After only two and a half months of filming, opening in the midst of a pandemic, Sagrario Tradición (located in the Hispanoamérica neighborhood, in the Madrid district of Chamartín) is on the lips of all food lovers in the city. There are full daily and people repeat and repeat. It is not for less: we are facing one of those sites that, one thinks, one must visit quickly and frequently before prices rise, which today are unparalleled in the Forum.

It is not easy in Madrid to eat and drink (very) well for an average ticket of around 40 euros, but it is even more difficult to find a menu with dishes as out of use as snails, frog legs or grilled quail. Dishes that Nicolás Marcos, alma mater of Sagrario Tradición, has designed "investigated in the traditional cuisine of Madrid from the 18th century until now".

Adding the word “tradition” to the name of the restaurant is a declaration of intent, but it can lead to confusion, since Marcos' cuisine is not conservative at all. Although he dominates the traditional cuisine that he learned from his grandmother and great-grandmother (who studied cooking in France), his last job was production manager at Dos Palillos, the Asian restaurant in Barcelona commanded by ex-Bulli Takeshi Somekawa.

In Sagrario there is a lot of spooning, like these verdinas with grilled cockles, off the menu. Delicious.

There Marcos left with only a backpack. "I joined a flat of crowded stagiers in the Raval", explains Marcos. “I didn't care, I had a goal, to learn what they did”.

One more learning that will be applied to his kitchen. Or not, because Marcos recognizes that he gets bored quickly and has too many ideas in his head. "We are never going to give up stews, the season, but for summer there will be a table of matured fish," explains Marcos. “There are a thousand things in the project. There are a hundred and odd recipes waiting. There's going to be a calamari sandwich. I will try to be the best in Madrid. If it's not the host there won't be."

The torreznos (6.5 euros), are accompanied by piparra and spring onion and are marinated at home. To be from Madrid they are rich, but nobody manages to make them as good as in Soria. Why?

A life dedicated to wine

The story of Nicolás Marcos is priceless. The son of a long-established lineage of winegrowers from Toro (Zamora), owner of the Luis Mateos winery – absolute pioneer of the DO – he abandoned the family business to set up his own winery, Terra Duro, which he ended up selling, because “he had to find a place in which to make the wine he had in mind”.

After trying it in his town, he went to Cangas del Narcea, in Asturias, where, he says, he completely revolutionized viticulture in the area with his Dominio del Urogallo winery, which revived native varieties such as Carrasquín or Verdejo Tinto, unknown until then. outside the area. Things did not end well over there and, after a breakup with his wife, he sold the winery and went back to Toro to think about what to do next.

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There is no shortage of good Madrid-style tripe (13.5 euros) on the menu, which go straight to the top ten in the city, very sweet and slightly spicy.

“I have spent 20 years of my life traveling from fair to fair with wines and I have eaten and drunk what is not written, but I wanted to make a place where I would like to eat”, he explains.

After passing through Dos Palillos (where he worked for seven months) his idea was to open a restaurant in Toro –he already had one before leaving for Asturias, La Fragua–, but eating one day at La Tasquería he met his current partner, José Sud, a fan of his wines who proposed to open the restaurant in Madrid, in a place he had his eye on, with very good conditions. Hence the restrained prices that he, he insists, will not raise.

The best dish we tried was this Landes quail, which is cooked at a low temperature for 7 hours and then finished on the grill and accompanied by some crumbs. It costs only 13.5 euros and I would eat fifteen (although it is fine to share, since it comes divided into four portions).

A house of meals to go to drink

Sagrario Tradición is a very informal restaurant, with all the dishes designed to share, and a wine list that invites you to spend hours in the restaurant. It goes without saying that Marcos knows this world well, which allows him to bring references that are difficult to see in Madrid, and more so at those prices.

"I buy 80/90% of the wines directly," explains Marcos. “I take the van to France on vacation, I spend a week and I bring it full. That's why we can go at that price."

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Apart from some renowned Ribera or Rioja, the wines offered by Sagrario Tradición are unknown to the general public, and there are many references for less than 20 euros. It is worth letting yourself be advised. And to finish there are also cocktails, prepared by Pedro Escribano, who comes from StreetXo. Quality guarantee.

The dessert we tried, a flan with an amontillado cream (5.5 euros), was also very tasty.

We end our visit wishing to return –especially to try the Biscayan snails that have not arrived yet and have given us long teeth– and hoping that Marcos does not tire of Madrid soon and stay with us for a while before giving birth. .

What to order: almost all the portions at Sagrario Tradición are under 20 euros and can be ordered to share. It is a place to go with friends and try many things. As a couple with three portions you get eaten. We have to repeat, but, in our experience, it is worth taking advice both with the (abundant) off menu and with the wines. We did not try a bad dish.

Note: at the express request of Nicolás Marcos, the article has been edited to remove some statements about his time in Cangas de Narcea y Toro that he wanted to retract.

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