La Maruca - López de Hoyos

In keeping with the focus in its sister restaurants along the city’s Castellana and Velázquez streets, the region of Cantabria takes complete centre-stage here. The standout features in this spacious, contemporary eatery with its large windows looking out onto the street are the welcoming terrace to the rear and an unwavering focus on time-honoured Cantabrian cooking. The latter is based around quality ingredients and simply prepared dishes that retain a strong emphasis on detail. Specialities include anchovies, Santander-style fried squid, brandade fritters, stews (mountain stew and Lebaniego stew from the town of Liébana), and Cachopo, a typical dish combining steak, ham and cheese.