Traditional cooking with personal touches, from the grill and the kitchen. The current carta starts with ham croquetas and cecina de León croquetas with parmesan snow, a black pudding buñuelo with pear jam, bravas with pumpkin foam and a steak tartare with roasted bone marrow, and moves on to grilled octopus with potato parmentier, turbot with pancetta and squid noodles, an oxtail cannelloni with truffled béchamel, Iberian presa from the grill and a dry rice of beef chop for sharing. The restaurant bottles its own early-harvest Picual extra virgin olive oil, sold for €24.

The ferretería at Atocha 57 opened in 1888, founded by Esteban García de Ochandatay, and passed down the family until his granddaughter María Jesús, who had worked behind the counter since she was fourteen, decided to retire after more than five decades. The City of Madrid had recognised it as one of the capital's traditional shops, and the plaque is still at the door.

When the shop came up for sale in 2015, Escapa fell for it on sight and promised María Jesús that the plan would be to keep and restore. It took three years to finish the renovation. Upstairs, in the old shop, the original counters, restored floor, keys, padlocks and the great walls of drawers are still there, and Escapa changes the shop windows every few weeks to show old invoices, account books and debts from the time of the Second Republic.

The dining room is downstairs, in five rooms under brick vaults that were once part of the Real Colegio de Huérfanas de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, a sixteenth-century orphanage. Glass-topped tables hold screws, washers, springs and other stock from the old shop. The art is serious: Cristina Iglesias' sculpture El Pozo, and works by Chillida, Juan Gris, Julio Le Parc, Antonio López and Dalí ceramics among others. Escapa's idea was to mix gastronomy with art and antiques, and to let people enjoy them without the silence of a museum.

Both spaces share the same carta. The Leña-Bar at street level is the livelier option, with a counter, high tables with backed stools and tables for up to six, and a small bar at the entrance that can't be reserved. The restaurant below is quieter and more formal. Many of the tapas are also served on Friday and Saturday afternoons from 16:00 to 20:00, between services. In winter the house runs 'el cocido de la Big Boss', an all-you-can-eat cocido with unlimited drinks, and groups of more than ten have their own menus.