Rocacho — Restaurant in Madrid

Dinner with friends. We ordered a selection of starters. Everything was good except the jamon came with some breadsticks that might as well have come out of a packet. We ordered about 4kg of beef from a "working cow" for seven people. Upon enquiry, this just means a cow that was able to roam around. The term "working" is historic. The meat was shown to us before it was cooked. Given the quantity of bone and fat, this was a good amount with me struggling to finish it off for everyone else, as usual. The meat was truly excellent. The fries came on the side at €6 euros per plate were no better than supermarket oven chips. Likewise, the piquillo pimientos at €9 per plate were no different than ones I would have got out of a jar. Possibly I would have rated this as 4 stars. The environment and service let it down though. The chair I sat in had a cigarette burn in it. Given you can't smoke indoors, the chair must've been very old. The tablecloth wasn't clean. The wine list was taken away when we ordered our first drinks, not sure why. When the meat arrived, no condiments were offered. There was a sideboard a couple of metres away from us with condiments: salt pepper, mustard, etc. This wasn't offered to us, we helped ourselves. The meat came pre-sliced on two large platters, only one of them had serving utensils on it. I could overlook any one of those things, when you are charging around €120 per person ( we opted for the meat that was €95/kg, €180/kg also available), I expect the establishment to get (almost) everything right. Once the main course was delivered, the staff let us to our own devices in one corner until it was time for digestif. They put up with our fairly heavy drinking (we were loud but not rude), very friendly.

Overall, it was a nice dinner but overpriced by about 50% given my criticisms above. My recommendation to management is to try to re-evaluate the overall experience with a critical eye and try to sharpen things up so that customers feel the high prices...

I'm not quite sure how this restaurant does not have a single Michelin star. The service was impeccable and I would have been satisfied enough to award a Michelin star on that alone. Unfortunately, I understand that is not how this works. The phenomenal experience started with an amuse-bouche served to me while I was reviewing the menu. I was told that it was a quinoa salad and it certainly was a good one. Amuse-bouche translates to 'amuse-mouth' and I can pretty confidently say that my mouth was amused enough to look for more from Rocacho. The mini quinoa salad was paired with a white wine (verdejo) by recommendation from the maître d'. Another server came by to take my order and via recommendation, I ended up ordering a cod appetizer, followed by the entrana de buey, and the tarta fina de manza. The steak was perhaps the best cut of meat I've ever tried. It was absolutely cooked to a perfect rare and the flavor was unimaginable. There was a taste of char complemented by the seasoning. Even the salt that was brought over added an extra flavor to the dish. I had this with the pimientos de piquil and a glass of cosme wine. All fantastic. The dessert was equally great, but the most impressive part was the way I was tended to by the staff. Once I ordered the dessert, the server came by and provided me with his recommendation for a paired wine. I happily asked for a glass and it was an interesting thick wine, almost of spanish vermouth color/texture. Very good. Once I had finished, he brought me a digestif and by now I have had my fill. This meal was plentiful but not overbearing on the stomach and best of all, the bill was something I could easily stomach. Certainly not a cheap restaurant when you think of tapas restaurants in Madrid, however definitely not as expensive as DiverXO nearby (3 Michelin stars) and you still get Michelin star calibre service. I would highly recommend any visitor to stop by this restaurant if ever in the Chamartin...

Tanto quedando con amigos como en reuniones de trabajo, siempre que puedo intento escoger donde cenar. Mis acompañantes me indicaron que tenían ganas de comer buena carne, así que acudimos a este restaurante que tenía pendiente de ir. Se encuentra en Padre Damián, frente al Diverxo (que recuerdos 🤩). Es un local con un terraza cubierta y varias zonas en su interior con bastantes mesas. Si tuviera que describir el sitio con dos palabras serían lujo y moderno.

El trato recibido es digno de mencionar. Hay suficiente personal, sueles tener algún empleado al alcance y son muy serviciales, tanto para tomar nota como aconsejar. Procedo a detallaros que cosas comí y posteriormente "Lo mejor" y "lo peor" junto a mi opinión general:

1️⃣ Chuleta de Vaca de Trabajo (90 días de Maduración] 95€ 1 Kg]. Muestra de la carne que nos iban a preparar. Pesaba 1,3 Kg. Valoración en la próxima foto.

2️⃣ Croquetas de Gamba Roja [12,50€]. Cada vez que veo que en un sitio no hay Croquetas de Jamón pego un brinco. Estas estaban deliciosas, con una cobertura fina y crujiente. El relleno a mí me hubiera gustado algo más intenso de sabor (que no quiere decir que no sepa a nada). A mis 2 acompañantes les gustaron muchísimo. Recomendadas 👌🏼

3️⃣ Steak Tartar de Buey [34€]. Precio algo caro para el plato que es, imagino que será por el proveedor de la carne.. Preparado a la vista; a 2 metros de nuestra mesa. Sabiendo que 3 días antes había probado el de @candelirestaurante y era pura mostaza este nos supo a gloria. No obstante tampoco ha quedado en mi recuerdo como un Steak Tartar excelente de esos en los que te pegas con los demás por las cantidades.

4️⃣ Chuleta de Vaca de Trabajo (90 días de Maduración. Nuestro caso 1,3 Kg [118,75]. Era la más 🔝 de la carta. Como pasa en la mayor parte de sitios, de lo que pesa a lo que te sirven hay un mundo (por hueso y grasa). Precio alto en comparación a otros sitios pero sabor muy muy bueno. Supera con creces las de mis últimas visitas. Se agrace que estuviera bien cortada. Acompañada de patatas (aunque pocas) y pimientos con un toque dulce para chuparse los dedos. El único pero que la sal no estaba del todo uniforme y había diferencias entre un trozo y otro.

5️⃣ Cheesecake [7,50€]: Regular. Peca de lo mismo que muchos sitios: exceso de galleta. A todos nos gusta, pero si de una tarta de queso 1/2 es galleta le quita la gracia.

6️⃣ Torrija [7,50€]: sin más. No causo mucho entusiasmo en ninguno de nosotros 3.

7️⃣ Tarta fina de Manzana 🍏 [7,50€]: el borde quemado no da muy buena presentación. Bastante pobre en cantidad de sabor. Helado de Frambuesa bien (pedí este para variar de el típico de Vainilla). Postre prescindible.

✅ Lo mejor: Local (cómodo, espacioso, decoración bonita, los baños huelen bien) y el trato por parte de todo el personal. Se respira buen ambiente y eso un cliente lo nota. La carne no es la mejor de el mundo, pero para lo que llevo visitado este año está en los puestos altos (cosa que no quita que en futuras visitas sea superada).

❌ Lo peor: Pese a estar hechos al momento, los postres han sido la decepción de la cena. Ninguno de los 3 nos terminó de convencer, pese a ser platos típicos. Otro sitio más en el que cobran Pan y Aperitivo (3€ por cabeza). Algo con lo que me declaro muy en contra. El coste de pan y aperitivo para el restaurante es mínimo, para el consumidor 3€ pers no es mucho en comparación con la cuenta entera, pero.. ¿Y el gesto? Queda fatal.

Me llevo buen recuerdo carnívoro de este restaurante. He podido disfrutar de una cena tranquilo sin ponerme de los nervios por si había despistes o algo salía mal. El trato ha sido encantador. La cuenta ha salido alta. Justificada en ciertas partes, por otras no. No es el mejor asador de Madrid, pero si te gusta variar de sitios como a mí es una opción a considerar.

¡Hasta la próxima cena!...