The dish arrives still bubbling. Plump shrimp are briefly cooked in excellent Spanish olive oil infused with raw garlic slivers. You pull each shrimp from the oil with a toothpick, eat it, then drink a little of the garlicky oil. This method — unchanged since 1906 — is the only way to make gambas al ajillo.
Tips from diners
Order a double portion (17.50€). A single portion looks small but is meant to be shared or eaten standing at the counter quickly.
Stand at the counter, not at a table. Watch the kitchen fry your shrimp in the open kitchen and chat with locals.
Have a cold beer ready when the gambas arrive — the heat of the oil and the cold beer are inseparable. Ask the bartender to pour while you eat.
Toasted bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil.
Tips from diners
Ask for extra bread to dip into the leftover gambas oil. This is the point of the whole meal.
Small glass of local lager, the standard pairing.
Tips from diners
A double gambas, a beer, and bread costs 30€ total. The most Madrid lunch possible.
Another garlic-forward classic. Salt cod is desalted and cooked in olive oil at a low temperature while being stirred to emulsify the oil. The result is creamy, garlicky, and completely different from the fried bacalao at Casa Labra.
Tips from diners
Order this if the gambas queue is too long. Just as good, less crowded, and equally iconic.
Large shrimp grilled on a hot plate with salt and olive oil.
Tips from diners
A lighter option if you want to taste shrimp without the garlic oil intensity. Still excellent.
La Casa del Abuelo opened in 1906 on Calle de la Victoria as a single standing bar. For 115 years, it has been serving the same dish: live shrimp cooked in olive oil, garlic, and parsley, served sizzling in terracotta casseroles. The Victoria location is the original — a tiny, packed-shoulder bar where locals crowd at high counters, pulling shrimp from bubbling oil with toothpicks. This is the purest Madrid tapa.
The Victoria location is tiny, standing-room only, and packed. Don't expect a table. The experience IS the standing bar, the noise, and the speed.
Push into the bar, catch the bartender's eye, and order. Everyone is eating standing up quickly. No reservations, no planning, just show up.
The bar fits maybe 15 people at a time. Groups may need to split or come during off-peak hours (3-5 PM). Evenings are very crowded.
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