Interesting concept for a restaurant, but ultimately I felt that the experience and taste fell a bit short, especially for a Michelin star restaurant. In terms of food, there were some great components--the snout was super tender and the sauce that came with it was very flavorful. However, I found that some of the other dishes were chewy in texture, and that the refinement of the flavorful was lacking for a menu of this price. The idea of using offal for dessert is certainly interesting, but it felt like they were adding ingredients for the sake of creativity, and felt like they didn't actually belong in the dish. I had an early reservation compared to local dining habits, so the restaurant was very empty during my dinner. This probably contributed somewhat to the service feeling a bit uncomfortable, but overall it was a bit cold and it felt like the staff were staring me down as I ate my meal. read more

La Tasqueria - duck hearts - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

We stayed at the Hotel Sardinero in Chambri where there are more Michelin Star restaurants within a few minutes walk than there are within an 8 hour drive of where we live in Milwaukee. But most of them average a months pay but this one is only a little expensive (under 200 Euro for two). We were able to make reservations on their website, it's very close to the Nuevos Minesterios Metro station, though you need to pay attention to signs, that is a huge station. Near a beautiful high end shopping mall if you need a Rolex or the like. When we got to the restaurant it seemed oddly familiar, yes we knew it from Eva Longoria's travel through Spain limited series. In the Madrid episode she looked like she really enjoyed the food here in spite of the fact that it is locally sourced offal. Of course she's an actress but it turns out she wasn't acting, the chef is a brilliant creative Spanish chef who has been inspired by traditional rural cooking from poor areas that learned to make every part of farm animals and weeds taste good. The many courses sound pretty scary but try to ignore what they are made of and savor the unique complex flavors, it's ecstasy. Unlike high class restaurants in the States, a couple of glasses of good wine will not significantly add to the bill. Don't fill up on the delicious bread. Even dessert was a complicated combination of flavors I've never encountered and I've eaten a lot of different meals around the world. Every course was a work of art, visually and to taste. A place like this is why I don't like to dole out 5 star reviews like that's the norm. This is a definite 5 YELP star dining experience. The chef and many of the staff from the television show were here, his book is for sale and he will autograph it. However if it puts you even a kilo over your luggage limit, TAP Air Portugal will nail you with a 100 Euro fee. read more

La Tasqueria - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

See all

This place does some amazing things with offal, but ultimately is a bit too clever for its own good - why not just make delicious food with regular ingredients instead of making average tasting (or experimental) food with unique ingredients. A good example of this is their "best dish" is a shrimp over pork taco, which is basically a dish made with regular ingredients that is delicious. I get that's the concept, and I get it at scale (don't waste the other parts of the animal), but if it's just to prove you can... I mean, if you could make something that tasted sort of like a hamburger out of concrete I think I would just get a hamburger. read more

See all

I have a funny story about this place. I like going to at least once nice-ish meal each time I'm in a new city. My travel companion, who booked this, did not tell me the name of the restaurant beforehand. I was completely in the dark. Upon walking into the restaurant at 8:30pm, when they open, we were the first ones there, and were presented with a menu. So........ La Tasqueria's specialty is, erm, offal (this is more punny if you pronounce offal as "awful", since I'm not sure exactly how to pronounce this...). All offal. This was a surprise to all (there was not adequate research done beforehand, apparently). Now, I do love me some tongue (and the tongue appetizer they had was amazing)....and the pate from the tasting menu was one of the best things I've ever had. This was just...unexpected. And totally on us for not realizing. But we figured, what the hell, they specialize in offal, it must be offal-ly good. And it really was. The tasting menu was 4-5 dishes, and like I said, the pate was one of the best things I had ever put in my mouth. I could eat that all day. There was also sweetbread, which I thought at first was brain, but turns out it's throat glands (like, thyroid). This was delicious as well.....but I'll admit, we both had a hard time psychologically getting over the fact that it was...offal. The last dish was a stew made of cheeks (I can't remember if it was sheep or cow or pork), and this was my biggest regret -- I was SO full I could only take a few bites, because it was so heavy, but the stew was hot and flavorful and sticky, and just, delicious. I wish I had the stomach for it. They also had a cheese dish (we ended up taking home the cheese) and dessert. All in all, a really interesting and unique experience! Service was great. (From January 2020) read more

Like Brad M., my boyfriend and I also decided to make this our last meal in Spain. After two weeks roaming around this lovely country, we decided to end our trip with a Michelin star restaurant. It did not disappoint. We got the biggest tasting menu and honestly for the price you pay, it was a steal compared to other Michelin star places we've been to. Around $250 for two tasting menus, a bottle of wine, two extra cocktails beforehand and tip. I'm honestly trying to think of a stand out dish and I loved them all (with the exception of the liver salad). Yes, the pig's head was great, but so were the tripe stew, the duck heart, and the desserts. And unlike a lot of fine dining establishments, we left so incredibly full. I mean, I was unable to finish my stew and it still keeps me up at night. It's always such a humbling experience to be able to eat at one of the city's finest restaurant. They definitely deserve their star. read more

