Cantabrian food travels well, and Madrid has been eating it for seventy years. Northern families arrived in the capital in the middle of the twentieth century and brought their recipes with them; the restaurants stayed. This is a guide to recognising the real thing.
Spoon food: the heart of it
Two stews get confused constantly, and knowing the difference is how you order like someone who has been to Cantabria:
- Cocido montañés: built on white beans and cabbage with its compango of chorizo, aged blood sausage, pork belly and cured rib. Despite the name, no chickpeas.
- Cocido lebaniego: from the Liébana valley, made with the small buttery chickpeas of Potes, potato, cabbage and the essential relleno, a fried mixture of breadcrumb, egg, chorizo and parsley.
From the Cantabrian Sea
- Rabas: fresh squid cut in strips, a very thin flour batter and a short fry in clean oil. Tender inside, crisp outside, no grease on the paper.
- Santoña anchovies: cleaned by hand and cured slowly in salt. Pure marine umami, and the best possible way to start.
- Bonito del norte in season, roughly June to October. Look for a clean cut and deep pink flesh; a good kitchen never serves it dry.
Meat, cheese and the sweet end
The green pastures behind the coast produce exceptional beef and dairy. Tudanca beef on the grill, blue Picón Bejes-Tresviso melted over a steak, and a board of Cantabrian cheeses are all standard. To finish, quesada pasiega or a slice of cheesecake, with a cold orujo if you are doing it properly.
Where to find it in Madrid
Three areas carry most of the northern weight: Chamberí for classic tavern-style tapas, the Salamanca district for the more polished end, and Azca and Avenida General Perón, the least known of the three and the one with the densest Cantabrian presence, because that is where much of the northern migration settled.
Where we sit in all this
La Reinosa is one of those Cantabrian houses. Avenida General Perón 13, 28020 Madrid, in Azca, five minutes on foot from the Bernabéu. Rabas, stews, charcoal-grilled meat, charcoal chicken and house cheesecake, with a set lunch Monday to Friday.
See the menu and the terrace menu, or book a table. Phone +34 916 671 967.
