The Madrid restaurant where Luis Fonsi feels at home in Puerto Rico: mofongo, Kan Kan pork chop and nostalgia by the Retiro

When you tour half the world, what you miss most is not your bed at home. It’s the food from home.

Luis Fonsi, the artist who got the whole planet dancing with Despacito, is clear about it. When he passes through Madrid, he has one regular stop to feel like he’s in Puerto Rico. And it isn’t a trendy place with a waiting list.

It’s called El Casal de Pepa and it sits at number 8 on Plaza Conde de Casal, a short walk from the Retiro. There, nostalgia is served in the form of plantain.

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A corner of Puerto Rico next to the Retiro

El Casal de Pepa has achieved something unusual: being a meeting point for the Puerto Rican community in Madrid and, at the same time, a discovery for the local public.

Its owner, Joselyn Robert Baerga, decided to bring her island’s recipes to a menu that began as Spanish cooking. It was a smart move.

Mofongo, the star dish

If you wonder what an international star eats when nobody is watching, the answer is mofongo.

It is Puerto Rico’s great dish: fried green plantain mashed with garlic and pork crackling into a kind of dome, served with meat, seafood or broth. Hearty, tasty and very homey.

For beginners: if you have never tried Puerto Rican cuisine, start with the mofongo and ask for a recommendation on what to have with it. It’s the perfect way in.

Chuleta Kan Kan, for serious meat lovers

The other reason to go is the chuleta Kan Kan. It is no ordinary chop: it is a pork cut that joins loin, rib, fat and skin in a single piece.

When it is fried, the skin turns very crispy while the meat stays juicy. That contrast is what made it famous, and what wins over even the most demanding eaters.

Fonsi’s curious confession

Even if his heart is Puerto Rican, the singer keeps a surprise in his diet. In an interview with the New York Post he confessed that, if he had to pick a single meal for the rest of his life, it wouldn’t be mofongo.

“Sushi is probably the only type of food I could eat every day”, he said. He also describes himself as a wine lover and argues that any meal gets better with the right glass.

How to get to El Casal de Pepa

• Address: Plaza Conde de Casal, 8, Madrid.
• Getting there: Conde de Casal metro station is in the same square.
• Full plan: a walk through the Retiro and Puerto Rican food afterwards.
• Tip: book if you go at the weekend.

Now you know Fonsi’s Madrid refuge. Will you dare try the chuleta Kan Kan, or will you follow his advice and look for a good sushi?