The only Michelin star of Albacete and the award for Best Croquette of Madrid Fusion 2023 come to the capital. The chef Juan Monteagudo has inaugurated this month La Bechamel, a new restaurant of Manchegan food located at number 155 of Príncipe de Vergara street (Salamanca neighborhood).
After the success of Ababol in Albacete, the chef opened La Bechamel in his city and now opens a new establishment in Madrid. It stands out for maintaining affordable prices with a menu from La Mancha, with external influences and its star product: the ham croquette.
The best croquette for 3.50
Juan Monteagudo is the author of the famous croquettes that give the restaurant its name and whose price is 3.50 euros per unit in Madrid. To make them, he uses 50% cow’s and 50% sheep’s milk, in which he infuses the ham bones to achieve their characteristic flavor.
Another of the keys is the traditional breadcrumbs, which allows them to be fried in sunflower oil without absorbing too much fat and without the béchamel sauce losing its prominence. With this formula, perfected over more than a decade and dedicated to his mother, the chef sells more than 30,000 units a year.
Recipes for more than 50 diners
La Bechamel is located in front of the National Music Auditorium and has 85 square meters with capacity for 44 diners in the dining room and another 12 on the terrace. In addition to croquettes, visitors can taste tapas such as garlic, pringue and piparra fritters or an Albacete reinterpretation of the seafood salad.
The menu includes “spoon dishes” such as red partridge from La Mancha and its pochas or migas pastoriles with farmyard lace. Other main course options are the cheeks in chocolate marinade and the baby squid stuffed with slaughter and chickpeas. And, to finish with a dessert, the classic Manchego cheesecake and crispy torrija with ice cream are a must.
From Albacete to Madrid
Before creating his own business, Juan Monteagudo trained at the Escuela Superior de Hostelería de Artxanda (Bilbao) and worked in the kitchens of restaurants such as Mina, Azurmendi and Zárate Jatetxea.
In 2022 he returned to his homeland, Albacete, where he opened his own project, Ababol, which has a Michelin star. It is dedicated to paying homage to La Mancha food, with influences from other cuisines such as French, as his father is of Parisian origin. The chef himself defines his brand as “from La Mancha to the end of the world” on his website.
The most traditional flavors are combined with innovation in La Bechamel, the restaurant that has just opened in Madrid and that promises haute cuisine recipes without a very high cost, with an average price per person ranging between 30 and 40 euros.