We have a new bar in the neighborhood of Ibiza
Put aside all the ceviches, burratas, dim sum and guacamoles – yes, no one doubts that they are delicious – if what they put in front of us is a traditional bar full of gildas, cockles and pickled mussels. That the Pisco Sour, Margaritas and Daiquiris be withdrawn, if they offer us a well-drawn beer or a homemade vermouth.
Of course we like international cuisine: try, savor, discover... but Bar counters and afternoons – which turn into nights – of tapas lose us. And what is the gastronomic mecca of tapas in Madrid right now? The neighborhood of Ibiza, without a doubt.
One step away from Retiro and bounded by O'Donnell, Ibiza, Narváez and Menéndez Pelayo streets, this paradise of good food –and good dinner, tapas and/or snacks– does not house any tavern, but premises that are almost homes, bars where the people of Madrid take a well-deserved third after work, stools that have witnessed love at first sight – but also heartbreaks and farewells – and terraces where spring arrives earlier and summer always asks for one more round.
Tuna as if it were mojama, with almonds
This is the first division. Here the hymn to the raw material is sung, jumping onto the pitch ready to delight the fans with each pass –in the form of skewers, salads and montaditos– and he sweats his shirt to the end –sweeping the plate and finishing the last beer–.
The new signing of the neighborhood of Ibiza? Hermanos Vinagre, the new traditional temple of the chef and businessman Enrique Valentí on the banks of the Retiro which, a few weeks after its debut, has already become a regular pilgrimage site for lovers of the pickled and smoked ones, to which he gives a twist and serves in a most original way.
Brothers Vinagre: up the preserves!
LONG LIVE THE BARS OF A LIFETIME
“The name is a tribute that we pay to an essential element in all pickles: vinegar. It is something so popular, so traditional and so ours and, at the same time, a word that often does not enjoy much prestige – sour face –, that we wanted to do the opposite”, Enrique Valentí tells Traveler.es
Hermanos Vinagre has just moved into number 58 Calle Narváez, in a place that previously housed a creamery until its owners retired.
Without losing an iota of authenticity and tradition, Hermanos Vinagre presents itself as one of those bars that could have been there... for a lifetime, and whose name already alerts our sense of taste.
ode to the gilda
THE SACRED HOUR OF THE APERITIF
The location of the premises is not accidental: “We wanted to settle in the Ibiza area, because the Champions League is here” and as good people from Madrid we wanted to compete where the best are. We wanted to be close to where today we believe that tapas is at its best” says Enrique.
This entrepreneur, chef and gastronomic consultant has based in Barcelona for 10 years, where he runs the Marea Alta restaurants (specializing in fish and shellfish) and Baroz (where the star is, indeed, the rice).
This new project in front of whose stoves is his brother, also chef Carlos Valentí, It is “a complete declaration of intent”, says Enrique, who in his first store in the capital wanted to bet on culinary tradition and value traditional dishes and recipes: smoked, salted, marinated, pickled, preserved naturally or with simple dressings... And, in addition, enhance the (for many sacred) hour of the aperitif.
Sobrassada Lyo
UP THE PRESERVES!
In Brothers Vinegar they make their own pickles and preserves (mussels, cockles, anchovies, anchovies in vinegar,...), with raw materials of the highest quality.
“We are always in search of the best possible genre and the excellence of the product and we try to handle it in the simplest way, with the utmost respect, to achieve a traditional but at the same time exceptional preserve” Enrique Valentí tells us.
Henry is clear: “The first step is to try to compete with the known and then develop more unknown or unreferenced things,” he adds.
Smoked pickled mussels
A) Yes, in his menu, simple and brief but of category, we find proposals such as mussels in smoked marinade –of premium caliber and firm meat–, made in its own canning factory, located in Boadilla del Monte, where almost all its products come from.
You shouldn't stop trying either. the very fresh natural cockles, served in a shell on an isothermal box with ice and accompanied by lime and a few pipettes of hot sauce. Definitely, preserves of a lifetime.
Natural cockles, prepared with spices and lime
BACK TO THE ORIGINS
Gaudí said that originality consists in returning to the origin and here the maxim is applied to perfection: “I think that nowadays, the main quality of a restaurateur or a chef should be to have personality. I claim the return to origins and personality” affirms forcefully Enrique.
The businessman and chef claims to be "more of Castilian soup and garlic soups and less of ramen" and defends the local product at all costs. "Spain, as a country, has a culinary identity like few others," he says.
What would you recommend trying yes or yes at Hermanos Vinagre? “I would tell him to start with our anchovies in vinegar, which is something so typical and topical in Madrid that it is one of the classics that a cook should master”, he affirms.
Madrid-style anchovies in vinegar
There's also gildas –such as olives, piparras and anchovies skewers– and an attractive variety of banderillas: anchovies, octopus, fresh tuna, smoked cod, and of course, anchovies in vinegar.
The local logo, in fact, is a nice anchovy from the Cantabrian Sea, which is served at the bar, in addition to the classic marriage with its inseparable anchovy, in three other different ways –baptized as “the anchovy trilogy”: prepared and seasoned, on a butter toast or with candied green pepper; all of them presented in a container in the shape of a can of preserves that you will want to take home.
The Russian
FROM THE RUSSIAN TO THE GERMAN, GOING THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL PICANTITO
Not only quality and taste, also the presentation of the portions is one of the most striking attractions of Hermanos Vinagre, that add a kitsch touch to each dish that is placed on the bar.
A) Yes, the salad, which on the menu is presented as La Rusa is served in a fun matrioshka “And soon, to serve the German sausage salad, we will launch The German ”, Carlos Valentí advances us, who does not stop for a moment behind the bar.
Other essential snacks are fresh tuna as if it were mojama –watered with virgin olive oil and served with almonds and picks–, the nice spicy and pickled quail drumsticks –one of Valentí's famous dishes, also at Marea Alta–.
Do you want more? finish with the Lyo sobrasada, made with Galician beef from Cárnicas Lyo.
Carlos Valenti in action
VINEGAR AND SOLERA
An L-shaped bar presides over the premises, where the set of mirrors notably enlarges its surface and a shelf runs along the entire wall, so customers can grab any free space –because we attest, few corners are left unoccupied every day–.
The colors green, red and cream monopolize the interior – which bears the signature of Cristina Carulla Studio , in the form of tesserae that cover the entire floor –Instagramers alert– and the central column.
Behind the stainless steel bar and under the Hermanos Vinagre sign, the menu is announced on a large panel. “We use the conservation method and the marinade to propose timeless themes, although of course, things will happen and we will be introducing very fun surprises”, confesses Enrique.
Anchovies with green pepper confit
“Right now we are super focused on seek excellence in service quality, staging, and above all, trying to understand what the client wants”, says Enrique, who does not rule out expanding the business in the future.
Furthermore, he acknowledges that they are "very happy with the reception that Hermanos Vinagre is having, there are people who tell us that they have finally found something recognizable and understandable, of a lifetime, ”he concludes.
And it is that when it comes to tapas, not everything goes, and even less so when it is played in a Five Star stadium such as the Ibiza neighbourhood. As Enrique Valenti says, “it is always more difficult to differentiate yourself by making a potato omelette”, and both he and his brother Carlos have scored a spectacular and delicious Olympic goal.
The German
Address: Calle de Narváez, 58, 28009 Madrid See map
Telephone: 915 39 11 69
Schedule: From Monday to Sunday, from 12:00 to 23:00.