Where do chefs eat?: The recommendations of José Fuentes (KultO), from hamburger restaurants to wine bars, including Michelin stars


Aloña Fdez. Larrechi

José Fuentes (Madrid, 1981) has worked with chefs such as Andrés Madrigal, Darío Barrio and Koldo Miranda. In his passport we find the kitchens of Italy, Mexico or Peru, where he learned the keys to gastronomy from him. After going through Zahara de los Atunes, he now runs Kulto, one of the essential restaurants in Madrid, where he conquers his customers with gastronomic proposals full of flavor and imagination. And he shares with us his
favorite venues.

From hamburger restaurants to wine bars, going through Michelin stars or the essential place to enjoy some good macarons, Fuentes acknowledges that «
I really like to eatI like eating more than cooking, I’m not going to fool you. If it were up to me, I would dedicate myself to eating.»

With the complicated schedules that running a restaurant entails, the chef knows well those places where
enjoy a good dish after hours, and although it is not “very sweet” it also has a local header to go to when you feel like eating a homemade cake. These are the culinary recommendations of José Fuentes.

One of the hamburgers at La Bistroteca. /The Bistrotheque

the bistro

One of his favorite restaurants is this place on Calle Espartinas which, he points out, “is not a hamburger restaurant, but
a restaurant where they make hamburgers». In 2021, the person in charge of it, Vanessa San José, was chosen as the best chef of gourmet hamburgers, perhaps because, as Fuentes says, “they have taken them to another league.” “It is one of the places where I go a lot and it is appreciated to eat at that level for 20, 25 euros,” she highlights.

Sasha

“It is one of the first restaurants where I went to eat when I was 20 years old,” he explains about this place, one of the most sought-after in Madrid. “Is a
kitchen very direct, which does not tire you, you can eat it every day of the week and it does not bore you, “he explains. Open since 1972, this business that unites Basque and Galician cuisine is located at number 11 Juan Hurtado street in Mendoza.

Angelita’s bar. /

little angel

little angel

When it comes to having a drink, the Madrid chef points out that “I really like wine” and for him “the selection from the Villalón brothers’ project is spectacular. Also, you can
order them by the glass» points to this place located on Calle de la Reina, very close to Madrid’s Gran Vía.

Ramon Pipi

“It is one of my favorite restaurants in Zahara de los Atunes, it may not be the best known but it has the best material, the best fish in all of Cádiz,” Fuentes explains about this place located at number 36 Calle María Luisa. «Everyone can buy fish in Cádiz, but he is
the one who best selects the fish to providers. And Isidoro, his cook, is the one who best gives the point to each dish ».

NOI’s tiramisu. /

NOI

NOI

The KultO chef says that he loves going to Noi, at number 6 Recoletos, “not because it’s in style, but because I’m a
in love with Italian cuisine. Gianni Pinto takes it to another level, with the deliciousness of an Italian nonna and the elegance of someone who has spent years refining recipes ». “For me,” she points out, “he is one of the most elegant chefs in Madrid,” she says.

The Adobo Winery

When Fuentes goes to Cádiz, he likes to stop by Bodeguita El Adobo to enjoy a good fried food. «
I love», admits the chef about this place that Paco Abeijón leads and that we can find at number 4 Rosario street.

Image of Triciclo’s dining room. /

Tricycle

Tricycle

«I really enjoy Triciclo and it also has, in my opinion, the best value for money. It’s a
michelin star, but no star. Javi (Goya) is the best chef in Madrid at the moment”, says Fuentes, who praises his cooking for the tasty cuisine of this restaurant located at number 28 Calle Santa María.

Vendettas

Very close to there, at number 42, is Vendittas, a place where “they feed you until half past one in the morning, so on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when a cook leaves work and wants to eat oysters, for example, with a
glass of champagne or a cecina table, we can go there, ”explains Fuentes.

Moulin Chocolat

“I really like macarons and for me the best ones made in Spain are those from Moulin Chocolat,” says the chef. “I also like the
Chocolate palmwhich has that puff pastry with a crunchy, caramelized touch, which is not heavy with sugar and for me it is a spectacle”, he adds.

One of the dishes at the restaurant run by Javi Ollers. /

Pau Culler

paul culler

“Nationally, it is my favorite restaurant,” Fuentes acknowledges about the O Grove restaurant recognized with two Michelin stars. «Javi Olleros is a great guy, a genius, and for me it is very important that a cook of his level is so
committed to the environmentwith sustainability, with the environment” and all this to offer “a very elegant cuisine, very Atlantic, very ours and at the same time very sophisticated”.

the snack

“I’m not very sweet,” Fuentes admits, “but when I want to eat
a homemade cake I like to go to La Merendona, in General Pardiñas number 3». “It’s spectacular and I like it a lot” he emphasizes about this place that, in addition to having more than a dozen different cakes, has truffles, cupcakes and brownies on his menu.