Legado opens Txoko, a private room for 14

Nieves Barragán Mohacho grew up in the Basque Country, where a txoko is a private society for friends who cook, eat and talk around one table. Since October she has had one of her own, on the first floor of Legado, her Michelin-starred restaurant at Montacute Yards in Shoreditch. Txoko seats up to 14 for a private lunch or dinner, with sherry poured from its own casks.

A Basque gastronomic society in Shoreditch

Txoko means nook or cosy corner in Basque. Legado says Barragán has turned the centuries-old tradition into an inclusive room, which pays tribute to Spain’s historic bodegas and takes its interiors from the north of the country. A long wooden table runs down the middle under a brass chandelier of amber glass, and a TV for presentations, video calls and streaming serves a business lunch.

Seen through a timber doorway, a large Lustau cask on a red-tiled wall beside racks of labelled barrels for Jerez, vermouth, sangria and Albariño, above a table laid with glasses and plates — The Lustau casks in Txoko.

A long table laid with glasses and plates in front of a back bar lit red, with shelves of bottles and glasses, a Lustau cask and labelled barrels, under a brass chandelier of amber glass shades

Barragán was born in Santurtzi, a small port town outside Bilbao, and went with her mother, a keen home cook, to fish counters and weekend markets. She has lived in London for more than 30 years. Legado is her second restaurant of her own, after Sabor opened in Mayfair in 2018.

Three set menus by Nieves Barragán

Barragán built the menus around the dishes and produce closest to her heart, served to share and eaten slowly. There are three. Each starts with pan con tomate and cecina, a queen scallop vinaigrette, and a tempura of piquillo pepper and goat’s cheese.

A rice comes next, either crab or arroz campero with lagarto from Señorío de Montanera. Skate wing tortilla with mojo verde and grilled octopus with smoked paprika follow it. The two larger menus add squid stuffed with prawns and wild mushrooms in its own ink. From the asador comes Segovian suckling pig or lamb, which is milk-fed on the first menu and braised neck on the other two.

A long table laid for dinner with dark wooden chairs and textured cushions, a wall of barrels and red-lit shelves of glasses at the far end, and an amber glass chandelier overhead

Seen from above on a wooden table, a roast leg of lamb on a white plate with three smaller plates of a fried pastry, lamb cutlets and a salad of red and white chicory

The largest menu adds a special, such as a whole fish baked in salt, oxtail stew, fideuà with whole prawns, or confit lobster with fried potatoes and a fried egg. Desserts build up the same way: chocolate cheesecake on the first menu, churros with dulce de leche on the second, and madeleines as well on the third.

Sherry from Lustau’s barrels

The room has its own barrels from Lustau, which Legado calls one of Jerez’s most respected bodegas. Sherry, vermouth, wine and Basque cider are poured straight from the cask at the table. Lustau is itself a bodega, so the casks tie the room to the cellars it was built to honour.

The casks stand against a red-tiled wall, beside barrels labelled for vermouth, sangria and Albariño. Each menu can take an optional pairing of Spanish drinks, and vegetarian menus are available.

Txoko set menus at £130, £160 and £220 per person. A discretionary 15 per cent service charge and a £2 per person Belu water contribution are added.

Legado, 1C Montacute Yards, London E1 6HU.

Legado opens Txoko, a private room for 14

A Basque gastronomic society in Shoreditch

Three set menus by Nieves Barragán

Sherry from Lustau’s barrels

The Club.