Antonio Couceiro

The Path

Before Madrid, the craft was built in Galicia. Antonio Couceiro worked as chef at A Penela until 2008 and as chef at El Refugio de Oleiros, Galicia until 2008, two posts that established the habits of line work, repetition, and timing that define professional cooking. From 2008, he worked as a cook in Madrid, carrying that background into a new city and a different pace of service. The progression is straightforward: chef in Galicia, cook in Madrid, then a return to the lead role at Garelos since 2020.

The Work Today

At Garelos since 2020, the emphasis is on continuity rather than reinvention. Antonio Couceiro’s cooking here is rooted in recognizable Galician food, served with the confidence that comes from having worked the same traditions across different rooms and roles. The value is in precision, familiarity, and the ability to keep regional dishes legible in Madrid.

Signature

Antonio's signature dishes include tortilla estilo Betanzos, empanadas gallegas, and Ternera asada La Penela. Each one points back to a different part of the same working vocabulary: tortilla estilo Betanzos with its clear regional marker, empanadas gallegas as a standard bearer for Galician home and restaurant cooking, and Ternera asada La Penela as a direct link to one of the earlier kitchens in his career. Taken together, they show a cook working within a defined tradition and keeping that tradition visible on the plate.

In Their Words “The name of the business comes from Betanzos; that is what those of us born there are called.”