Beyond the mock spider-crab cannelloni and tortilla vaga, there's a pickled oyster (ostra escabechada) and a deconstructed dessert, tarta dispersa, built from almond cake, cream and raspberry purée. The cooking keeps its Galician and Basque roots, simple preparations that let the quality of the product lead.

Sacha's parents, Carlos Hormaechea and Pitila Mosquera, met in Paris among the Spanish diaspora and, with careers far from cooking, decided to bring the French bistrot home. They opened first in Sitges in 1971, but a cholera outbreak forced them to close, and in 1972 they reopened in Madrid as a Botillería y Fogón on Calle Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, near Plaza de Cuzco, in a residential area with almost no restaurant scene. They named it after their son, Sacha Hormaechea, who runs it today. It holds two Repsol Soles and is part of the 50 Best Discovery selection.

The cooking keeps its Galician and Basque roots: simple preparations that let the product lead. Several dishes have become Madrid classics, copied across Spain: the tortilla vaga, a 'lazy' omelette left barely set on one side; the falso canelón de txangurro, spider crab rolled as a mock cannelloni; and the ostra escabechada, oysters pickled the traditional Galician way in a nod to Pitila's homeland. Steak tartare, sole meunière, lentils with bone marrow and seasonal vegetables have long been part of the repertoire, and the tarta dispersa closes the meal as a deconstructed dessert of almond cake, cream and raspberry.

Other dishes regulars ask for include the suquet of carabineros, skate in black butter, a 'false lasagne' of txangurro or sea urchin, and, to finish, filloas, the Galician crêpes, filled with pastry cream.

Sacha Hormaechea, who is also a photographer, works the room face to face, sitting down at tables to talk rather than posting on social media. His cellar is stacked with rare vintages, and regulars are expected to let him choose both the food and the wine rather than order off the card. The room keeps its charming, slightly decadent French-bistro look, with a leafy terrace that opens up in summer.

Hormaechea is as much a figure of Madrid's food culture as a cook, known as a photographer and a communicator, and for a free, personal cooking tied to the product and deliberately apart from fashions, labels and the race for Michelin stars; a generation of younger chefs counts him as an influence. He still cooks beyond his own stoves now and then: in September 2026 he joined Gastón Acurio for a guest dinner at La Mar in Madrid. The full name over the door is still Botillería y Fogón Sacha.

Sacha is open Monday to Friday only, with lunch from 13:45 and dinner from 20:45, and is closed at weekends and on public holidays. Book online through the reservation page on the restaurant's site or call 91 345 59 52. No-shows and late cancellations may be charged €40 per person.