Five gastronomic experiences in Madrid

As one of the world capitals with the most tourism, projection and gastronomic offer, the city of Madrid has become one of the essential and favorite destinations for the most intrepid foodies. Travel to the most authentic Naples with the gastronomic proposal of the latest project of the Figurato brothers? You will have to visit Pizzeria Friggitoria to enjoy the most typical fried food of Southern Italy, its fluffy pizzas and the classic Italian beer. A restaurant inside a traditional food market where the fusion between Asian and Latin flavors become the protagonists? Enter the Chamberí Market in Madrid and discover the proposal of Insurgente, the original project of two very young chefs who eat with their hands. A restaurant that pays tribute to the precious world of craftsmanship and that is a twist on the most traditional cuisine? Book a table at Terracotta, one of the most popular restaurants in the Salamanca neighborhood and perfect to enjoy the flavors of a lifetime. Are you passionate about the cuisines of the world and don’t know which one to choose? You will have to know the culinary proposal of the Argentine chef Juan D’Onofrio in Chispa Bistró, an international tour of the best cuisines of the world that will catch you completely. Do you love Japanese gastronomy? Visit Nomo Braganza, located in the lively neighborhood of La Salesas, a proposal signed by Japanese chef Naoyuki Haginoya that will transport you to Japan.

Travel to Naples from Pizzeria Friggitoria

After the resounding success of Trattoria Popolare, the famous Figurato brothers, Vittorio and Riccardo, are launching their third Italian restaurant in Madrid. Located in the Vallehermoso area (Avenida de Filipinas, 14), Pizzeria Friggitoria allows us to travel, without having to take a plane, to the most authentic and street Naples to enjoy the typical fried food of Southern Italy, its fluffy pizzas and the classic Italian beer. In the menu of this fun and casual gastronomic concept you will find a wide variety of starters such as the traditional Arancini, Crocchè di patate, Supplì, Frittatina di pasta or crispy Patatine with cacio, pepe e limone, some of the most famous and traditional fried food of Naples. Handmade daily, they are the perfect choice for sharing and experiencing the authentic street food of the city of Naples, and also to open your mouth and give way to its carefully selected selection of pizzas, also Neapolitan style. This new place has two exclusive pizza recipes that you can only enjoy there: the “Pallone di Maradona” a fried pizza with a spherical shape filled with ricotta and cracklings and the original pizza in two baking, fried and then baked. The pairing with beer, here, is very relevant. The Figurato brothers traveled to the country of the boot to seek out authentic Italian birra. To accompany the experience, they chose Baladin beer, a family brewery located in the Piedmont region that stands out for its balance and tradition. Buon appetito!

An Insurgent meal, at the Chamberí Market

The young chefs Genaro Celia and Agustín Mikielievich have just launched their first gastronomic project in Madrid’s Mercado de Chamberí (Calle Alonso Cano, 10). A surprising gastronomic proposal based on the original fusion between the flavors of Asian and Latin influences. Insurgente, becomes an informal space with a certain irreverent air in which the complex preparations become bites of street food that can be enjoyed, for the most part, with your hands. Its short but varied menu emphasizes the importance of the product, from local suppliers, and in it you can find dishes as appetizing as the “Empanadas de Birria” where the traditional flavor of the birria from Jalisco is mixed with the Argentinean style empanadas, Agustin’s country of origin, or the creamy plantain sauce that can be discovered in the base of his “Grilled Beef Sweetbread”, a puree that Genaro has rescued from the recipes that his mother used to cook for him in Colombia and that take him back to his childhood. Also his “Crispy Chicken Tacos” that give a twist of flavor through the tandoori and spicy mango glaze or the “Focaccia de ropa vieja en su jugo” where this mixture between the traditional and the contemporary is present. In addition, Agustín’s hands are also present in many different dishes thanks to the embers, a very Argentinian technique that the young chef masters to perfection. They have a Kamado, a Japanese cooking tool that allows them to grill, smoke or cook at low temperature. Get ready to eat with your hands.

