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Coque's “Madrid Menu”: Rafael Sandoval's cellar rewrites the city's culinary history, glass by glass

Coque tells the story of Madrid in 17 courses, from the 9th century to today, spread across six spaces in the restaurant. Rafael Sandoval, Spanish National Gastronomy Award for Best Sommelier, writes the other half of the story: two pairings that follow the same journey, glass by glass.

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Poster for Coque's Madrid Menu: the three Sandoval brothers in black and white, merged with Madrid buildings beneath the word MADRID in red and yellow
Mario, Diego and Rafael Sandoval in the Madrid Menu artwork.

What the Madrid Menu is

The Madrid Menu is the tasting menu with which Mario Sandoval tells the story of the city through his cooking: seventeen courses that run from Madrid's origins in the 9th century to today's table, by way of Sephardic cooking, the cooking of the royal court and royal game. Each dish is a chapter, and guests do not receive them seated at one table: they move through them.

The menu is served in six spaces: the cocktail bar, Ónix, the wine cellar, the sacristy, the kitchen and the dining room. The cellar is not just a place of passage. Two courses are served there: the chanfaina de duelos y quebrantos on unleavened bread, a 16th-century preparation that already appears in Don Quixote and in Lazarillo de Tormes, and a Pedro Ximénez grape in three textures: crunchy, liquid and tart.

Who signs the pairing

The Madrid Menu pairing is by Rafael Sandoval (Madrid, 1964), Coque's sommelier and head of its wine cellar. Rafael received the 2017 Spanish National Gastronomy Award for Best Sommelier, the 2018 Prix au Sommelier from the International Academy of Gastronomy and the Gastro&Cía Sommelier of the Year 2018 award. With his brothers Mario (kitchen, 2013) and Diego (dining room, 2016) he completes a full set of National Awards in the three disciplines of a restaurant, something without precedent in Spain.

How to pair the history of a city

The cellar's approach is the same as the kitchen's: to look to history. The wines of Madrid are present in the literature of the Spanish Golden Age, and the pairing recovers that memory with very old wines woven into the journey, alongside labels from around the world chosen for what they bring to each dish.

There are two pairings. The Armonía pairing accompanies each course with a glass chosen for its produce. The Premium raises the register with labels such as Laurent-Perrier Héritage, Charly Nicolle's Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2022, Château Beychevelle 2022, Vega Sicilia Reserva Especial and two VORS sherries: Tradición and Valdespino's Niños PX.

The Armonía pairing

Glass by glass

A selection from the Madrid Menu's Armonía pairing and the reason for each glass, in the cellar's own words. The pairing changes with the menu: some labels rotate depending on the produce.

  1. Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée BrutAOP Champagne · France

    Pairs withThe seafood courses

    More Chardonnay in the house's most classic cuvée: freshness, minerality and citrus that heighten the power of the sea.

  2. Pazo de Barrantes 2021DOP Rías Baixas · Spain

    Pairs withSmoked Motril shrimp

    Albariño and shellfish: two coastal classics, from the far end of Granada to the Rías Baixas, that seem to share one origin.

  3. Ata Rangi Te Wa 2021Martinborough · New Zealand

    Pairs withThe vegetable courses

    New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: tropical perfume and coastal freshness, a good companion for vegetables.

  4. Georg Mosbacher Ungeheuer GG 2018VDP Pfalz · Germany

    Pairs withThe courses from the sea

    Slate Riesling from the Palatinate: firmness, volume and a piercing acidity that suits seafood.

  5. Sobajanera, vino de pastoMarco de Jerez · Spain

    Pairs withOld-style sea bream escabeche

    Salinity, iodine and marshland: a Jerez classic that counterbalances fresh, saline escabeches.

  6. Almirez 2022DO Toro · Spain

    Pairs withSuckling pig with crackling skin

    The Zamora clone of Tempranillo brings density, volume and tannin to melt into the fat of the family's suckling pig.

  7. Clio 2022DOP Jumilla · Spain

    Pairs withDemi-glace with walnut purée

    The Mediterranean take on Monastrell, with its hint of preserve, holds up the structure of the demi-glace.

