This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s Guide to Madrid
Rocablanca is a raw refreshing place in Calle de Fuencarral in the Malasaña Madrid fashion neighborhood. About him, Chichi’s boutiques try to attract great spending with carefully curated interiors and dark messages, but this bar without frills, which has been a gem of the neighborhood since the 1970s, gets directly to the point. Simple menu is handwritten on bold but slightly lucrative boards, with sandwiches, coffee, beers and hamburgers listed in addition to the star article: a strange reimagation of that deep Spanish -fried element JOY (Croquette) who has gained legions of fans throughout Madrid.
Attracting locals and tourists alike, Rocablanca is a bright activity full of activity. The tile mess releases excellent surfaces and mirrored surfaces, while crushed napkins falling on the floor are quickly involved. The environment has changed slightly since Rocablanca first opened two doors down in 1974 by Fermín Del Cerro and Cecilia Martínez. At that time, Bar was once part of a small community of shops that lined up a different sleepy road.
“I came here and rented a space that had been a milk bar. I started with stunt and mornings, ”says Fermín. “The neighborhood had a completely different atmosphere, it was another life. People knew each other (and) were long neighbors; The shops were institutions and everyone greeted you on the street. Now it’s different. ”
When I visit a last morning, I am surprised to find the couple there, as they recently withdrew after their golden anniversary, leaving their business to their son Carlos del Cerro. However, they still appear every day.
Pleased to share the story of his bar with me, the farm leads me to stress where some of the old businesses were located in Calle de Fuencarral: Long -Vani institutions such as the San Mateo equipment store (found in 1925) whose clip “If I don’t see it I don’t think so“(Seeing is believing) He still remembers well, and a restaurant that served to serve the game now transformed into a fast Hamburger union. He even pulls me to a store selling new socks down some doors down, where he continues to speak the new assistant to allow us to see the premises out of 1974.
“But little by little, things began to go downhill,” Fermín says about the economic crisis that raised Spain in the 1980s. While new freedoms after Franco’s dictatorship led to artistic flourishing, things were scarce and many businesses fought to get. “We had a few bad years then. Enough some businesses were closed, ”Cecilia says.
“Of course, it was Madrid movement“Says Carlos referring to the period after crossing democracy when Pedro Almodóvar and other developing film makers, artists and musicians gathered in Malasaña, winning the area a wild and exciting reputation. The artistic renaissance had a dark side: strong medicines like heroines were now freely available. Near, – a phenomenon caught in Pedro Almodóvar’s 1989 Connect me! Connect me! At that time, muggings and thefts were common, and in the film, Antonio Banderas Ricky’s character was beaten and robbed by a trader. While Rocablanca owners were not attacked themselves, they say the bar was robbed at night on several occasions.
“There were about 15 drugs we knew – they were about 20-25 years old,” Fermín recalls. “All those kids died.”
A change for better came in the early 2000s with government subsidies to renovate local buildings, which attracted the purchasing power of the LGBTQ+community. “And then gays came, which made the neighborhood change completely,” Carlos says. “Calle Forenzarral is how it is, in part, thanks to this change.”
“Roads from Plaza de Chueca above began to change, with the opening of restaurants and shops. It was also a mayor who helped with subsidies for buildings,” says Fermín, referring to Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, leader of Madrid from 2003 to 2011, which oversee the renovation of many of the nineteenth century buildings.
Rocablanca, too, flourished in this period and from the beginning of the 2000s had expanded to open three locations on the road, and Carlos came on board to help. At the age of only 26 at the time, he had some ideas on how to improve business. At that time, Rocablanca closed around 8:00 am. He lasted the opening hours around midnight.
“When I came, we started offering more evening food for a younger clientele: hamburger, salads and dolls (with) an aperitif, “says Carlos.” My father wanted me to make them smaller. But I believed in the idea of a big one JOYFiled in a screen case. “
Rocablanca is extremely large dollsOR croquetón, Lower the country’s pride in the counter and are now famous throughout Madrid. Only 1.80 € each, they come in six species that tighten the gap between innovation and tradition. Besides classic ham The version is a parmesan and eggplant number that injects a hint of Italy into the traditional Spanish dish.
“I’ve always wanted to create a vegetarian recipe, because there are plenty of vegetarians here,” Carlos says, adding that he stayed up half the night perfecting the recipe.
Like any wonderful JOYThis soft snack is lined with a fresh bread dish that gives a wonderful soft béchamel filling which can contain pork tender cheeks (Kariller), garlic pwwns or a traditional Madrilenian scrape: Stew Chickpea.
Although customers run for his creations, Carlos rarely surface to shoot praise. On the contrary, personal touch is provided by the opposite staff, a gang that are treated as family members. Business loyalty is strong among them, and a member of the staff recently withdrew after 47 years of service – just before Carlos’s parents.
Staff are part of the reason that the business is still going on. As the property began to be cut into the increasingly gentrating area, other branches of Rocablanca had to be closed. “We had many years of rent in Calle Fuencarral and we were thinking of closing,” says Carlos. “But we are practically as a family, with people who have worked with us for many years.”
Fortunately, the family had bought the current premises and was able to consolidate their position, closing the two rented places – a wise act in difficulty, as Madrid’s rents are now growing.
At the bar, Celia and Farmín are in their element, greeting the elderly clientele sitting on the zinc countertop enjoying their morning coffee and stunt.
“This is not a chain where everything is before -programmed. Here you can come and say,” I want my sandwich that way, my toast in that way, “Carlos says. “People appreciate it – having someone in front of you who is not putting your order into a car. People come in to talk about the football match the night before, about politics, everything. “
Later, the atmosphere will be just as vibrant as the ribbon is filled with new hip things that accumulate for a reed – a beer spilled with the large traditional foaming peak in the Madrid rods – and, of course, Carlos block dolls.
Rocablanca, Calle de Fuencarral 71, 28004 Madrid. Opening times: Monday – Edra Sunday, 7.30 morning – 11:00; Thursday, 7.30 morning – 11.30 in the afternoon; Friday, 7.30 morning – 12:30 pm; Saturday, 8.30 morning – 6:30 pm. Website; Direction
This article is part of a new series for local gems: underrated neighborhood restaurants that combine excellent, relatively affordable food with a sense of community. Do you have a favorite local gem? Tell us in the comments
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