Ode to craftsmanship at Terracotta

Located in the heart of the Salamanca district (Calle Velázquez, 80), Terracotta is a restaurant of traditional cuisine with Mediterranean products and very modern elaborations. Its strong point? The taste for craftsmanship, in all its facets: from its gastronomic proposal to its careful and photogenic interior design. In its menu the importance of the raw material and the product is fundamental, as well as its care in the cooking. It has emblematic dishes such as the croquettes of carabinero, Iberian veil and black garlic aioli, the creamy salad with pickles, piparras and red tuna, its amusing brioche of squid, pickled limes and fresh herbs, the saam of Iberian jowl or its crunchy zucchini flowers stuffed with speck and mozzarella. A format designed for sharing in which you will also find traditional dishes such as grilled baby squid with three emulsions or glazed veal cheek with potato parmentier.  In addition, and to round off the experience, the restaurant offers a wine cellar with more than fifty references that cover all the denominations of origin of the Spanish geography. And they are also committed to a very artisanal cocktail proposal, where their six signature sangrias based on handmade macerates and fresh fruit stand out. Terracotta’s menu is alive, don’t forget to ask for their off menu. This season you can enjoy dishes like their cherry gazpacho with buffalo burrata, caramelized cherrys and fresh basil oil or the mellow rice with cruciferous vegetables, cauliflower and broccoli, cod cocochas and rucuña chips.

World cuisines at Chispa Bistró

In Chispa Bistró, located at number eight of Barquillo street and in front of Madrid’s Plaza del Rey (where you will find its recently inaugurated summer terrace), the Argentinean chef Juan D’Onofrio makes his international journey the essence of his cuisine: the world. With his surprising proposal he intends to capture the flavors he has known through his many travels and experiences. The temporality, the lighthouse of his proposal, proposes a flexible experience in which the main courses, desserts and cheeses can be enjoyed without an established order. The menu of Chispa Bistró is a journey around the world, starting from the Mediterranean and Asia, where Japan is savored. But also Italy, a bit of Mexico, the Basque Country and even New Zealand. The cuisine of this cozy restaurant revolves around three main axes: product, seasonality and tradition. The use of vegetables and fish abounds and different techniques stand out, ranging from cured products such as tuna, pastrami or shrimp, grilled products such as watermelon or cabbage, as well as fermented, pickled and very worked funds. In his menu you will find essential dishes such as his “cuttlefish, ink and lemon”, his “mushrooms, rabbit and yolk”, the famous “fabes, carabineros and pork” or his “veal sweetbread, beurre Blanc and oyster”. If you are a cheese lover, this is also your place.

Nomo, for lovers of Japanese cuisine

Are you a lover of Japanese cuisine? You can not miss Nomo Braganza, located in the heart of the Salesas neighborhood (Calle Barbara de Braganza), which has already managed to become a benchmark of Japanese cuisine in the capital, fusing Mediterranean culture with Japanese cuisine. Japanese chef Naoyuki Haginoya is the architect of a gastronomic offer that highlights the richness of Japanese cuisine with local produce as the protagonist. In his menu you will find dishes as round as his spicy prawns on a base of crispy kataifi noodles and topped with a fried egg (one of his star dishes), the old cow gyozas with caramelized onion or perol sausage with vegetables and Japanese demi glace sauce, a large and endless variety of nigiris or temakis, which are finished at the table. Room for dessert? Don’t forget to ask for their taro panna cotta with yogurt ice cream and pineapple crumble or their handmade Oreo mochi. In addition, its carefully designed interior design built with traditional forms of raked sand reminiscent of a Zen garden, the use of terracotta color, wood or the careful lighting, will also transport you.

Editor: Álex de la Rosa

Álex is a journalist and a reference in the world of gastronomy, creator of the successful blog “Que no me la den con queso”.