The Appetizer: Masta Taberna, Zarautz
Two young chefs who opened in 2023 a tavern named Masta prove in abundance that magic can be worked with a few scallions. As soon as you take a bite of any of the dishes authored by Javier Ochoa and Garikoitz Arruabarrena, you immediately understand why they earned the title Madrid Fusión 2026 Revelation Chefs.
Both chefs are in their twenties and are the perfect reflection of the future of cuisine, already present, where dishes that appear simple hide a cuisine without labels but of the very highest quality, where locally sourced produce and a modernized traditional repertoire mean everything. One example: their pork-chop salad is a tasty romaine heart confited with the meat’s char and crowned with anchovy, delivering a simple yet superb surf-and-turf. The menu is seasonal, so you might still be lucky enough to snag the aforementioned spring onions, treated as calçots, grilled and accompanied by a flavorful chicken broth and a romesco sauce they make by dehydrating piquillo peppers, hazelnuts and hard-boiled eggs.
As said, homey cooking with a stew-and-spoon vibe, with a well-placed creative touch. Their baxurde (wild boar) meatballs, completed with pork jowl and a demi-glace made from the boar’s bones, have become the house signature – never missing from a menu that does not exceed ten offerings – as well as their willingness to elevate the region’s vegetables cultivated by a local family. The place isn’t very large, so it’s best to book in advance.
The Main Course: Kappo, Madrid
It’s no secret that here you can eat the capital’s best nigiris. Mario Payán has been at the helm of Kappo for ten years, now occupying a larger space just a few steps from the original address. A spectacular Cantabrian walnut bar — now for 21 diners — has elevated the aesthetic level of the new restaurant, but the essence remains the same: sit down and watch him conjure magic on his omakase menu. It is the sole offering from someone who began as an assistant at Kabuki more than two decades ago, without any idea that Japanese cuisine would become his obsession.
