Wiesner, “the Wizard”. This is the nickname this figure earned because of his culinary behaviour. He could also be called “the Woodcutter”, for what he makes with wood and smoke and their essential oils; an original touch he gives to his dishes, most of which have these fragrances. Or “the Perfumer”, as he focuses his cuisine on the criteria in use in this sector. Stefan’s particular style and identity is based on the products he finds in the wood and on his special way of treating raw materials. Sometimes, the guest can’t exactly know what he/she is eating, not because the main ingredients are not neat and immaculate, but because the complements –sauces or garnish– are made of unknown wild products. This is the leitmotiv of his cuisine, absolutely different regarding flavours and smells. Furthermore, the constructions are utterly elaborate and require many efforts due to the infinity of ingredients and transformations they all suppose. A complex and experimental work, definitely. A good example of what has been mentioned before is the warm pea broth with red clover oil, served with a perfectly done chicken breast, tender and juicy, seasoned with a sauce of chopped Swiss chard, celery crisps planted into a creamy essence of the bird, distilled herbs and sprinkled salted roe. Don’t look for references, you won’t find any! In this case, the originality and the diversity of the composition preserve the identity of the main character: a marvellous chicken. The marinated Scottish salmon served with an octopus terrine wrapped into hazel leaves and perfumed with cinnamon is a series of great elements. It is accompanied by caramelized walnuts, elemi tree sauce, fried germinated fenugreek and lovage seeds. Let’s insist: the main ingredients are proposed in all their naturality and the seasonings rime with brand new sensations. Among the novelties we also find the beef hip marinated with fennel and nebbiolo wine and cured for five weeks, served with spiced sausage air –strength plus strength–, over some Yorkshire pudding, with a brushstroke of apricot jam, a hint of clove, beef sauce and basil sauce. The chef plays with different spaces and the guest decides whether he/she tastes them separately or mixing them to obtain a succulent combination. Both options are extremely profound and gourmand, anyway. Wiesner won’t probably run out of ideas, because each proposal is aimed at astonishing the guest; this is a rule of the house. Take the ball of baked potato semolina, for example, perfumed with orange and stuffed with boletus, boiled into milk with a touch of beech which confirms its presence in the accompanying caramelized milk and butter. The whole story ends with a vinegar milk and some generous pieces of truffle. Wood, mountains and landscapes are just excuses for creating. Refined rustic proposals: veal cheek filled with 1-cm cubes of pork marinated in liquid smoke of fir tree and vacuum-cooked, garnished with an infinity of impeccable elements: veal sauce, wild artichokes, salted capers, vaporized chips of pork skin, old cheese pesto, and so many other things. In spite of the copious side of the dish and of the meal in general, our plate was completely empty and we even wanted to enjoy more of the wonders made by this genius of the stoves called Stefan. The yoghurt and green tea ice cream served with a wan or kind of pasty filled with strawberries and fried into coconut oil, crystallized Alpine roses, smoke of flambéed juniper berries and bunch of rosemary, rose sauce and rockrose or raspberry oil is really tremendous. Utterly refreshing, aromatic, fruity, light, ingenious and even chromatic. Then came the cheese board –a whole table, actually– with more than 100 Swiss varieties, all worthy of their fame and of the Swiss excellence, proposed with 40 incredible “jams”: spicy red pepper, salami with mustard, chickpeas, … as well as woods and smokes, obviously! And to reconfirm the talents of the poet, taste the maple ice cream or the one made of yoghurt and rusty nails, just to say goodbye in an essential way. Not only the experience opened our minds and gave us great pleasures, but it also allowed us to leave the place full of vegetarian feelings. Incredible, but true.