La Tasqueria - My beautiful stew that I was unable to finish for being so full - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

To our surprise we were able to get last-minute reservations to this place on a Friday night for our last dinner in Spain. We wanted to make sure it was memorable, and this menu looked crazy interesting, so we gave it a shot. They didn't disappoint at all. They offer 3 levels of pre fixe menus depending on your hunger. We went for the biggest option (again, final dinner in Spain). It started easy enough, with a foie gras and cacao macron, thinly shaved beef tongue, and a crispy cod skin filled with a salted cod mousse. From there it ramped up, with an amazing partridge/chicken kidney/beef tongue pate, a sweetbread ravioli (incredible), pork cheek and red prawn taco, and lamb hearts with raspberry. Everything was so full of flavor, perfectly seasoned, and was a perfect progression from dish to dish. After the small plates were done, we moved into the large plate portion, which featured the whole, fried suckling pig head. Perfectly sticky with collagen and fat and generously salted, the meat absolutely dissolved on your tongue; so tender. As it's the head, it was a very fatty dish. But the pearls of meat to be found were out of this world. Thinking we were done (the pig head has to be the culmination, right?), we were surprised with another large plate: a tripe stew in a rich, thick, deeply flavorful gravy that followed the fatty, salty pig perfectly. If we weren't stuffed to the gills already, we would have licked the bowl clean. After the dinner was cleared away, we were given a small cheese course followed by 2 desserts: a lemon curd on shortbread with mango sorbet and a pistachio mousse atop creme patisserie with yuzu sorbet. Both desserts were right in our wheelhouse, so even as full as we were we cleaned the plate. Such amazing technique on both dishes. I can't recommend chef Javi Estevez or his team enough. The chef personally presented a couple of the dishes to the table. They were knowledgeable, helpful when they needed to be, and kept the progression going at the perfect pace. Just the best final dinner experience we could have asked for in Spain. Sincere thanks to the whole crew. read more

See all

A unique eating experience, be prepared to venture out of your comfort zone, way out. Wonderful experience, great service and cocktails and all the preparations are very unique and on the cutting edge read more

La Tasqueria - Suckling pig - Spanish Near Me - Madrid, M

Billed as "Offal haute cuisine with a laid-back, casual touch" La Tasquería de Javi Estévez has made a big enough name for itself to earn accolades from Michelin, no small feat considering the modest products nor low prices for a seven-course tasting menu. Opened in February 2015 as something of a love letter to Spanish Gastronomy, awards at Madrid Fusión followed by Bib Gourmand status and subsequently the first star, 2021 sees La Tasquería still trailblazing in an attempt to reinvent "Offal's elegant side." All wood around an open kitchen, Spanish-exclusive service an oddity in such an acclaimed space, it was seated next to two Americans that the €55 menu was selected, an attempt to order the Suckling Pig's Head refuted as the €75 menu is designed for two persons even though this diner was happy to pay extra. Not busy until around 21:30, typical of Spain regardless of Restaurant, dinner began with Bread and Snacks, the former nothing to brag about save for excellent Olive Oil while the night's opening trio spanned the palate from crunchy Anchovy Skin to silky Beef Tongue and an unctuous Foie Gras Macaron. Rooted in tradition but driven by technique, Partridge Pate finding its foil in Apple and Pork Tongue spread on Toast, Sweetbread Ravioli features delicate handmade Pasta and intense Bolognese with a bit of Bechamel to soften the funk. Lacking lengthy descriptions due to the language barrier, though Duck Heart and Corn needed no introduction amidst flawless Bordelaise, Tripe comes in a sizable portion with textbook texture and the sort of aromatics that could make a fan out of the timid. Only able to identify two of four Cheeses by taste and eyes, with the Blue undeniably strong, La Tasquería's menu ended with Lemon Curd and Meringue atop Graham Cracker Crumbles plus Mango Ice Cream on the side. read more

See all

Love the concept here, casual interior with open kitchen, humble but they have a Michelin star! Some dishes I love some I dont, The Beef Tongue was amazing! The texture of the beef was so smooth not like the typical beef tongue. The sauce they had was creamy but not too heavy. Patriage Pate - some kind of bird I believe, it's interesting a bit similar to liver Pate. Pork Trotter - sadly I didn't like this dish. The sauce was thick and tasted like Mexican bean flavor, with Trotter was already fatty and thinly sliced, it almost got merged into the sauce and all together was just too heavy and fatty texture. Cod Tripe & Mussel Fideua - love love love! The only place I had the thicker Fideua in my Spain trip but I love how chewy it was. Flavor was great and so delicious. Towards the bottom of the dish might be too heavy and slimy (I assumed it's from the tripe) but it was fine with me. We tried all 4 of their vermouth as well. Would definitely recommend the experience here. read more

