Madrid in six gastro novelties

More and more international groups are landing in the capital and young chefs, or recognized Michelin stars, are launching exciting projects. Are you one of those intrepid foodies who want to keep abreast of all the openings that are happening in the capital? One of the rooftops of the season, located on the heights of the emblematic Palacio de Cibeles with a gastronomic proposal that pays tribute to seasonal produce and the most traditional recipes. The delicious breakfasts “Andalusian style” of chef Dani García in the middle of the Salamanca neighborhood, with eggs Benedict with larded meat as the star dish. A trip to Italian gastronomy with fresh pasta and Neapolitan pizza as protagonists. A restaurant with nostalgia for the past, which rescues some of the most emblematic dishes of international gastronomy and brings us closer to the painter Pablo Picasso. The latest gastronomic project of the young Riojan chef Lucia Grávalos, in the Ópera district, built under the philosophy of “zero waste”. The focaccias of the moment in one of the most photographed restaurants in the city.

Take note of these six gastro tips that you can’t miss with the onset of spring and the good weather.

CORNAMUSA, IN THE HEIGHTS OF CIBELES

It has just opened its doors and, with the arrival of spring, promises to become one of the busiest rooftops of the season. The Cornamusa restaurant and its “Azotea Cibeles” terrace, located on the sixth floor of the emblematic Palacio de Cibeles, headquarters of the Madrid City Hall, offers, with the Gran Vía in the background, one of the most iconic views of the city center. After the success of projects such as Azotea del Círculo de Bellas Artes, Picalagartos or Club Financiero, Azotea Grupo inaugurates this new restaurant project that offers a gastronomic proposal, signed jointly by chefs Manuel Berganza and Jesús Almagro, with a focus on local produce and the seasonality of raw materials. A tribute to the most emblematic Madrid dishes such as the classic squid sandwich, Guadarrama beef sirloin with mustard emulsion, mushrooms and roasted marrow, smoked rice with goat cheese, beef tendons and roasted beets, black monkfish with Miraflores butter sauce and caviar or rabbit roulade in pepitoria with prawns and glazed onions, among others. Its elegant and cosmopolitan interior design, the work of the Alejandra Pombo studio, pays homage to the architectural legacy of the iconic building inspired by the figure of the renowned architect Antonio Palacios, fusing history and modernity. Don’t forget to ask for Café Cibeles, its cozy cocktail bar located on the second floor.

THE ANDALUSIAN BREAKFASTS OF TRAGABUCHES

Are you a lover of slow breakfasts and a la carte? The restaurant Tragabuches, signed by the Andalusian chef Dani García, offers to the one who arrives a delicious and complete offer to start the day with energy and surrounded by delicious delicacies. Located a few meters from the Glorieta del Marqués de Salamanca, this restaurant, which also has a branch in Marbella, drinks from the Andalusian tradition and recovers the breakfast ritual. The most classic ones will be able to enjoy the traditional molletes (or smurfs from Malaga) in their multiple versions (with butter and jam, the one with white loin zurrapa, the classic mixed or the one with sobrasada). The egg, another of the protagonists, can be enjoyed in many different ways: in French omelette or potato omelet without onion, fried eggs with garlic sausage or the appetizing eggs Benedict, served with salmon or larded meat and bathed in a delicious hollandaise sauce. In this cozy place, in soft tones and wood, you can also have the classic mixed sandwich with French butter or salmon with avocado and cream cheese, yogurt with fresh fruit and granola and a wide variety of sweet pastries. Sit at the tables in the main dining room, dressed with white tablecloths, or at the very large bar from where you can watch the incessant movement of the city.

