An open and diaphanous space, devoid of comforts: a large showcase that overflows with genre; white walls only altered by photos, lithographs and paintings with bullfighting motifs; tiles that come from an old farmhouse in Villa Real from the 19th century; There are no chairs or places to sit, only high tables and a long bar that is almost always full; You won't find a letter either: the offer appears on two sober white boards hanging on the wall.

In this space, Juan Manuel guards fabulous raw materials for his people and has the gift of detecting and anticipating the client's desires. Here, among other delicacies, it offers cooked seafood from the Galician and Huelva estuaries, the best garlic prawns in the city, crayfish of different sizes, crabs, santiaguiños, barnacles, shrimp, oysters and river crab or clams, anchovies, anchovies, cockles, squid, mussels, razor clams, zamburiñas or the mojama from San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcía).

Mariscos La Toledana reminds us that, above the capricious weather vane of fashion, there is our faith in taverns without cosmetics, with faithful parishioners and family treatment. Its steel bar is an accomplice to colossal appetizers and witness to the trust placed in the bartender. Genuine place of joy, a small gem whose only drawback is that it only opens at noon and until 3:30 p.m.

Review by Rogelio Enriquez, President of the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy