At kilometer 47 of the A5 (the Autovía del Suroeste) a miracle occurs at the height of a service station that is worth being glossed over. An essential stop on any route heading to Talavera de la Reina, Extremadura or Portugal, Las Esparteras is an oasis that from Casarrubios del Monte, a small town in the province of Toledo, surprises the world.
In a life full of asphalt, tedious roads and inert gas stations, where machine sandwiches, prefabricated tortillas and battle coffees abound, finding stops like Las Esparteras is little less than reconciling with life, with the road and with what the courage of having known how to take a service road to unthinkable heights where everyone fits.
A wine list of more than 1,800 references, a collection of Iberian hams from the most illustrious brands in Spain, a dozen in their display cases, champagnes, distillates that number in the dozens —both in quantity and in price— and all of this at the foot of the road where a Petrus can be uncorked as soon as it is you can enjoy a tuna sandwich with peppers or enjoy it like a child to the rhythm of roasts, lamb and suckling pig, in a roadtrip almost reaching 30 years of life.
Its current creators are Charles Victor Y Raul Barroso, in front of the kitchen and the hall of this temple of short stops and also of long after-meals, which has been growing over the years, adding gastronomic references to its recital but without ever abandoning its reason for being: be a roadside restaurant.
They have done it without changing the staff, without training in cooking schools, and always with the loyalty to a client that is Capable of drinking a Coca-Cola in ten minutes and eating a tasting menu at the same time with some of the best wines in the world that have even earned a Repsol sun.
You want and you can
Raúl Barroso, head of oenology at Las Esparteras, says that the business has been in operation for 28 years where it was always “a typical restaurant, with daily menus and a little wine”. The odyssey was started from the kitchen by Carlos Víctor and José Antonio, Raúl’s father, whom he succeeded as a partner.
For years, Las Esparteras had already established itself as a growing benchmark for good food, honesty and quality roasts, even today signs of identity of the house. “I think we are one of the few restaurants that always have roasts on the menu, without the need for a reservation,” says Raúl.
The day doesn’t matter, because at the foot of the wood oven is Carlos Víctor, who firmly governs the passage of lambs and piglets that the public, especially the place and on weekends, he loves it. “A lot of customers come from the surrounding towns on weekends for the barbecues, because they are very family days,” adds Raúl.
At the entrance, before entering the spacious rooms of Las Esparteras, a metal bar that extends towards an area of high tables and where the tempo is marked with portions and sandwiches. As an escort if he raises his head and looks to the sides, bottles that impress.
On the right bank, the air-conditioned cellar with some international references that It is surprising not only to find it in a service area, but in many Spanish restaurants. On the other, whiskeys, tequilas, rums, gins and a host of other spirits that also escort the passage, almost like a true museum of spirits and wine that, moreover, are affordable —and can be bought to take away—.
The importance of the clientele
Without getting on the cloud or believing it, Las Esparteras is a restaurant where the rings do not fall and where, luckily and rightly so, they work well throughout the year and in any circumstance. so much so it is a service area that works 24 hours a day, become a free port for all those who pass through this road, where it is only closed on Christmas and Christmas Eve.
“That’s the beauty of this restaurant,” Raúl considers. “You may come for a tuna sandwich with peppers, to eat some churros first thing in the morning, to come for a barbecue with your family or, if you want to go further, see what we have gastronomical”, he indicates.
Without pretensions, Raúl Barroso also talks about that client who has been growing with them. “We have a very loyal clientele and also many passing customers, or many people who forever but have never entered the dining room,” he says.
“It is true that sometimes people come in and are surprised because what we have here is not very normal“, he assures. Although he also emphasizes that there is a growing public that arrives from other parts of Spain or very often from Madrid, which is only 40 minutes away by car.
In addition, he warns, always betting on his workers. “Nope, We haven’t signed up cooks to come or anything like that. Everything comes from the usual kitchen, with the usual cook, with whom we make the new dishes that we want to introduce: it’s trial and error,” he says.
A restaurant of enjoyment made by enjoyment
“We started to make the big mess in 2009, when I arrived,” says Raúl, who begins to worry about adding more wines to the menu, to introduce high-class distillates in the restaurant or to add a culinary offer that went beyond the menu of the day in a restaurant that could be more than a steakhouse.
Now they wear a Repsol sun and what is eaten in the most gastronomic bet of Las Esparteras has to do with Barroso and Víctor’s own tastes. “We bring what we like to eat when we go out, looking for good products and being a little restless,” explains Raúl.
A reality that includes during our visit some dishes and ingredients that they never cease to amaze in Casarrubios del Monte. It happens with the breva with anchovies, the Barbate tuna whose morrillo is cooked in a papillote or the Ayrshire chop, the best in the world, which have impeccable points.
Also It happens with vegetables and with small details like eggs. From the green come the asparagus from Carlos Camañes —we already told you about this adventure back in the day—, from the tear peas or from the free-range eggs from Cobardes y Gallinas. “We serve what we like to eat,” Raúl is sincere.
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A reality that they do not replicate as often as might be expected because “we are here every day”, but when they come out they try and learn. Thus they expand their horizons from a restaurant that employs more than 40 people and that allows average ticket as neat as the 25 or 30 euro ticket when we go to their barbecues —if we don’t mess with the wine—, and that in its most gastronomic aspect it can reach sixty or eighty euros —wines aside—.
There, where oenology prevails, it is essential to ask Raúl about the prices of the wine list, Well, they are only a little more expensive than what is sold in distribution, just a few euros. “We don’t want to have a wine museum that people don’t buy, we have the wines so that they can be sold and come out, not to be exposed,” he summarizes.
A reality that we attest to during our visit, since they are many customers who use Las Esparteras almost as a wine bar, stopping en route to buy wines that would otherwise not be accessible and that here have free rein to find rarities with which Las Esparteras has put itself on a map of which it is an indispensable part: that of the roadside restaurants where you can eat wonderfully.
What to ask for: Depending on our ticket or hurry there will always be an option in Las Esparteras. If we are in a hurry, a tuna sandwich with peppers or anchovies, or a portion of lean meat with tomato will make up for the stop. If we want classicism, its roasts, and if we have time and desire to innovate, go to the menu and to the most gastronomic proposal. In any case, everything is a success.
practical data
Where: Autovía del Suroeste, 47, 45950 Casarrubios del Monte, Toledo.
Half price: between 30 and 80 euros.
Bookings: 918 17 09 32 and on their website.
Schedules: from Monday to Sunday, 24-hour bar kitchen. Restaurant from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pictures | Sergio Reviejo – BTeam Communication
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