Ministry of Foodies Review
Cuisine: Fusion
Average price per person: 30€
Environment: 8.5/10
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Other: Vegetarian options
Website: https://www.cocinainsurgente.com/
Insurgente has become one of the most popular meal options at Mercado Chamberi. Inspired by Latin American food markets, Insurgente is trying to combine Latin American dishes influenced also by Asian cuisine.
We visited on a Saturday night for dinner.
Location/Environment
Insurgente doesn’t have its own sitting space. There is a common sitting space in the market, for everyone who wants to eat from the various market restaurants/stalls. Customers will go up to the counter at Insurgente and place their order. Then they will receive a buzzer which will buzz every time a dish is ready. Then you would have to get up from your table and get to the counter to grab each dish as it gets ready.
The market setup is interesting and while it’s a little annoying to have to get up every once in a while, this approach allows you to experience the true food market vibe.
Insurgente – Menu
The menu includes about 15 dishes primarily influenced by Latin American and Asian cuisine. Almost all of the dishes are small to average size portions, which allows you to try several different things.
Service
Insurgente works as a market stall, so they don’t serve you at the table and you have to pick up your food. While there is usually a line to order, the dishes are prepared quite quickly.
Insurgente – Food
The empanadas with Mexican birria filling were tasty and worked well with the crunchy vegetables’ chimichurri. I would have preferred the dough less flakey though.
Following that, we got cheese bread with red curry and for me, it was one of the best dishes. Nice cheese to bread ratio and a refreshing and vibrant red curry salsa underneath.
Next, the tacos with crispy chicken, spicy mango salsa and an onion and coriander salad on top. The chicken was well cooked, the mango salsa was excellent, but I found the amount of onions (despite how much I like them) excessive on each taco. It was almost overpowering the other flavours.
The crispy pancetta was nicely cooked and served with a Peruvian huancaina salsa, onion and coriander. The salsa was slightly bitter, but overall this was a solid dish.
Next, we got the bao with slow cooked brisket and the fermented chilli sauce. One of my favourites, with the tender meat filling and the slightly spicy sauce. My only comment would be that the bao was a little oily, but other than that, great flavours.
The last of our main dishes was the Udon noodles which comes with calamari sauce, guanciale and cheese foam. This was my least favourite. The sauce was very “fishy” and excessive for the amount of noodles. You were practically unable to taste the guanciale and the cheese foam and all you could taste was seafood. Very different compared to what I was expecting by reading the menu and for me, lacking proper execution.
For dessert we got a chocotorta with dulce de leche and hazelnut sauce. This was very rich but also very tasty. Unless you have a major sweet tooth, it’s best to share among a couple of people.
Conclusion
Considering all the dishes are being prepared in a small food market stall, Insurgente does impressive work. It has a great menu conceptually, although I think that some dishes fell short on execution.
The style is similar to El Triperito so if you are looking for a creative and more elaborate food market restaurant, then you will definitely enjoy this experience.
Visit: March 2025Address: Calle de Alonso Cano 10, Chamberí, 28010 Madrid