Madrid’s heaving dining scene just got another boost with the opening of a restaurant whose Galician name telegraphs its homey gastronomic intentions, but not its unexpectedly contemporary interiors.
Meaning ‘authentic’ or ‘genuine’, the restaurant is a contrast to the Embajadores quarter, a sleepily old-fashioned neighbourhood near the Sunday street market, El Rastro. For this, applause please for the Madrid-based Studio Zooco that’s headed by Miguel Crespo Picot, Javier Guzmán Benito and Sixto Martín Martínez.
Several adjoining units have been cobbled together to form a spacious dining room, its size cropped through the clever insertion of sliding screens comprised of vertical and horizontal panels of braided string lattices. These literal walls of transparency allow the restaurant to be configured into zones for different sized groups, without fragmenting the space or sacrificing any sight-lines or light.
The building has been a Galician restaurant since 1979 and the architects have notated their design by incorporating a similar ribbon of timber that curls up and around the walls and flooring to create subliminal pathways that are bordered by concrete and hexagonal ceramic tiles.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, executive chef Domingo Urosa unfurls the complex flavours of Enxembre’s Galician specialties of seafood and rice, and creamy filloas, or sweet northern Spanish pancakes.
ADDRESS
Paseo de las Acacias, 12
-
Tour David Lynch's house as it hits the marketDavid Lynch's LA estate is for sale at $15m, and the listing pictures offer a glimpse into the late filmmaker's aesthetic and creative universe
-
A new Tadao Ando monograph unveils the creative process guiding the architect's practiceNew monograph ‘Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture’ by Taschen charts decades of creative work by the Japanese modernist master
-
Inside the sculptural and sensual philosophy of jewellery house RenisisSardwell, founder of jewellery house Renisis, draws on sculpture, travel and theatre to create pieces that fuse sensual form with spiritual resonance
-
Has the ice cream parlour come of age?A global wave of architecture studios is treating the scoop as spectacle, turning parlours into immersive social spaces
-
Jaç Hi-Fi Café brings Japanese listening-bar culture to BarcelonaIsern Serra Studio unveils a sound-sculpted interior that brings Japanese listening traditions into Catalonia’s contemporary design landscape
-
This chic new restaurant in Ibiza looks like a gallery and feels like a partyMira by Gathering marries contemporary art, Mediterranean fare, and laid-back glamour in a space designed for both contemplation and celebration
-
Do luxury hotels need a farmer-in-residence?From Ibiza to Indonesia, hospitality brands are cultivating a new travel experience, where wellness begins in the soil and ends at the table
-
The most stylish hotel takeovers to pop up at this summerFrom Capri to Ibiza, luxury fashion brands are taking over seaside resorts with exclusive boutique pop-ups and bespoke poolside accessories
-
Ten lesser-known gems you shouldn’t miss in MadridCelebrated for its Beaux-Arts architecture, art museums and culinary creativity, Madrid continues to reinvent itself thanks to a buoyant cultural scene
-
Wallpaper* checks in at The Palace Madrid: an old soul with new sparkleOnce a haunt for intellectuals and artists, Madrid’s grand dame navigates a new era of luxury following a four-year-long renovation by Lázaro Rosa-Violán Studio
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in springDreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