See all

First of all, the food we were able to receive was amazing. We walked in right at opening time, without reservations and were offered a table, but we were required to be out within 1.5 hours. No problem, we ordered the quick tasting menu and the infamous candied, dried suckling pig head dish. 15 minute into our experience, another waiter stopped by to say that he canceled our pig head because it was going to take at least an hour. We had the time, but apparently they did not. I've been to several Michelin restaurants across Europe and I must say, this is the only spot where I felt judged. What I me is, from the start the hostess asked us to review the menu first to make sure we knew the cost. We explained this was not our first experience at a Michelin restaurant to which she smiled and led us to our table. On e the tasting began, it was a rush. No explanation of what things were or how we should enjoy the dish. Very frustrating. If you read my reviews, I'm not a jerk in writing these things, but this is a Michelin star restaurant, so my expectations are a bit higher when it comes to service. In reviewing the experiences of others, I felt obligated to share my experience as well. Please do better with service. Not a great experience. read more

I'm doing this after the fact because I don't want to be that tourist that seems to want to let folks know they're being reviewed. I sought out La Tasqueria for two reasons: it's recent win of a Michelin Star and its use of nose-to-tail cooking. I'm a big fan of folks who can cook and use ingredients others eschew, especially in neighborhood restaurants where locals are likely to eat everything the buy as well. It reminds me of things I learned from Saint Bourdain, rest his soul, about not eating what people have to provide. Sure, it's different here in that they made a business of it, but the cuisine is true and authentic here. Upscale? Sure. Technique and ingredients. Incredibly talented kitchen staff? Definitely. Strong leadership from Javi? Absolutely. The food? Order what looks good. Eat it all. Enjoy. Savor. GO SLOW (I'm talking to you, fellow Americans!). You'll be richly rewarded in taste and experience. read more

This is definitely my favorite restaurant in Madrid, they are wild enough to make anything into best food, and the sauces they make are so creative ! Every time I am here, I always can find big nice surprises , the chef just evolve the food in different level! read more

See all

THIS PLACE DOES NOT REALLY SERVE COMMON MEATS/ORGANS. so this place has a michelin star but what i guess i didn't read was that its all primarily offal meats, the ones you never think of: pig's nose, pigs tail, beef liver, etc etc. thats on me though for not reading it thoroughly which is why i dont give it 3 stars. the prep didn't make up for it in my own personal opinion of one. staff was amazing and super supportive. service in spain seems to be slower than the states but you get used to it. this place though was faster than most. JEANS: OK by far ORDER: wait staff read more

See all

Amazing. Super high quality food and surprisingly affordable. I thought everything was delicious.

My favorite meal of our trip. Super interesting combinations from duck tongue, tripe, snails, rabbit, pig ears....delicious. If you think you don't like offal, you need to try this place. It will blow you away! The service was on point and our server paired everything perfectly. Callos and Manzanilla Sherry, who would think? Me encanto Madrid. Hasta la proxima. read more

An exceptional restaurant focused in offal. This Michelin star restaurant tabs to the rich madrid taberna's tradition of cooking with offal, with a contemporary twist. The space is really beautifully designed in a very nice street in one of the quietest areas of Salamanca district. read more

Michelin star restaurant. Wonderful service and food was superb ! Came on the recommendation of travel and food magazine José andres . Love love love this place!!! read more

Run into a restaurant that happens to cook animal intestines. The dishes are delicately cooked and marinated well. Worth trying.

One of the greatest experience I've had in the past years. A place for real foodies, pigs tongue, rabbit brains, sheep tongue tacos, pigs feet, sheep brains. Great Hospitality. read more

What a great find..hidden treasure..need to be a bit adventures but the food is Michelin star quality. Javier Estevez does a magical spin on food. The staff is friendly. ...don't miss this place. read more

Absolutely the best meal I had in Spain during a recent vacation. Everything I ate, drank was superb. The staff was very accomodating to a hungry traveller. With a little Spanish, a little English, I was treated to a wonderful vist and meal. La Tasqueria, a play on words for a cascaria (a restaurant that serves animal organs or offal cuisine) caters to the adventuresome eaters. I am one. They did not have bull testicles, which was my primary focus. Apparently, there is a season for the cajohes. Oh well. With the help of a staff member, I ordered the following: I was given some bread and 4 slices of dried pig's tongue; partridge liver pate with butter, onions and oloroso sherry served chilled; pig tail with eel and a Basque cheese in a reduced jus in which the tails were cooked. All was superb but the knock out dish was a hearty stew: trotters, snouts and tripe with ham and chorizo in a spicy broth. Utterly fantastic. I was given a shot of lemoncello for the road. An unforgettable meal and experience. read more