Pepe Rodríguez has conquered all LMG awards: Cook of the year, Confectioner of the year, … and now, to everyone’s surprise, Techno of the year. Who would have predicted it… The man who used to escape from rules and fashions in the last few years to claim the reinvention of tradition has boggled us all with the techniques he uses for the tasting menu. This doesn’t mean that Pepe stopped from being that reflexive and perfectionist man we all know, that cook who enjoys stewing and focussing on the guest. He is obviously as mature as before and goes on considering the landscape and the people from his land, which are talentedly and evolutionarily painted on a solid basis. Some of his great and timeless dishes prove it, such as the clairvoyant and triumphal “old clothes” with stew broth: an hymn to humility and to traditional flavours. Or like the constant and renewed versions of the garlic soup, which keeps all its essences and is wisely refined and garnished, regardless of the accompaniments. Like the universal and insatiable callos a la madrileña (typical tripe dish from Madrid) he makes like nobody else. And like so many other proposals that come and go on the menu depending on the chef’s mood: potatoes with ribs, confited and marinated pork ear, roasted grouse with foie gras truffles and juice made of the bird’s livers… These are all evidences of the archangelic will of evolution that characterizes the chef. This style now cohabits with a completely different one. When Diego Rodríguez, Pepe’s brother, head waiter and enfant terrible, came to our table after two brilliant appetizers –salad of carrot strips, presented like a new kind of crudités, with fresh anchovies impregnated with a hint of vinegar, and crumbs served with egg and salted sardine, utterly succulent– and came out with one of his usual provocative words: “I hope you don’t think that all the dishes will be like this. Forget it, because the chef has become techno, now”. “What are you saying? That is a bit old fashioned”. After one minute, he came back and sang: “Cheese, truffle, lime and curry”. And so arrived the first element of what we could call the new nouvelle cuisine castillane from TecnoBohío. And the following dishes confirmed the renewed philosophy of the house: refreshing gazpacho from Toledo with two tomatoes, an iced green one on the top and a crushed red one on the bottom of the plate. After that arrived some seafood (scallops, cockles, octopus, …) served with an eloquent seaweed and apple juice that rimed with vivid flavours. The chopped tuna spiced with salty products, vegetables and jellies was synonymous with modern touches and Mediterranean aftertastes. Many balanced contrasts that preserve the identity of each element of the dish: this is what we find in the salad of boletus edulis, pork chin, roses and almonds. This was followed by a humble and victorious stew of renewed old flavours: cod with potatoes and leek. The version of the pisto manchego (La Mancha-style ratatouille) has got the original taste of the dish, but is served with a completely different presentation. The tomatoes shine like the sun, here. In this land of reinvention of popular cuisine where Pepe feels like an angel in the sky, numerous proposals impress the guests’ mind, like the ingenious, almost unbelievable tomato salad with turnip over fantastic stew broth garnished with chickpeas. If you didn’t exist, the world would miss something! The red mullets with spicy soup and majestic Irish lamb filet accompanied by green mustard and cucumber were delicious, both for the exquisiteness and doneness of the meat and for the contrasts, very pertinent and perfectly expressed. Desserts are a real must of the house. Don’t leave the place without tasting the lime, citrus and green tea pearls and the very orthodox spiced chocolate with coffee!

Pepe Rodríguez has conquered all LMG awards: Cook of the year, Confectioner of the year, … and now, to everyone’s surprise, Techno of the year. Who would have predicted it… The man who used to escape from rules and fashions in the last few years to claim the reinvention of tradition has boggled us all with the techniques he uses for the tasting menu. This doesn’t mean that Pepe stopped from being that reflexive and perfectionist man we all know, that cook who enjoys stewing and focussing on the guest. He is obviously as mature as before and goes on considering the landscape and the people from his land, which are talentedly and evolutionarily painted on a solid basis. Some of his great and timeless dishes prove it, such as the clairvoyant and triumphal “old clothes” with stew broth: an hymn to humility and to traditional flavours. Or like the constant and renewed versions of the garlic soup, which keeps all its essences and is wisely refined and garnished, regardless of the accompaniments. Like the universal and insatiable callos a la madrileña (typical tripe dish from Madrid) he makes like nobody else. And like so many other proposals that come and go on the menu depending on the chef’s mood: potatoes with ribs, confited and marinated pork ear, roasted grouse with foie gras truffles and juice made of the bird’s livers… These are all evidences of the archangelic will of evolution that characterizes the chef.