  8. Jorge Ordóñez Moscatel Late HarvestDOP Málaga · Spain

    Pairs withAranjuez strawberries and rice pudding ginestada

    The tropical freshness of old-vine Moscatel against the spark of red fruit and the creaminess of rice pudding.

  9. Niepoort Tawny DemijohnDOP Porto · Portugal

    Pairs withSan Lorenzo de El Escorial chocolate cream

    Chocolate and port, a marriage without rough edges: the tawny style brings notes of cocoa and nuts.

Labels and vintages may vary with the season.

Rafael Sandoval in black and white, merged with the façade of the Las Ventas bullring, in the Madrid Menu artwork

The menu's artwork

Why Rafael appears beside Las Ventas

In the Madrid Menu campaign each brother merges with a building in the city. Rafael's is the Las Ventas bullring, and not by chance: from his grandfather Coque he inherited a love of bullfighting, to which he devoted his early years before taking charge of the wine cellar, and today he keeps his own ranch in the sierra.

The fighting bull is also on the menu: in the sacristy, a psyllium leaf with fighting bull steak tartare and old-style mustard is served.

The barrel that never reached Washington Irving

The most singular piece in the cellar has a story of its own. Coque has recovered a barrel that was travelling on a ship bound for America and never reached its addressee, the writer Washington Irving. Rafael tells it like this:

«We have been fortunate enough to recover a barrel from a ship bound for America».

Rafael Sandoval, in Gastroactitud

A cellar of more than 3,000 labels

The list Rafael builds brings together more than 3,000 labels of wines and spirits from five continents, with special attention to Spanish appellations. On the Madrid Menu journey, the wine cellar and the Jerez sacristy are two of the stops.

The cellar also works with spirits: in July 2025, Coque and The Macallan presented the second edition of their 17-course whisky pairing menu, including The Macallan M Decanter 2019.

Frequently asked questions

What is Coque's Madrid Menu?
It is Mario Sandoval's tasting menu at Coque: 17 courses that trace Madrid's culinary history from the 9th century to today, served in six spaces in the restaurant: cocktail bar, Ónix, wine cellar, sacristy, kitchen and dining room.
Who signs the Madrid Menu pairing?
Rafael Sandoval, Coque's sommelier and winner of the 2017 Spanish National Gastronomy Award for Best Sommelier. He offers two pairings: Armonía and Premium.
Which wines accompany the Madrid Menu?
The Armonía pairing includes, among others, Pazo de Barrantes 2021 with the Motril shrimp, a Jerez vino de pasto with the sea bream escabeche, Almirez 2022 (DO Toro) with the suckling pig and Niepoort Tawny Demijohn with the chocolate cream. The Premium adds labels such as Vega Sicilia Reserva Especial and Château Beychevelle 2022.
What is Coque's Washington Irving barrel?
A barrel recovered from a ship bound for America that never reached its addressee, the writer Washington Irving. It is part of Coque's wine cellar.
How many labels does Coque's wine cellar hold?
More than 3,000 wines and spirits from five continents, selected by Rafael Sandoval.
Where is Coque?
At Calle Marqués de Riscal, 11, in Madrid. It holds two Michelin stars and three Repsol Suns.

Sources

  1. Menú Madrid de Coque: la nueva cocina de Mario Sandoval, Gastroactitud, Julia Pérez Lozano, (in Spanish).
  2. El restaurante con dos estrellas Michelin donde recorrer la historia culinaria madrileña, ¡HOLA! Cocina, Alicia Hernández, (in Spanish).
  3. Restaurante Coque y su Menú Madrid, un viaje por la historia y los sabores de la gastronomía madrileña, Javier S Gastro, (in Spanish).
  4. El restaurante Coque y The Macallan presentan un exclusivo menú maridaje, Vinetur, (in Spanish).
  5. Rafael Sandoval, premio al «Sumiller del año», Vinetur, (in Spanish).

More about the team: Rafael Sandoval, sommelier · Mario Sandoval, chef · Diego Sandoval, maître d' · Three brothers, three National Awards

Rafael Sandoval / Insights