Spain, Madrid, Restaurant, Tapas, Cinco Jotes
Spain, Madrid, Restaurant, Tapas, Cinco Jotes

Cinco Jotas

There's no better place to taste the Bentley of hams than this restaurant, where you're assured perfect slices every time.
  • Cuisine


Bucket-list jamón that's worth the splurge
    The vibe

    All glitz and glam

    The crowd

    Salamanca glitterati and company-card-wielding bigwigs

    The drinks

    Reserva wines and top-shelf gin & tonics

    The food

    Jamón ibérico or bust

Our Review

Benjamin KemperContributing Writer

Start us off with an overview.
The jamón ibérico brand Cinco Jotas is so synonymous with quality that to call something "Cinco Jotas" in the local vernacular is to say it's the "crème de la crème." Of course, there's no better place to taste the Bentley of hams than in its proprietary bar and restaurant, where you're assured luxurious, perfectly diaphanous slices every time.

What's the crowd like?
The ritzy Barrio Salamanca location and status-symbol hams keep Cinco Jotas buzzing with suited prepsters and señoras dripping with bling. Sybaritic tourists flock here too.

What should we be drinking?
Classic Spanish wines reign supreme here—think bold tempranillo blends and sherries from centuries-old bodegas—but nobody will give you side-eye for ordering a beer or icy gin & tonic, which go down a little too easily on the sun-drenched outdoor patio.

How's the food?
Ready the fainting couch—this is the best ham you'll ever taste. Nutty and complex with a finish that lingers on your tastebuds long after you've swallowed, Cinco Jotas' jamón might forever ruin prosciutto and serrano ham for you—don't say we didn't warn you. It all comes down to the pampered pigs, purebred Iberian hogs that gobble up nuts and acorns in the dehesas of Andalusia and undergo a multiyear curing process.

And the service?
Staff are professional and dress to impress. Don't be afraid to snap a video of the ham cutter at work; the surgical handiwork is incredible to watch.

What's the bottom line?
When you have money to burn and bosses (or dates) to impress, Cinco Jotas is your spot. But even if you're on a budget, it's worth stopping in if only for a beer and half-portion of the cult-status ham.

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