Carro makes every tortilla herself, using Chiclana potatoes and farm eggs no older than four days, no onion, finished with a semi-liquid interior; a counter by the entrance tracks the count. The kitchen sources deliberately too: Patxi Larrañaga chistorra and Olano morcilla from Guipúzcoa, Santoña anchovies, Girona cured meats and Priégola dairy from Madrid.

Carmen Carro turned to the kitchen after losing her job in the 2011 economic crisis, with the support of Santiago Pedraza, and in 2014 the pair opened Taberna Pedraza on Calle Ibiza as a restaurant of cocina de origen: traditional technique centred on the product. It moved to a bigger space on Ibiza in 2015 and, in 2019, to its current home on Calle de Recoletos, more than 500 square metres over three floors. Along the way it won a Premio Metrópoli in 2014 and the Premio Millesimé 2015 for best gastronomic concept; today it holds a Repsol Sol and is recommended in the Michelin Guide.

Two dishes define the house. The Betanzos-style tortilla (€23), which Carro learned at O'Pote in Betanzos, is made with Chiclana potatoes and eggs from young free-range hens, no onion, and left semi-liquid inside; a counter by the entrance tracks how many she has made. The Cocido de Carmen (€42 per person, served to the whole table) comes in three courses: a skimmed broth with cocido meatballs, piparras and spring onion; small, tender pedrosillano chickpeas with carrot, potato and cabbage; and the meats, Galician free-range chicken, old-cow shank, Olano chorizo and morcilla from Beasain and Ibérico pork. It opens with a cocido croquette, and it can also be ordered to take away. The carta bills Carmen as an 'académica' of Spain's cocidos, and in summer the cocido is served by advance booking only.

Santiago Pedraza lights the embers every day, saying the grill is above all common sense, though there is no common sense without time and dedication. From the grill come Simmental, native-breed and supreme ox chuletones (€89 to €148 per kilo on the September 2026 carta), a whole 1.4-kilo Galician veal sirloin at €160, of which only two are available a week, line-caught hake, sea bass and Cantabrian lobster. The rest of the carta runs from creamy croquettes and Carmen's Russian salad to Patxi Larrañaga chistorra, snails, callos, Olot butifarra with Ganxet beans, Joselito ham, Santoña anchovies, bonito belly and hake kokotxas in pil-pil. The wine list is built to match the traditional flavours of the kitchen.

A few practical house rules: table service carries a €3.50 supplement per person, which covers bread and an aperitif, and orders without a main course are served in the bar area. There's a daily spoon stew, made by Carmen, so ask what today's is, and she also sells a few staples to take home, half a dozen free-range eggs and a kilo of the pedrosillano chickpeas she uses in the cocido.

Taberna Pedraza serves lunch from 13:00 to 16:30 Tuesday to Sunday and dinner from 20:00 to 23:30 Wednesday to Saturday, and is closed on Monday. Book online through CoverManager from its reservation page or call +34 913 428 240. With a street-level bar and several private and semi-private rooms, it works well for groups and events.