It seems like yesterday that we first entered La Tasquita de Enfrente on the recommendation of our dear friend Arturo Pardos. However, 25 years have passed since Juanjo López Bedmar took over the old eatery founded by his father, Serafín López Gaona, in the early 70s on the sinful street of Ballesta. During these five decades, he has not stopped gaining followers thanks to his charisma as a host and an unwavering gastronomic proposal, devoted to top-quality products and respectful of the seasons, integrating traditional flavors and the most refined techniques.
“La Tasquita de Enfrente is the path of an illusion, of a chimera, of an unrealized conversation with my father. And that's how time goes by, and my illusion and commitment remain intact,” recalls Juanjo. “It is important to ask why a restaurant remains open after 25 years. First and foremost, we have always had a clear vision and are almost like the traditional Madrid chotis dance, as we have moved very little from our spot, allowing us to be identified as a product-oriented restaurant and to work not with the general public but with clients: the public comes and goes, but the client is always there.”
Salchichón tartare
As the adventure was worthy of being turned into a book, in 2018 our man published The Naked Simplicity, which is the compendium of that culinary philosophy. He could have also titled it “Less is More,” given his obsession with serving the most exquisite Spanish foods with minimal intervention and accompaniment. Never more than three ingredients in a recipe!
“La Tasquita is supported by a triangle: the suppliers, the product, and the customer,” continues López Bedmar. And I have improved in character; now I am a much more peaceful and reasonable person, as opposed to the radicality of the beginning, perhaps influenced by other cooks of the time, such as Arturo Pardos, Iñaki Camba, or Abraham García himself. I have realized that you don't have to be dogmatic or teach anything to anyone. People come to enjoy themselves, and you have to guide them along the path that you see as most reasonable so that they leave satisfied.
“López says, 'It is important to wonder why a restaurant remains open after 25 years'”
For this bohemian intellectual and romantic entrepreneur, who was a director of a large insurance company and left everything to become a self-taught chef, there is no greater truth than pure flavor without artifice. And it is he who most enjoys in his quaint dining room, with just 8 tables and walls of exposed stone and brick, filled with drawings, bookshelves, and wine glasses, praising the delicacies of the daily market or even sitting at the table by the entrance, at the end of service, eating like any other guest.
“La Tasquita continues to be what I initially dreamed of: a dining house where the owner eats, where there is nothing that I wouldn't eat,” argues Juanjo. “I always say that many chefs would have a problem if they had to eat their own menus. And I am capable of eating all the dishes because they are made with a craftsmanship... It is clear that we don't please everyone completely and we have both admirers and detractors. I respect both, because I understand that we can't please everyone. If you please everyone, in the end you end up not pleasing anyone and you end up in conflict with yourself. And what I try to do with each passing year is to be more consistent.”
Stew, turnip, and anchovy
In La Tasquita de Enfrente in 2025, in addition to the charm of the place and the personality of the owner, they still have a phenomenal selection of champagnes and cult wines to accompany the dishes on the menu - which changes depending on the market of the day - or some of the two tasting menus that the restaurant offers at 110 euros (9 courses) or at 150 euros (11 courses).
López Bedmar recently received the Lifetime Achievement award from the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy. At 65, this tavern owner who loves books, music, cinema, art, and travel continues to create dishes with a touch of inspiration and a lot of trial and error, until he finds the exact formula that meets his expectations. He has found the best ally in Nacho Trujillo, an enthusiastic head chef who started as a dishwasher in London and has been working by his side for 14 years, rising up from the lowest position. With Nacho, our protagonist shares not only a culinary ideology but also a project of calm transmission so that La Tasquita can continue to combine the demanding, honest, and luxurious aspects of authenticity in the future.
Lopez recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Madrilenian Academy of Gastronomy
“Perfectionist, obsessive, and unwavering, over these 15 years, Juanjo has remained faithful to the principles with which he began: working only with the best raw materials and exalting them through deceptively simple recipes, which has led La Tasquita de Enfrente to become one of the great temples of our country's products,” declares my dining companion, the journalist Alberto Luchini, as we devour the first appetizer: an addictive Cecina de Somiedo with a certain smoky aroma, followed immediately by a house classic like the salchichón tartare on brioche."
Material, purity, essentiality... The postulates of López Bedmar remain unchanged throughout the menu that we enjoy on a cold post-Christmas winter night. And of course, not forgetting a touch of roguishness, to remember that we are in Ballesta, an area of undeniable lumpen tradition.
Ear
And it is that the balance of a banquet, here, has always been sustained in the succession of dishes where the basic and almost rustic is alternated with the refined. Thus, after that immense smoked eel with caramelized water pear, the emblematic ensaladilla arrives, topped with some trout roe -on other occasions it may be sea urchins and even lobster-, so simple and so familiar, that gives way to an impressive prawn cocktail: another favorite of the regulars where all the usual dressing elements (tomato, pepper, onion, egg) are omitted to texture the heads with oil and wine until obtaining an emulsion that is added to the barely cooked shellfish.
Minimalism continues to reign with the following seafood dish, some almost raw Motril prawns, bursting with freshness and sweetness, lightly marinated in lemon water and oil. A delight. The cardoon with almond milk and grated truffle takes us back to 2012, when Juanjo sought to reclaim this forgotten winter stew, giving it almost palatial credentials with the addition of that grated tuber melanosporum, which, by the way, is currently at its optimal consumption point these days.
Matter, purity, essentiality... López Bedmar's principles remain unchanged throughout the menu
The Maresme teardrop peas with Iberian veil could not be missing from this menu that seems like a stroll through the history of La Tasquita. I remember having them here with espadrilles or even with caviar, such is the patron's devotion to this extremely delicate product. The fried egg with black truffle that follows reiterates the mix of the humble and the luxurious, with a perfect touch in the execution, brimming with creaminess and forest flavor.
We return to the foundational tavern spirit with a terrine of pig's ear with raw onion, where we miss the contrast that some pickles or perhaps watercress would have given it. We continue with an impeccable cod taco in tempura with Rioja sauce, and the savory chapter closes with a comforting meatball, made with veal, pork, and Iberian bacon, very rare, drizzled with a reduced stew sauce and accompanied by some perfect diced fries.
The historic panna cotta with palm honey, as airy as can be, closes off a memorable experience. Here's to another 25 years of Tasquita!
La Tasquita de Enfrente
ADDRESS
6 Ballesta street, Centro, 28004 Madrid
34 915 32 54 49