“A table worth keeping an eye on,” we wrote a month ago in a feature on our favorite restaurants for mushroom dining in Madrid and the surrounding areas. Shortly after, La Casa de Manolo Franco received its first Michelin star, adding to the Repsol Guide sun it already held.
Arriving here has taken five years of effort, sacrifice, and exploration in this townhouse in Valdemorillo, 40 kilometers northwest of the capital, named after its driving force, Manolo Franco, the father of the current owner. A sports journalist turned chef-entrepreneur, Manu Franco grew up in the flames of the family's old inn (Casa Manolo) before embarking on a 20-year journey around the world covering Formula 1 events for newspapers like As and radio stations like Cadena Ser. However, his culinary vocation ultimately won out, prompting him to pursue his dream by training at Le Cordon Bleu school before taking over his father's business following his passing.
La Casa de Manolo Franco
The restaurant is named after its founder, Manolo Franco, who is the father of the current owner
Don Manuel Franco Pérez, the honored father, was a local institution: a man of strong character who had worked tending cows, harvesting wheat, and later as a stonemason before starting his own business in 1969. He passed away in the fall of 2006, and a photo of him now dominates the dining room of the restaurant that his son has been running since 2019. His son gave up his successful career in the media, sold his home, and took on several bank loans to face the challenge alongside his wife Carolina.
“I once wrote a book that tells the story of a motorcycle pilot, one of the best in the Dakar, who in an instant lost mobility from the waist down. That book begins with the poem Invictus: 'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul',” Manu recounts on the establishment's website. “I wanted a new challenge, to honor my father's memory, and to make my family feel proud. So I took the plunge,” he adds.
Revelation Chef Award from El Mundo-Metrópoli, Manu has transitioned from radio or print chronicles to expressing himself through the kitchen, always honoring the nearby landscape of the Valmayor reservoir in the Guadarrama basin. In his dishes, flavor is ever-present, as is meticulous plating, but most importantly, each ingredient tells a story. There's a dash of inspiration, but also many hours of trial and error.
Autumn-winter is a great time to escape to Valdemorillo and enjoy its mountains tinged with ochre colors, before sitting down at the table and letting yourself be captivated by the seasonal menu, with mushrooms and game as the absolute protagonists. On our last autumn visit, everything evoked the pine forests, including that infusion of shoots and leaves collected every Wednesday afternoon on their walks around Valmayor, made from chamomile, lavender, rockrose, star anise, and oak leaf.
One of the dishes from the Mushroom Trilogy
Pine, rockrose, hawthorn, holm oak... are among the other ingredients that can appear in the dishes conceived by Manu and his young and talented team. But fear not, as there is not the slightest intention here to push the diner out of their comfort zone, but rather a sincere desire to portray and convey a landscape and experiences that might sometimes be nods to childhood.
The dining room is decorated with quality materials and a touch of rural minimalism. Stone, iron, wood, glass... Tables well spaced apart, without tablecloths, and a mural of a world map made from cuttings of newspapers that evokes the host's past as a reporter. The wine list is extensive and full of attractive bottles from small producers at reasonable prices.
There is no possibility to order à la carte, but a couple of shorter formulas are available for those with little appetite. Of course, the readers of this section will lean towards, like us, the menu “Close your eyes XL” (€105), designed as if it were a day in the mountains, starting with breakfast—which inspires the appetizers—then taking a walk in the countryside, having lunch, enjoying a leisurely post-meal chat, having an afternoon snack, and finally dinner. An original journey in 20 courses of different sizes with contrasting flavors but no surprises, enjoyed peacefully over a long two and a half hours.
Among our favorite bites, Aunt Carmen's churros with chocolate hides a rich lentil stew behind its breakfast appearance; the rabbit and garlic pepito-choux with marjoram; the crispy pickled trout with citrus and capers; the crystallized fig and Fresnedillas cheese fritter; the Spanish omelette croissant; the anchovy mille-feuille; the essential trilogy of mushrooms (prepared in three ways: stewed, crispy, and broth); the venison rice with lavender demi-glace, oak smoke, hazelnut air, and sage; the palosanto with pea shoot and anise; the cod with chestnuts and níscalos mushroom pilpil or the rice pudding that pays homage to the beloved Manolo.
Don't leave without trying the comforting oak, anise, and lavender tea, accompanied by a fun marshmallow of the forest. You'll want to come back.
La Casa de Manolo Franco
ADDRESS
6 La Fuente, 28210 Valdemorillo, Madrid
34 626 61 57 39