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In recent weeks, Mario Vargas Llosa has been making headlines for issues unrelated to his career as a writer. Although the Nobel laureate has hardly said anything about it, he has been seen doing everyday things such as visiting some of his favourite restaurants. Taking advantage of his last meal at a well-known Uruguayan restaurant in the capital, we have selected some of the restaurants that Vargas Llosa has visited on more than one occasion.
Charrúa
This Uruguayan restaurant located in the heart of Madrid’s Justicia neighbourhood is one of the Nobel Prize winner’s favourites. Just a few days after his last visit. It is a restaurant specialising in meat. It owes its name to an ancient indigenous tribe from the 16th century, for whom fire was an essential part of cooking. Today, in this restaurant they still use this ancestral formula to savour the best pieces of meat. No wonder Vargas Llosa is a regular diner. Website
Saddle
Another of his most recent gastronomic visits. This Michelin-starred restaurant is an experience for the palate because it is always looking for excellence. Located in the Almagro area, it has 3 spaces: the restaurant, the reserved areas and the bar area. It offers cuisine inspired by classical and contemporary roots and based essentially on respect for the product and its ingredients and its seasons. Web
Horcher
Very close to the Retiro, it is one of the jet-set’s favourite restaurants. For almost 80 years it has been offering the tradition of good food and ensuring that customers enjoy a unique gastronomic experience every time they visit the establishment. One of those lucky diners has been Vargas Llosa, who has eaten there on more than one occasion. In the wake of the pandemic, they also started offering Horcher en casa for home delivery.
El Jaral de la Mira
El Jaral de La Mira is a project by chef Mario Sandoval whose aim is to create moments that will remain in people’s memories. To do so, it has a large estate in a unique location in San Lorenzo del Escorial. Events of all kinds are organised here, such as the one held by Vargas Llosa a few months ago: the annual party of the Vargas Llosa Chair. The menu, prepared by Sandoval, cost 1,000 euros per guest and this VIP party was attended by celebrities such as José María Aznar, Cayetano Rivera, Albert River, Esperanza Aguirre and Mar Flores, among others.
Asador Caracoles (Lerma, Burgos)
This traditional restaurant in Lerma, in Burgos, has more than a century of history and offers a cuisine with love. Its speciality is suckling lamb roasted in a wood-fired oven, one of the most prestigious gastronomic products of this land. This is what the writer was able to taste during his visit, . as a diner who met him commented.
This is his favourite spoon dish
And although Vargas Llosa has confessed on more than one occasion that he is not a great cook, his favourite dish is a Peruvian chupe typical of his hometown, Arequipa. It is a very easy-to-prepare shrimp soup, which also contains fish stock, rice, beans, fresh cheese, courgette, onion, cabbage, potatoes, garlic, corn, eggs and chopped huacatay, among other ingredients. As you can see, it is an authentic spoon dish.
And if you want to know more places where other celebrities eat, here you have the restaurant visited by Joaquin Sabina and Leiva.