Madrid Fusiόn 2018: Dining at Michelin Star Chefs- run Coque and Canalla Bistro

Restaurante Coque

Coque is a relatively new restaurant-barely 5 months old and run by three brothers- Chef Mario, Diego and Rafael Sandoval.  It was originally started by their maternal grandparents in 1956 as Las Olas. Mario's father Rafael started COQUE in 1976. In 2003, it was recognized as the best Spanish restaurant. In 2004, it earned its first Michelin, while the second came its way in 2015. The restaurant is now working diligently to earn the 3rd Michelin Star as well, says Chef Mario.

The dinner is served at four different parts of the Restaurant. We were first welcomed and seated in the  Bar where cocktails and 4 tapas were served-each more delicious than the other, Then we shifted to the exquisite Cellar Room that has around 3000 wine labels that include Petrús and several other top-notch wines. There is a small Dom Perignon 'church' which apparently has the blessing of the Don Perignon Church. It is really a Champagne Cellar. This was the champagne for one of the courses at the dining table-though only the latest- 2009 was served. One could order 1969 as well by shelling out €2000 for a bottle! Iberian Crunch with moruno tomato and the Macaroon with spicy Torta del Cesar served, were delectable.

The restaurant has an open Kitchen facing the Dining Room. Chef Mario was there to welcome us with his specialty- Saam of suckling pig with spices. This was followed by a partridge taco in soft shell with chucrut and pickled avocado as we had the third part of the multi- course experience.

Finally, we sat down in the Dining Room where we were served 11 dishes-each well plated and well-matched with a wine. Due to an oversight we were served one wrong wine La Dauphine. But the server quickly corrected by also bringing the correct wine- Anwilka 200 from South Africa. Dishes were mostly delicious to outstanding.

As a gesture of goodwill, we were once again taken to the Bar and offered a Brandy as it was Birthday of 2 men in our group of 5 journalists and Chef Mario came up with the idea to offer a complimentary brandy (I politely declined the offer, of course, since I don’t drink brandy).

The meal was relaxing in even though a bit stretched in time and the number of dishes. There were only 2 Menus for the guests in the restaurant: Q8 and Q8+. The wines were generally well paired with each dish individually, to give a heightened culinary experience.

A dinner like that can wake up many flavour points on the palate, thanks to the flavour archaeologist Sandoval brothers at COQUE Restaurant. I noticed many dishes having an Indian touch of spices. Armed with multiple spices, Mario agreed that Indian spices found a reasonable space in their spice portfolio. A couple of dishes I thought could have used less salt though. Otherwise, it’s a great restaurant to savour the Spanish fine gastronomy. Worth a visit on special occasions! We had Q8+ Taster’s Menu. I feel Q8 would be a better bet keeping caloric and alcohol take in mind too.

CANALLA Bistro by Ricard Camarena

Ricard Camarena is a 1-Michellin Star Chef with wings in many places including Mexico and Madrid where Platea Madrid –a former Opera theatre that later was changed to a cinema theatre and now has 4 sections of restaurants with live performances. Canalla Bistro is the fine dining restaurant serving cosmopolitan food. Chef Camarena is fond of creating pop ups in the restaurant too and Japanese food was the par for the course when we went for dinner the night before the start of Madrid Fusion, perhaps as Japan was also a partner country in MadridFusion 2018.

Another interesting part was that here there were only 2 wines besides soft drinks and beer-with fixed Menu. White wine was from DO Rueda from Comenge and the Red was from Biberius Roble Do Ribera del Duero. Both wines were excellent but the white wine made from Verdello grape was an excellent match with the whole meal, having 8 dishes- starting with delicious Oysters with a Galanga nut milk, followed by Pekin Duck Nigiri sandwich that went well with the white and the red wine.

All the dishes served in the MENU were mouth-watering with different flavours exploding in the mouth. The last dish –a Homemade pastrami sandwich did seem to be out of place in the Japanese Menu which could be explained only by the Chef wanting to showcase a non Japanese dish as well.

Roasted Apple Ice cream cake was a must-have dessert. But what was really special was Iced Ferrero Rocher. Sandwiched between a single layered thin but solid and crisp roti like pancake held the ice-chilled Ferrero Rocher chocolate in the middle-the cold sandwich would be a dessert lover’s delight!  

The added attraction of live jazz band performing tonight made it a unique experience. About 1000 people eat every day in the whole complex. Therefore it felt rather strange having dinner in a fine dining place and watching people having tapas at another level and another set of people drinking wine and spirits at another level. But the footprints of a Michelin Star chef were in every dish-and the pairing was superb with just 2 wines- I was happy with the only white wine.

Dinner at the 2 restaurants was a totally different experience; what was common was the efforts and style of both restaurants trying to please the customer with their creations. There is a list of 17 food allergies listed on the Menu and each dish having the possible allergy ingredient is given to you.

A great experience awaits you at both the restaurants. Both the Chefs were humble, polite and brilliant. Both were highly regarded by the crowd at Madrid Fusion and deserved the applause they received in the Auditorium during their Presentations.

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