coque, madrid, spain.
march 2025
we celebrated james’s birthday in madrid at coque, a two michelin star spot in the almagro neighborhood.
the cocktail room.
welcome drink.
the beginning of the meal progressed through several rooms, starting with a welcome drink and a couple bites in the cocktail room.
galician oyster, jalapeno essence, frozen bloody mary pearls.
taco of corn and black sesame crystals with chickpea miso and foie gras flakes.
followed by a couple more decadent preparations in the onix room - a macallan themed room.
macallan / onix room.
gelee of acorn-fed iberian ham; marrow of cured iberian ham with sea urchin and osetra caviar.
we were then brought to a beautiful wine cellar for bubbles and macarons, followed by a dark sacristy for more vintage/special sips and bites.
stunning wine cellar.
cava and mararons: red wine polyphenol with fermented garlic and torta del casar, pedro ximenez grape.
fancy pour of palomino vino in the sacristy.
psyllium leaf with wild bull steak tartar in aged mustard sauce; sausage of wild bull with oak-smoked butter.
vintage bottles in the sacristy.
our last stop before actually being seated was an open kitchen for some mahou beer and more bites.
special mahau tasting.
iberian pork pluma in blond paprika marinade with sherry vinegar.
pheasant stew tart with crunch almond.
after all of that, we were finally seated! the creativity and visual spectacle were top notch, with fun and contemporary plating for every course. and the food was as delicious as it as pretty.
dining room.
black truffle fritter with manchego cheese essense.
atlantic red prawn, head butter with mustard and tapioca, bottarga and ling roe, pickles, mole verde poblano.
back side of plate for atlantic red prawn.
i still think about the prawn dish a year and a half later, it was probably the best thing i ate the entire trip.
roasted pumpkin ravioli, hazelnut, chestnuts, osetra caviar, bergamot sauce, chanterelles, beef marrow bearnaise.
wild matured sea bass, spicy squid sauce, cassava, cumin, crispy corn, flying fish roe.
pedrosillano green chickpeas with pesto, sheep’s milk flower veil, parmesan whey and basil pearls.
virrey three ways: jaipur curry, teresa huerta’s escabeche, grilled brochette.
all i pebre d’anguila (eel stew) with iberian bacon, seaweed paper.
pardo’s galantine of poultry: quail, partridge, pigeon and poularde; goulash and demiglace with pecan nut and black garlic puree.
juicy suckling pig with crispy skin, crackling with sichuan pepper and molasses, saam of trotter with lemon grass and sour fruit. (i ate half this dish before remembering to take a photo - oops!)
beetroot and blood orange with pomegranate essence;
macallan time : space mastery.
normally, we get the same drink pairing, or i will do the more premium one because i am more of a wine person than james. however, since this pairing included whisky with dessert, the choice being between a macallan 15 or the macallan time space, and it was his birthday - james went premium.
dry-ice presentation for dessert.
black “truffle”, rosemary caramel, and peanut ice cream.
smoked sheep’s milk with flambeed blueberries.
petit fours: almond with white and dark chocolates.
while the meal was unquestionably delicious and memorable, i was not expecting how theatrical it was. from the in-your-face sponsorships to certain aspects of the service and pacing, it felt more about process and performance than they type of service we truly appreciate. this isn’t a criticism, just not our usual preference.
C. del Marqués del Riscal, 11, Chamberí, 28010 Madrid
