Óscar Velasco
Co-chef of VelascoAbellà in Madrid, named Best Chef of Madrid at the 2025 ACYRE awards after two decades leading Santceloni's kitchen.
- Michelin stars
1- Repsol Soles
2- Restaurants
- 1
Óscar Velasco is co-chef and co-founder of VelascoAbellà in Madrid, a partnership with pastry chef Montse Abellà that holds a Michelin star (won in the 2025 guide, kept in 2026) and two Repsol Soles. Before opening VelascoAbellà in 2023, he spent close to two decades as head chef at Santceloni, the two-Michelin-star Madrid restaurant that closed in 2020. Born in Segovia, he trained at the Escuela de Hostelería Ángel de Alcázar and began his career at Zalacaín. In 2007 he won the National Gastronomy Award for Best Head Chef, and in 2025 he was named Best Chef of Madrid at the ACYRE awards.
Biography
Early years
Velasco was born in Segovia and trained at the Escuela de Hostelería Ángel de Alcázar, starting his professional career at Zalacaín in Madrid.
Career
He spent close to two decades as head chef at Santceloni in Madrid, working under the tutelage of Santi Santamaría; the restaurant held two Michelin stars and three Repsol Soles before it closed in 2020. In 2023, together with pastry chef Montse Abellà, who ran the pastry section at Santceloni for the same period, he opened VelascoAbellà in Madrid's Hispanoamérica neighbourhood, in the Chamartín district. The restaurant won its first Michelin star in the 2025 guide, a star it kept in 2026, plus a second Repsol Sol, within roughly a year and a half of opening. In May 2025 the Asociación de Cocineros y Reposteros de Madrid (ACYRE) named him Best Chef of Madrid at its 52nd annual awards, held at the Real Casa de Correos.
Philosophy
VelascoAbellà is described by the chefs as personal, creative cooking in which the product comes above all else. The tasting menu is built to show the essence of Velasco's cooking across six savoury courses and two desserts, and the à la carte runs from a semi-roasted tomato soup to hake with Maresme peas and John Dory with lentils and bone broth.
Restaurants
Óscar Velasco in our guides
Editorial guides featuring Óscar Velasco’s restaurants.
Accolades
- ·National Gastronomy Award, Best Head Chef (2007)
- ·Two Michelin stars and three Repsol Soles at Santceloni, until its 2020 closure
- ·One Michelin star, VelascoAbellà
- ·Two Repsol Soles, VelascoAbellà
- ·Best Chef of Madrid, ACYRE (2025)
Frequently asked
Does Óscar Velasco have a Michelin star?
Yes. VelascoAbellà, the Madrid restaurant he runs with Montse Abellà, won a Michelin star in the 2025 guide and kept it in 2026. It also holds two Repsol Soles.
Did Óscar Velasco work at Santceloni?
Yes. He was head chef at Santceloni in Madrid for close to two decades, until the restaurant closed in 2020. Santceloni held two Michelin stars during that time.
Who runs VelascoAbellà?
Óscar Velasco and Montse Abellà run VelascoAbellà together, a partnership that began when both worked at Santceloni: Velasco in the kitchen, Abellà in pastry.
Where did Óscar Velasco train?
At Madrid's Escuela de Hostelería Ángel de Alcázar. He started his career at Zalacaín, then spent close to two decades as head chef of Santceloni, working under the tutelage of Santi Santamaría.
Where is VelascoAbellà located?
In Madrid's Hispanoamérica neighbourhood, in the Chamartín district, at Calle Víctor Andrés Belaunde, 25. Velasco and Abellà opened it there in June 2023.
Where is Óscar Velasco from?
He's from Segovia. He won Spain's National Gastronomy Award for Best Head Chef in 2007 and was named Best Chef of Madrid at the 2025 ACYRE awards.