A humble Madrid classic transformed. Tripe is simmered long enough to become silken, then combined with blood sausage, trotters, snouts, chorizo, sofrito vegetables, tomatoes, and chickpeas. The stew is rich, warming, and deeply savoury — comfort food refined through ingredient quality and technique without losing its earthiness.
Tips from diners
This is generous portions — order to share or go light on appetizers. The stew is hearty and meant to satisfy.
La Tasquería's signature dish — a whole pig's head treated as sculpture and feast simultaneously. Poached overnight in olive oil, it becomes fork-tender. Then deep-fried to crisp the skin while keeping the interior delicate. The meat is pulled from the bone at table. Nose-to-tail cooking made both visually arresting and surprisingly refined.
Tips from diners
Ask the server to show you the head before cooking — the presentation is part of the experience. Bring an adventurous mindset and bibs if you're a neat eater.
This is the showstopper. Order it and make it your main. Pair with a Rioja — the richness of the meat wants a wine with body and tannin.
Perhaps the most visually unusual offal dish — cockscombs are gelatinous and tender once braised. Estévez pairs them with brown butter (nutty, sweet) and lemon (bright, clean). The result is silken texture with refined flavour contrast. A challenge and a revelation.
Tips from diners
Order the tasting menu if you want to experience Estévez's vision fully — it flows through beef, lamb, pork, and poultry offal. À la carte works, but the menu shows his craft more clearly.
Offal at its most textural. Duck hearts are small and mineral-rich. Estévez sears them hard to develop a caramelized crust while leaving the inside pink and tender. A simple plate — hearts, perhaps a sauce or garnish — that showcases the ingredient's natural beauty and the kitchen's restraint.
Tips from diners
If you're new to offal, start here — duck heart is mild, tender, and won't challenge your comfort zone too severely. The flavour is rich but not gamey.
Lamb tongue has a delicate, fine texture and mild flavour compared to beef tongue. Braised until fork-tender, it's paired with a vibrant salsa verde — parsley, garlic, vinegar, olive oil — that cuts through the richness and brightens the plate. A gateway dish into nose-to-tail cuisine.
Tips from diners
Share this with others at the table — offal dishes at La Tasquería are designed for tasting multiple preparations.
Chef Javi Estévez appeared on Spanish Top Chef in 2013, finishing fifth, and opened La Tasquería in 2015 to elevate offal into fine dining. The restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2019 and has maintained it through 2024. In March 2024, it relocated from Salamanca to Chamberí, near Nuevos Ministerios. Estévez's commitment is radical: every part of the animal — lamb tongue, duck hearts, cockscombs, pig's head, tripe — is honoured through technique and love. The kitchen wastes nothing.
Reserve ahead, especially for dinner. The restaurant is small and fills quickly. Lunch (13:30-15:30) is quieter than dinner. Call +34 914 51 10 00 to confirm availability.
Three tasting menus are available: 4-course (price ~€55), 5-course (~€70), and 'The Menu' where Estévez tests your offal knowledge. À la carte lets you customize. The menu lasts 1.5-2 hours — shorter than fine dining elsewhere.
Come with curiosity, not expectations. Offal tastes different — mineral, earthy, textural. The kitchen's approach is to celebrate these qualities, not hide them. Every server knows how to explain each dish.
At €20-40 per plate, this is one-Michelin-star fine dining at accessible prices. Lunch is even less expensive. You're getting world-class technique at reasonable cost.
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