters, dressed oysters, caviar, addictively good brown bread, butter, and oyster-friendly wines.
The space feels like a hybrid of a yacht club and high-end seafood retailer. To the right, you’ll find an impressive refrigerated case showcasing all of the oyster varieties on the menu, flanked by two bar seating areas. To the left are high-tops and rollable wooden and black metal tables suitable for small or large parties. Despite the room's openness, several corners offer privacy and peace.
I think most people get excited when they are given the long oyster menu, but few realize just how much work it takes to curate and source such a variety. Inaz does not buy his oysters from Mercamadrid, the country’s largest seafood wholesale market (and second largest in the world!). He builds direct relationships with each producer featured on the menu and coordinates transport from the farm to his restaurants. Some of the bigger brands, such as Gillardeau or Ostra Regal, will offer multiple products from different regions or different grades.
I've had many "oyster firsts" at El Puertito Madrid during our residency. During the spring of 2025, they had something truly special on offer. Not only did they have four different European native oysters (Spain, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands), but they also had the coveted green-gilled oysters from Marennes-Oléron. It was such a treat, and I hope others will have the chance to experience this in the future. I also savored my very first Portuguese oyster (Magallana angulata), as well as the gold-foil-sprinkled Ostra Regal Oro from Famille Boutrais.
My “can’t miss this” oyster recommendations at El Puertito:
Utah Beach No. 3 by Gillardeau, Normandy, France — sweet, seaweedy, with a great brine balance
Vernet Spéciale No. 2, Marennes-Oléron, France — rich, savory, and nutty
Amulette by Ostra Regal, Bannow Bay, Ireland — petite but plumpy, eat this one first (do you taste smokiness?)
Tia Maraa by Gillardeau, Ireland — plump, sweet, and buttery
Galicia Especial, Spain — when in season, these are my favorite European natives
El Puertito Madrid
P.º del Gral. Martínez Campos, 42
Chamberí, 28010 Madrid
Google Maps
Me hosting an Oyster Masterclass & Tasting at El Puertito Madrid in English (maybe one day, i’ll be able to do it in Español!)
Ostras Pedrin
Before Madrid had El Puertito, it had Ostras Pedrin. The name is a tongue-in-cheek bit of wordplay. "Ostras" (oysters) served as a clever, Catholic church-approved euphemism to avoid the profanity "hostias.” Pedrín is a retro pop culture nod to a beloved 1950s Spanish adventure comic strip, "Roberto Alcázar y Pedrín.”
In 2021 and 2022, we were regulars of this Brooklyn-esque brick-and-brass establishment. We befriended their top oyster shucker at the time, Alfredo Amat, who has since gone on to become a wine sommelier. Alfredo’s passion and care for oysters was unmatched, and he made every visit truly exceptional.
Like El Puertito, Ostras Pedrin Madrid was also the second location of the original concept, founded in Valencia. (It’s a franchise!) Unlike El Puertito, at least prior to 2026, they focused mostly on Spanish oysters from the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A copy of their December 2025 menu is shown below. While researching this post, I noticed that their procurement strategy appears to have shifted considerably. The menu is now dominated by French varieties, which is a bit of a shame.
If you had visited a few years ago, I would have urged you not to miss the voluptuous Sol Tarbouriech from the Ebro Delta, north of Valencia. It’s a variety farmed by the renowned Tarbouriech family on vertically suspended ropes that are routinely lifted and lowered into the sea to condition the meat (as there’s not much of a tide in the Mediterranean).
Beyond oysters, I'm also fond of the other nibbles at Ostras Pedrín. The house vermouth makes a fabulous pairing with raw oysters, conservas, smoked fish, and huevas, an assortment of cured fish roe such as bottarga.
This year, Ostras Pedrín opened a new location on the northern edge of the upscale Salamanca neighborhood. I'll definitely be stopping by to check it out, likely before heading to dinner at El Pescador, one of my favorite seafood restaurants in the city.
Ostras Pedrin Chamberí
Calle del Cardenal Cisneros, 39
Chamberí, 28010 Madrid, Spain
Google Maps
El Barril de las Letras
This seafood restaurant isn’t oyster-focused, but I found their oyster shucking quality to be fairly good. El Barril is a restaurant group that is tied to a seafood wholesaler, which is always (in my experience) a good sign. This was also the very first place where I tried the native Galician oyster, “Ostra gallega,” and I was blown away.
We’ve taken at least four sets of visiting guests to this particular location, and each time was a success… except I wasn’t impressed by the level of culinary execution in August 2024. I’m going to chalk it up to “the regular staff went on holiday,” and give them the benefit of the doubt.
When you show up to Barril de las Letras, you’ll be handed a rather extensive seafood menu. Don’t skimp on:
Percebes — gooseneck barnacles
Carabineros — jumbo scarlet prawns
Gambas rojo de Dénia — red prawns (shown below), which I might prefer over the pricier carabineros
Chipirones a la plancha — grilled baby squid, a specialty
Centollo or centolla — deep-sea spider crab, either male or female
El Barril de las Letras
Calle de Cervantes, 28
Centro, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Google Maps
Some of the delicacies to be enjoyed at El Boquerón.
Other Oyster Spots to Try in Madrid
El Boquerón — One of our favorite low-key marisquerias in the city. It’s mostly standing room only, but that’s part of the charm. They offer ostras gallega nearly year-round (except in August) and use an eye-catching lever machine to open them. Don’t forget to order the gambas a la plancha.
La Paloma — Similar to El Boquerón in style and price. They have some of the most affordable ostras gallegas I’ve found anywhere. Try some bigaros (periwinkles) with a small caña of beer.
Ostras Sorlut — When dining around the chicest restaurants in Spain, you’ll likely come across Sorlut oysters, a Marennes-Oléron-based producer with one hell of a brand advocacy and culinary training team. You can try all of their grades at the standalone bar in Mercado de San Miguel.
El Pescador — One of my favorite upscale seafood restaurants in Madrid never disappoints. Make a booking about a week in advance, as it’s likely busy during prime hours.
Restaurante Ogrelo — Another upscale Galician-style seafood restaurant with a more casual downstairs bar. They’ll likely have the native oysters available during the season. I especially like their house Verdejo and Godello.
