that a neighborhood restaurant with an average ticket of 40-50 euros being filled to the brim on a Thursday afternoon has merit. Even (or especially, depending on how you look at it) in the city of Madrid, where the abundance of options coexists with the constant closuresthe sharp rise in prices and the homogeneity of proposals. Uskar (Cl. de Alonso del Barco, 11) has survived all this for 10 years now, a decade in which the Granada chef Jose Miguel Valdivieso has evolved to turn a neighborhood bar into one of the most interesting gastronomic restaurants of the moment.
In 2016, this project Ambassadors neighborhood I lived off the menu of the day and homemade food dishes designed for the neighborhood’s daily life. The pandemic was a turning point for the business, a key moment in which the chef decided to carry out the project that he always had in mind. The result is a restaurant that maintains its neighborhood soulwith a terrace at street level and a large bar visible behind the glass, but which hides a well-kept and cozy room where you can thoroughly enjoy its signature cuisine. As the perfect host, Jer, head of the room with Italian roots but a traditional heart.
Recognized with a Solete from the Repsol GuideUskar is a true reflection of how a restaurant can transform at the pace of its city, without losing even an iota of essence. The chef is clear that, without product, there is no cuisine, and that is reflected in each of his dishes, both those that appear on the menu daily and those that dance to the rhythm of the seasons in his ‘Out of Card’ section.
Local organic vegetables from Madrid’s gardens are one of the great common threads of Valdivieso cuisine. “We bring the vegetables from a garden in Aranjuezwhere they work organically,” explains the chef. In addition to the local cultivation itself, his supplier collaborates with a network of farmers who grow organically and biodynamically like him. “Sometimes he sends me seasonal vegetables without me asking for them, so that I can try them and invent something. That’s cool, because I don’t get bored, the kitchen doesn’t get bored and neither do the customers.”
Therefore, while there are, in the suggestions we find calçots sautéed in the wok with black garlic and artichokes from PGI Tudela with green sauce and smoked cured meat. Also fish options that come from JC Macinthosh, a supplier that is a quality seal if there is one. It is tested in dishes like a red tuna parpatana wild from Tarifa (Cádiz) with jalapeño chile water, so tasty that, they say, some customers confuse it with terrestrial meat.
Segureño lamb in the heart of the Embajadores neighborhood
His culinary proposal is inexorably linked to his native Huéscar, a small town in the north of the province of Granada, in the heart of the Sierra de la Sagra. Even the name of the place makes a nod to its land, since Uskar is the way the Muslims called this town 800 years ago.
The tribute is clearly seen in its star dish: Segureño lamb with PGI from his native Granada, this being the only place in Madrid that offers this product. José Miguel presents it on the table in its most classic form, a shoulder cooked at low temperature for 12 hours with thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic. But they also serve it as a filling in their delicious brioche, an explosion of flavor for those who want to try lamb without committing to the full banquet.
Uskar also has bite proposalswhich take us to the usual bars: squid croquettes, ham or chop, Russian salad with piparra mayonnaise foam, shrimp omelet, crispy torreznos with kimchi mayonnaise or the popular cheek cannelloni with red curry and coconut bechamel. For those who want to let themselves be carried away by the chef, Uskar has two tasting menusa long one, ideal for midday – six passes, 60 euros -, and a shorter one, especially designed for the evening – four passes, 40 euros -.
Chef Martín Martínez, from Villaroy’s restaurant, teaches us his recipe to prepare spectacular torrijas. Discover their tricks for an aromatic infusion, a perfect soak and a golden fry.
To accompany, Uskar has a sublime winery alive with the constant incorporation of references that are displayed, in the form of a bookcase, on the walls of your living room. He sommelier Raúl García is in charge of this selection, currently made up of 150 references that make more than 200 types of grapes known. Reds, whites, rosés, sweets and sparkling wines that show a detailed x-ray of the extensive national wine panorama. Also a large selection of bottle and tap craft beers, with options for all tastes.
