Traditional Spanish. The house dish is fabada asturiana, and the kitchen leans on fish and shellfish brought in from lonjas in Galicia, Asturias, Alicante, Huelva and Cádiz, alongside market-priced mariscos, oysters and lobster.

The fabada 'La Máquina' with house compango is the dish the restaurant built its name on, also served as a smaller terrine, alongside callos and morros in the Oviedo style. To share there are the house ensaladilla, bellota ham, the empanada of the day, ham or cod croquetas, pulpo a feira, chipirones with garlic, coquinas and spicy red prawns al ajillo, then a long fried section: rabas, boquerones, monkfish fritters, battered cod, red prawns in a crisp coat, chopitos, squid rings and chanquetes with fried eggs. The seafood counter runs from Galician flat oysters, Fine de Claire and Utah Beach oysters to steamed cockles, razor clams, scallops, Mediterranean white prawns, langoustines, blue lobster and red spiny lobster by weight, with rices of rock fish, carabineros, lobster or vegetables. Fish includes hake three ways, black cod, wild sole, turbot and monkfish, hake cocochas and Almadraba tuna; meat is aged vacuno mayor entrecôte and sirloin, steak tartare and milk-fed lamb chops.

From this one restaurant the group grew to more than a dozen addresses in Madrid, several named after the family: Casa Nemesio (2002), Puerta 57 at the Bernabéu (2004), La Máquina de La Moraleja (2007), Casa Narcisa and La Cantina (2008), La Máquina de Chamberí (2012), La Máquina de Jorge Juan (2015), El Jardín de la Máquina (2016) and La Parrilla de La Máquina (2021), plus El Vagón counters in El Corte Inglés food halls. It marked its 40th anniversary in 2022. The pillars have stayed the same: produce bought at source from producers, fish markets and lonjas, simple traditional cooking that doesn't mask it, and warm, professional service.