The lounge of the Nudist restaurant needs no artifice, just like its cuisine based on preserves.
What would you expect from someone who proposes to his wife with the ring of a can of cockles? Well, that he ends up creating a brand of preserves and a restaurant without a kitchen in which the dishes are made from his own canned products.
This is the story of Conservas Nudista and its owner, Micky Irisarri, who – along with other financial partners – embarked on the adventure of reinterpret the concept of traditional tavern and, in part, also that of preserves, until very recently related to survival food.
"I have been a production director for 20 years of television series such as 7 Vidas, Aída, La familia Mata... And there came a time in life when I thought: 'what would happen if I set up my own canning tavern?' And instead of wondering, I got down to it. I took the car and traveled around Spain visiting canneries for a year", Mike remembers.
He went to Galicia for shellfish, from Asturias he brought sea caviar, tuna is from the north –both pickled and in olive oil–, Navarra nourishes it with vegetables, chickpeas come from León, ventresca comes from the south , melva, mackerel, mojama and morrillo de still. The tuna is from the Almadraba; anchovies from Santoña and courgette ratatouille, from Madrid.
Conservas Nudista packs and cans only quality products purchased at origin from family canneries.
THE IDEA AND THE CONCEPT
Micky always had things very clear, he had to pursue his dream, but not at any price, it would be useless to devise a brand of preserves identical to those that we can find on the shelves of a supermarket, no matter how gourmet (a word that he does not like too much ) that was the appearance of the packaging.
For this reason, he only buys from small producers –family canneries that work in an artisanal way–, a Raw material of extreme quality that he later labels with the characteristic two diamonds of Conservas Nudista.
Bar area in the Nudist restaurant in Luchana.
In addition, his experience in the audiovisual world helped him articulate the desired concept of a 'careful brand':
"I love marketing, so I collaborated hand in hand with Erretres (a Strategy + Branding + Digital consultancy). I brought them my briefing and They worked with 15 different names, the logo and the identity of a product without clothes, fresh, healthy and natural. That is why I felt very identified with the name of Nudista", comments Irisarri.
Then the two rhombuses would arrive , a nod to that old way of cataloging television content in Spain.
The latest addition to the brand material are a free postcard in the style of the mythical Londoners, in which you preserve Nudist explains the virtues and health benefits of its products, as well as the vitamins and components that they contribute to the organism. In one of them the take away list is printed, since if you take the preserves home instead of eating them in the restaurant, their price is reduced.
Tripe with chickpeas at the Nudist restaurant.
ON THE PLATE
"The only thing we serve in a can in a canned food restaurant is dessert, and people are enthusiastic about this. The rest of the dishes, such as tripe with chickpeas or beans with oxtail, are made by incorporating one canned product into another," Mickey explains.
Because yes, this is the way of 'cooking' at Nudista, including hot dishes, highly demanded during the coldest months of the year, which is why they have just added the Asturian bean stew to the menu. And all without odours, something that is appreciated by many of the patrons of this restaurant in the traditional Independent Republic of Chamberí, as Micky likes to say.
There is no menu at Nudista, nor does it need to be, but there is a very complete menu in which you can try some simple cockles with oil dressing, lemon and its juice, some mussels, leeks with oil and salt or some spicy sardines. .
But also some elaborate portions in which the ingredients mix and complement each other to come up with mixtures such as Nudist salad, artichokes with razor clams, avocado toast with anchovies, crumbled quail with piquillo peppers or chickpeas with crumbled bonito and mojo picón.
By the way, at aperitif time, the drinks are always accompanied by a tapa, a small bite from Nudista's cuisine: from a potato with anchovies to some vegetables, including a mini sandwich of sardines or mackerel.
Top quality artichokes with cockles at the Nudist restaurant.
NEW LOCATION, IDENTICAL ESSENCE
Micky wanted to transfer his concept of simple cuisine without artifice to another neighborhood in the capital, specifically Chueca, and he has just opened a second Nudist branch at 20 Augusto Figueroa Street. Here he continues to develop his passion for preserves and there are not many decorative changes compared to the original restaurant, where simplicity and a taste for noble materials prevail.
Divided into two environments, again the bar is the meeting point of the place, where the neo-tavern atmosphere is concentrated, however, there is also a secluded and quieter area in which to enjoy greater privacy, for those who do not take nudism so well.
Of course, they will have to share a table with two huge blue diamonds from floor to ceiling that will remind them that in Nudista everything they are going to try will be 'cooked' in the nude.
The new Nudist location in the Chueca neighborhood.
Nudist Canned Asparagus
Address: Calle Luchana, 27, 28010 Madrid See map
Telephone: 913 77 64 24
Schedule: From Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 16:30 and from 19:00 to 24:00; Saturdays from 12:00 to 17:00 and from 19:00 to 24:00; Sundays from 12.00 to 17.00