Casa Toribio, the temple of the fighting bull's tail, closes: "The pandemic took many of my great clients"

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It is not the only restaurant near Las

that serves oxtail, but, without question, it is unique: owner of an exclusive raw material, the best.

(Cardenal Belluga, 14) closes today for retirement, after 28 years serving fans and residents of the neighborhood.

And proclaimed as an authentic Madrid institution.

The reason?

The meat of its star dish came from the bulls that are fought in the Monumental of the capital and in at least 100 other bullrings in Spain, such as those in Valencia or Alicante.

"I have had a bad Fair, for the staff and for everything, and I want to leave it," says

, with that harshness of the traditional tavern keeper.

"We have been fighting for 28 years, but I have come out very burned, I have rebounded and I have said:

."

Toribio began his career when he was only 15 years old, at the Mesón Taurino Julián Rojo, and now he

at the age of

.

"I'm fine," he clarifies.

"How many 30-year-olds would like to do what I do... But the problem is that I am very demanding.

. The service has gotten worse, throwing people out of bad manners at the last minute of the dining room...", he denies.

Today, June 30, is the last day of this legendary venue, after completing its 43rd San Isidro Fair

.

"This was packed every day. Already 20 days in advance we didn't give tables, all the while calling on the phone to reserve," he says.

"But my wife and I can't be killing each other, because she gets beat up in the kitchen, poor thing, and then see how stingy there is. And with doubled salaries at the Fair, be careful."

With its closure, an illustrious recipe is lost, since there is no other place in the country that cooks fighting bull's tail "365 days a year," its owner boasts.

"Until tomorrow [for today], it was only at Casa Toribio."

And also for the good hand of

July 31 is the deadline for Toribio to deliver the keys to his restaurant, since the establishment is for rent.

"If I can't sell it, I'll sell what I can from the premises," he announces.

"Today [yesterday] the business has been full, even tables outside. And this Sunday when there are bulls, a lot of people were calling, but I don't open anymore."

The specialty of the house, the fighting bull's tail.JULIÁN JAÉN

From the ring to the plate, the flavor was what distinguished its main stew.

Originally, the beef was carved and left

for one night, to finish cooking it for at least four hours.

Olive oil, tomato, onion, garlic... After

, the pieces began to be taken first to the slaughterhouse so that, once they had passed the sanitary controls, they were vacuum-packed and frozen.

In a year, they could cook up to

calculates.

"One tail gives two servings and the steer doesn't come as long as we do. Then there are people who sell kangaroo, ostrich neck, tails of other animals that aren't real."

There is no peer who works here.

Sprinkled with bullfighting decoration and with that television that relentlessly broadcasts Toribio himself preparing

the place originally

opened as a

This gastronomic essential opened in

with the

cocktail and the gin combined with lemon peel among the most appreciated nectars.

And he claims: "Always with top quality goods. The anchovies, which we started with in 1976 in another previous business, are still cleaned at home."

His firm decision has also been prompted by the pandemic: "It has done us a lot of damage because, unfortunately, many large clients have left for the other world."

And he keeps a regret: "I am very fond of the business, I created it, and it has always worked phenomenally for me, with a spectacular clientele.

".

Today, at the end of the party, Casa Toribio will hang up

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