Coque
Coque's chef, Mario Sandoval, fought his new wood oven for more than 20 days in 2017 before the suckling pig came out the way he wanted.
Why go
The Sandoval family opened Coque more than 40 years ago as a family eating house in Humanes, south of Madrid.1 The three brothers moved it to Chamberí in 2017.9 Mario Sandoval cooks, Juan Diego runs the room and Rafael keeps a cellar of more than 3,000 labels. Mario won the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (Spain's national gastronomy prize) in 2013.8 The house says each of his brothers holds one in his own trade.1 The MICHELIN Guide gave the house two stars in its 2026 edition.10
Dinner starts with a walk through the cocktail bar, the underground cellar and the kitchen, with drinks and aperitivos served along the way.4 Julia Pérez Lozano, the Gastroactitud critic, called the walk in 2018 a stylistic exercise occasional visitors will applaud, but regulars can skip by going straight to the table.
4
For the cochinillo (suckling pig), Sandoval had the craftsman who built his grandfather's wood oven build the one in Chamberí.4 Pérez Lozano wrote in 2018: The suckling pig is the climax, the apotheosis of the menu. There is no roast like it. The soufflé effect Sandoval gets in the crackling, tasty and crisp, is unique and unforgettable.
4 Alicia Hernández of ¡Hola! found it tender, juicy, with crisp skin
in March 2026.6 The same 2018 review had two complaints. Pérez Lozano asked what is the point of over-perfuming the pig with an oak smoke that is foreign to it?
and said the flavors on the Iberian pork jowl pile on without order, a kind of out-of-tune concert where nobody follows the conductor.
4
In 2025 Sandoval rebuilt the menu around the history of Madrid's cooking from the ninth century on. He told Gastroactitud it was a search for the deepest origins of our identity, which we then read in a contemporary key, without falling into eccentricity.
5 In June 2025 Pérez Lozano called one course also spectacular
: a 16th-century palace galantine of quail, red partridge, pigeon and poularde from El Pardo, the larger birds stuffed with the smaller ones.5 Dabiz Muñoz, the DiverXO chef, picked Coque for special occasions in 2023: It’s very creative, but the cuisine still feels very Spanish with a lot of references to Madrid’s unique food culture.
7
In September 2026 the menu is Eat with Art, sixteen plates that Sandoval built on fifteen contemporary artworks. It costs 495 euros a head with VAT, or 855 or 1,155 euros with one of the two wine pairings. The vegetarian version costs 395 euros.2
Order this / avoid
- On the menu: the cochinillo, praised by Julia Pérez Lozano (2018) and Alicia Hernández (2026), and served in September 2026 with spring onion glazed in balsamic vinegar and lettuce.2
What locals & experts say
- Julia Pérez Lozano, Gastroactitud (2018, 8.25 out of 10):
Just to taste the magnificent roast suckling pig, it is worth booking a table.
4 - Award: two MICHELIN stars, 2026 guide.10
- Award: 3 Soles Guía Repsol, held since 2014 and in 2025.9
Good to know
- Where: Calle del Marqués de Riscal 11, in Chamberí.1
- Booking: book online at restaurantecoque.com/reservas.html.3
- Whisky: in July 2025 the house added a menu paired with The Macallan at 1,800 euros a head.8
Verdict
should-visit — Book Coque for a big night and the cochinillo from the family's copy of the grandfather's wood oven. Dinner is one set menu, 495 euros a head before wine in September 2026.