In a brightly lit corner of the Vallehermoso market in Madrid sits a delicious and surprising spot that combines the freshest of products from Spain with the tenets of Peruvian-Asian cooking. Tripea excels at thrilling fusion, which includes the way it combines a multi-course prix-fixe menu with the casualness of in-market dining.

Tripea maintains a price range that doesn’t quite seem to match its accolades, which include a feature in the Michelin guide, the Spanish Guia Repsol, and Opinionated About Dining. Chef and owner Roberto Martínez Foronda is one of a younger generation of Spanish chefs that eschew the fancy world of white tablecloths and spherefications, choosing instead to lead with personality, with an informal, rock and roll attitude, but without sacrificing in the realm of quality and flavor.

We made a stop several months back, trying to turn lemons (a passport renewal trip to Madrid) into lemonade (a fun trip to the Spanish capital). We kicked things off with this lovely tiradito de atun rojo, raw red tuna with a passion fruit dressing, fermented garlic honey, goat milk kefir, panko migas, chile and sate. I mean.

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Tripea is the brainchild of Roberto who has worked across the world in kitchens with Darío Barrio, Andrés Madrigal and Joan Roca, as well as in Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) holy grail spots like Malabar and Maido. The thing to know about it is the tasting menu costs €35. That’s it. It could be one of the best values in the entire city.

Tbh there are plenty of places in the world where this incredible dish alone, a sobao pasiego (Cantabrian butter cake) with tuna belly tartar, Thai dressing, shrimp, nori seaweed and chives would be €35 all by itself.

The kitchen is within a couple of market stalls, and the table is a single long one that runs the length of the kitchen. Despite being short on space, little miracles just continue to pop out, like this bao with lamb bolognese, dill pickles, cheddar cheese sauce, and pepper tomato dust. UGH YES my love language!

It was the height of red tuna season when we went, so we had even more in the form of tartar, served with fried egg, chipotle kimchi and caviar.

Roberto sent us a dish or two off the menu, like this rice gnocchi with thai pesto and Majorero cheese, Fuerteventura’s most famous dairy export. All of this accompanied by a few pisco sours, enough for the lightest of hangovers to nurse at our morning appointment at the embassy. Oops.

The feast continued with this stewed quail with Massaman curry, sauced in saffron and palo cortado sherry, and a tuber puree with Chinese five spice and pak choi al wok to garnish.

I was very content to find that the authentic ingredients extended to dessert, with my favorite Peruvian combo: lucuma and chocolate. This was a chocolate brownie with lucuma bathed in mezcal and smoked tea, sweet mole, spearmint and coconut.

Tripea is a 100% recommendable spot to visit in Madrid, especially as a balance to classic Spanish cooking and tapas overdosing. The reservation system is intricate, so try to plan in advance!

TRIPEA
https://www.tripea.es
Mercado de Vallehermoso
Madrid, Spain
+34 918 28 69 47