Coque · The house
Coque was a person: from a bar in Humanes to a cellar of 3,000 labels
The restaurant's name was not chosen in a meeting: it was the nickname of the grandfather, who ran the front of house of a bar in Humanes while his wife cooked. In 1976 it went up on the façade. Three generations later, what has been inherited is also in the wine cellar.
The question comes up again and again at the table, and it has a short answer: Coque was a person. It is not a word chosen for its sound, nor a branding invention: it is the grandfather's nickname, and that is why it is on the façade.
A bar in Humanes, with him in the dining room
The house began in the mid-1950s in Humanes de Madrid, south of the capital, with a bar called La Peña. The grandparents ran it, and how they divided the work is the detail that explains a great deal: he was in the dining room and she was in the kitchen, with game, livestock and produce from the kitchen garden. In other words, the house was born with both halves of the craft on an equal footing, not as a kitchen with a dining room behind it.
1976: the name goes up on the façade
In 1976, the parents —Teresa Huertas and Rafael Sandoval— opened a rotisserie in Humanes and named it Coque, after the head of the family's nickname. That is the moment a village nickname became the name of a business, which is a rather literal way of inheriting.
What the third generation adds
Today the house is run by three brothers, each in his own craft: Mario in the kitchen, Juan Diego in the dining room and Rafael in the wine cellar. All three hold the Spanish National Gastronomy Award in their discipline, something no other Spanish family can claim.
The wine cellar is the part this generation adds to what it inherited. Where the grandfather had a dining room, there are now more than 3,000 labels arranged like a colosseum around the guests. The craft is the same —looking after people, choosing, serving—; what has changed is the scale.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the restaurant called Coque?
- After the nickname of the Sandoval brothers' grandfather, the founder of the house. The name went up on the façade in 1976.
- Where did it start?
- In Humanes de Madrid, in a bar called La Peña run by the grandparents: he in the dining room, she in the kitchen.
- Who are the third generation?
- Mario Sandoval in the kitchen, Juan Diego Sandoval in the dining room and Rafael Sandoval in the wine cellar.
- Where is Coque now?
- At Marqués del Riscal 11, Madrid, since 2019. Before that it was in Humanes de Madrid.
Sources
- Coque, la pasión de la familia Sandoval por la cocina, 7 Caníbales (in Spanish).
- El chef que ganó dos estrellas Michelin en el restaurante que fundó su abuelo, Infobae, (in Spanish).
- The Sandoval brothers, Coque Restaurant.
More about the team: Rafael Sandoval, sommelier · Mario Sandoval, chef · Diego Sandoval, maître d' · The experience, step by step