This style now cohabits with a completely different one. When Diego Rodríguez, Pepe’s brother, head waiter and enfant terrible, came to our table after two brilliant appetizers –salad of carrot strips, presented like a new kind of crudités, with fresh anchovies impregnated with a hint of vinegar, and crumbs served with egg and salted sardine, utterly succulent– and came out with one of his usual provocative words: “I hope you don’t think that all the dishes will be like this. Forget it, because the chef has become techno, now”. “What are you saying? That is a bit old fashioned”. After one minute, he came back and sang: “Cheese, truffle, lime and curry”. And so arrived the first element of what we could call the new nouvelle cuisine castillane from TecnoBohío. And the following dishes confirmed the renewed philosophy of the house: refreshing gazpacho from Toledo with two tomatoes, an iced green one on the top and a crushed red one on the bottom of the plate. After that arrived some seafood (scallops, cockles, octopus, …) served with an eloquent seaweed and apple juice that rimed with vivid flavours. The chopped tuna spiced with salty products, vegetables and jellies was synonymous with modern touches and Mediterranean aftertastes. Many balanced contrasts that preserve the identity of each element of the dish: this is what we find in the salad of boletus edulis, pork chin, roses and almonds. This was followed by a humble and victorious stew of renewed old flavours: cod with potatoes and leek. The version of the pisto manchego (La Mancha-style ratatouille) has got the original taste of the dish, but is served with a completely different presentation. The tomatoes shine like the sun, here. In this land of reinvention of popular cuisine where Pepe feels like an angel in the sky, numerous proposals impress the guests’ mind, like the ingenious, almost unbelievable tomato salad with turnip over fantastic stew broth garnished with chickpeas. If you didn’t exist, the world would miss something! The red mullets with spicy soup and majestic Irish lamb filet accompanied by green mustard and cucumber were delicious, both for the exquisiteness and doneness of the meat and for the contrasts, very pertinent and perfectly expressed.
Desserts are a real must of the house. Don’t leave the place without tasting the lime, citrus and green tea pearls and the very orthodox spiced chocolate with coffee!

The house keeps on improving, gradually. Founded in 1980 by Paco Moya and Ramiro Redrado, supported for a while –and about to be relieved– by their sons Kiko, in the kitchen, and Alberto, in the dining room and in the cellar, the restaurant has conserved its original spirit and has been breathed fresh air, erudition and personality into. L’Escaleta had never offered such a good food and drink before nor had it earned so many merits and good results. That’s why it undoubtedly deserves a better mark again, reaching 8,5/10. Evolutionary haute cuisine with personal style. Inventiveness and love of his land are really evident in the exquisite frozen slice of garlic with crunchy pericana, inspired by Adrià’s version made with Parmesan cheese. The herbs from the Mariola Mountain that is in front of the restaurant perfume and refresh an unprecedented and aerial fat. Both appetizers make the difference. The spherification made of seaweed and seaweed juice is a bit more universal and in line with the fisheye trend; palatal intensity and tactile delicacy. The chef’s personality and savoir-faire are expressed through minimalist, brilliant and peaceful constructions such as the cow cottage cheese, creamy and singular, impregnated with magic and clearly defined touches: extra virgin olive oil, honey and fresh almonds (see Great Dishes). Kiko’s potential has no limits nor frontiers, as shown through the beet tartare combined with pickles, strawberries and roses; a dish that rimes with impressive chromatism and palatal complexity, considering the big variety of components. If you have any doubt about the genius of the artist, just taste the egg yolk marinated in salt and soya, a variation of Carlo Cracco’s technique which leads to intense flavours and to a dense creaminess that conflicts with its heartbreaking seasoning. The hake cheeks, juicy and gelatinous, accompanied by potatoes and an extremely refined garlic and pepper sauce, are really glorious. The slightly smoked eel with its toasted skin and its delicious gelatinous meats, served with carob sweet, is a fascinating reinvention of populism, a real gourmandise. The rice dishes served in individual paellas are tremendous, too, like the one with rabbit and escargots, the most successful. This time, we were particularly impressed by the cuttlefish riso nero, proposed with a deep and tasty broth made with the cephalopod around the rice that considerably preserves its flavour. The lamb ribs with grilled aubergine and lavender honey are synonymous with unprecedented nobility, magnificent technique and exciting nuances. 
Discover or rediscover the most ancestral dishes of the house. Among the local tastes, you can find the black and white squid sausage with exotic and warm infusion of coconut and ginger with bay leaf blades; the delightful red prawn crusted with citrus salt; and the red mullet lain on a creamy almond cake with saffron gold. For more cosmopolitan proposals, try the oyster with aired soda water of white asparagus and aromatic touch of Szechuan pepper; or the pigeon breast cut in big pieces arranged on a layer of Venere rice soaked with a deep broth which reinforces the cereal without altering its identity.