CIRCOLO POPOLARE, A TRIP TO ITALY

After the success of Bel Mondo and Villa Capri, the Big Mamma group lands in the Azca area, with the opening of Circolo Popolare. A journey to the most emblematic gastronomy of Italy, an experience that transcends the purely gastronomic to become, through light, music and a thoughtful staging, an inverse experience. Its retro-futuristic interior design, highly Instagrammable, is built with furniture inspired by Saarinen, works of art by Olivetti, Domus magazines from the 50s, which adorn the walls, and even posters from the 70s rescued from a theater in the Italian village of Procida. The menu starts with the “antipasti”, such as the burrata directly from Puglia, the mortadella al tartufo by Gianni Negrini or the mythical croquestar, creamy ham croquettes served with fresh truffle. You can not leave without taking their fresh pasta, homemade, as their Pappardelle with lobster or their pizzas napoletanas, with a delicious variety of ingredients that you can combine. As a finishing touch, you will have to charge their artisan ice creams, original flavors such as pistachio, chocolate, stracciatella or fiori di latte. Don’t forget to ask for a table in the spectacular room on the second floor, with an impressive open kitchen with more than two thousand vintage bottles that illuminate the walls.

PABBLO, NOSTALGIA FOR THE PAST

It is the latest and most ambitious gastronomic project of Grupo Carbón. Pabblo, located at the foot of the emblematic Torre Picasso and with more than two thousand square meters, becomes the perfect place to taste some of the most classic dishes of Mediterranean cuisine and cheer up with its fun live shows or DJ sessions. A menu, signed by chef Oscar Horcajo, in which the classic shrimp cocktails, the homemade terrine of foie gras entier, the salmon and caviar blini, the sole meuniere, the ratatouille, the Wiener Schnitzel escalope of lamb veal or the renowned Sacher tart, become some of its essentials. A restaurant that looks to the past with a certain nostalgia and completes its gastronomic offer with a liquid proposal that offers a tour of surprising versions of the most classic cocktail drinks such as the historic White Lady, the sophisticated Clover Clubs or the exotic Mai Tai. Its interior design, signed by the Hurlé&Martín studio, features a terracotta color palette, vibrant tiles, the importance of fabrics and a majestic helicoidal staircase as the protagonist.

DESBORRE, THE NEW OF LUCÍA GRÁVALOS

This is the new project of the very young Riojan chef Lucía Grávalos and has already become one of the gastronomic openings of the season. Located in Madrid’s Ópera district, just a few meters from the Palace and the Royal Theater, this restaurant is built under the philosophy of “zero waste” and with absolute respect for both the product and its suppliers, authentic artisans of agriculture, fishing, livestock and bakery. Desborre is born with a great commitment to the environment and the future of the planet, which is made tangible in a gastronomic proposal based on traditional ways of cooking, with great importance of memory, and the most authentic techniques such as preserves, homemade sausages, salt-cured and dried products or macerations. A philosophy that also materializes with a marked interior design where the tables of recycled stone or the work of artisans of wood, iron or upholstery become the protagonists. Its menu, divided into five sections (the bar, the vegetable garden, the sea, the pasture and the sweet), is a journey from the most classic dishes found in the bar of any bar (its version of the traditional squid sandwich, the torrezno soufflé or the non-Russian salad, accompanied by garlic shrimp doritos), to much more sophisticated elaborations that are also part of its tasting menu options.

FOCACCIAMO, THE FOCACCIAS OF THE MOMENT

To turn a simple (but delicious and crunchy) focaccia into a real object of desire. That is what the Focacciamo team has achieved, a fun project launched by three young friends that already has two locations in the city, on San Bernardo street and next to Madrid’s Plaza de Olavide, which has just opened its doors. With a minimalist and resounding interior design signed by Plantea Estudio, the decoration studio of the moment, it turns the artisan focaccia (made with sourdough of more than 24 hours of fermentation) into the absolute protagonist of a menu that is built with the best Italian ingredients and that focuses on the take away service. Our favorites are “La Deliziosa” with mortadella, stracciatella and original pistachio cream or “La Classica” with prosciutto cotto, Fiori di Latte mozzarella and homemade basil pesto. In addition to their focaccias, diners can enjoy a wide variety of 100% made in Italy products, from their pastas to tarallis and a curious selection of wines. They also have a fun collection of merchandising.

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”.