Pablo Álvaro
Chef who co-founded Umiko, a Japanese-Spanish restaurant in Madrid, running its kitchen until it closed in December 2025.
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Pablo Álvaro Marcos co-founded Umiko, a Japanese-Spanish restaurant in Madrid's Cortes neighbourhood, with Juan Alcaide in 2015. He started at the Hotel Hesperia, then developed his Japanese cooking at Kabuki Presidente Carmona and KBK Aravaca, where he met Alcaide, and trained on trips to Thailand, Japan, Dubai, Peru, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the United States. At Umiko he helped win two Repsol Soles folding Spanish produce into a sushi-bar format. The restaurant closed unexpectedly in December 2025 amid a partnership dispute, and reopened in September 2026 under the management of Experience Group.
From @pabloalvarochef on Instagram
🍴Umiko🍴☀️☀️(4/4) 📌 Madrid (zona Centro) 💰 178 €/p 🍽️ Placer-precio: ⚡️10⚡️ 📝 Mi japo favorito, con una selección de sushi riquísima, muy original y una sección de platos fusión que fueron una pasada. Homenaje total en el que pedimos varios entrantes y prácticamente todos los nigiris que tienen, poni
🍴Umiko🍴☀️☀️(2/4) 📌 Madrid (zona Centro) 💰 178 €/p 🍽️ Placer-precio: ⚡️10⚡️ 📝 Mi japo favorito, con una selección de sushi riquísima muy original y una sección de platos fusión que fueron una pasada. Homenaje total en el que pedimos varios entrantes y prácticamente todos sus nigiris, poniéndonos en s
🍴Umiko🍴☀️☀️(1/4) 📌 Madrid (zona Centro) 💰 178 €/p 🍽️ Placer-precio: ⚡️10⚡️ 📝 Mi japo favorito, con una selección de sushi riquísima, muy original y una sección de platos fusión que fueron una pasada. Homenaje total en el que pedimos varios entrantes y prácticamente todos los nigiris que tienen, poni
Biography
Career
Pablo Álvaro Marcos began his career at the Hotel Hesperia before developing his interest in Japanese cuisine at Kabuki Presidente Carmona, where he learned multiple preparation techniques, and at KBK Aravaca, where he met Juan Alcaide. He trained further on trips to Thailand, Japan, Dubai, Peru, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the United States. In 2015 he and Alcaide founded Umiko together on Calle Madrazo in Madrid, later moving it to a larger space on the same street. The restaurant went on to hold two Repsol Soles. It closed unexpectedly on December 6, 2025, during its tenth-anniversary year, over what the founders called "discrepancias en la sociedad," a partnership dispute, and the affiliated pastry shop Umikobake and hand-roll bar Umaki closed with it. Umiko reopened on September 24, 2026 on Calle de los Madrazo under the management of Experience Group, which took over after the dispute.
Philosophy
At Umiko, Álvaro and Juan Alcaide reinterpreted Japanese cooking through a Mediterranean sensibility, folding Spanish produce into a sushi-bar format: nigiri built on paella socarrat, a porra madrileña reworked with gallina en pepitoria, and ramen with carabinero, sourced from wild bluefin from the Strait, Galician day-boat fish and wagyu.
Restaurants
Pablo Álvaro in our guides
Editorial guides featuring Pablo Álvaro’s restaurants.
Accolades
- ·Two Repsol Soles, Umiko
Frequently asked
Who is Pablo Álvaro?
Pablo Álvaro Marcos is the chef who co-founded Umiko, a Japanese-Spanish restaurant in Madrid, with Juan Alcaide in 2015, running its kitchen until it closed in December 2025.
Where did Pablo Álvaro train?
He started at the Hotel Hesperia, then developed his Japanese cooking at Kabuki Presidente Carmona and KBK Aravaca, and trained further on trips to Thailand, Japan, Dubai, Peru, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the United States.
Is Umiko still open?
Umiko closed unexpectedly in December 2025 amid a partnership dispute. It reopened on September 24, 2026 under the management of Experience Group, which took over after the dispute.
Did Umiko have a Repsol Sol rating?
Yes. It held two Repsol Soles under Pablo Álvaro and Juan Alcaide during its first decade.
Who founded Umiko?
Pablo Álvaro Marcos and Juan Alcaide founded Umiko together in Madrid in 2015, after meeting while both worked at Kabuki restaurants.
What happened to Umiko?
It closed unexpectedly on December 6, 2025, during its tenth-anniversary year, citing a partnership dispute, and reopened in September 2026 under the management of Experience Group.