Yes, believe it or not, this burger is vegan.
The Malasaña neighborhood has a new member and has come to revolutionize everything we usually think of a vegan. Fantastic V it opens its doors to close them to prejudice and boring food. This is a gastronomic story, but it could also be the history of the restaurant that (finally!) reconciled vegans and meat lovers . It is not necessary to choose sides, only decide between their dishes.
Here you do not come to judge, but to savor. Neither to suffer for the change, but to be part of it using only one thing: to enjoy what we love so much as eating. Nothing you find in Fantastic V is going to look like a traditional vegan, because it's just what they don't pretend to be . This is about a restaurant without labels, where **the only thing that matters is the taste. **
THING OF TWO
This story has more than one protagonist and is born on the other side of the pond. Cris and Sebas are publicists and they worked together in Bogotá. They shared work, but also a passion: cooking . Already then they were planning some project related to the popular food trucks in the area. However (hello, karma), at the time of the market investigation, Sebas was transferred to Madrid.
That is when the wisdom of proverbs comes into play, and that is "everything happens for a reason" . Cris takes advantage of the situation and decides to start a master's degree in restaurant management and, with the two already settled in the capital, they just had to get down to work. Thus was born Fantastic V , which is none other than Cris's master's thesis brought to life.
**WHY GO**
Let's not beat around the bush, we've come to eat. Here is the first tip: order some dishes to share so you can try everything . The menu is small, so if you set it up right, you won't miss a thing. And, although what you are about to read it seems to belong to a carnivorous menu, it is 100% vegan food.
They open the gates of paradise for vegans and carnivores.
Building a restaurant that stands out from the rest in a city like Madrid is a laborious task . Spanish or international food? Bar or restaurant? Healthy or fast food? Neither one thing nor the other, and all at the same time. Fantastic V cannot be compared to any other because it has the best of each house. This is a fast food, vegan, for meat lovers. Boom!
And who eats there? Vegans or omnivores? All! This restaurant is the symbol of a future purpose. The big headline is that Cris and Sebas are NOT vegan and perhaps that is the most magical thing. They themselves represent that change. They are like you and me, like their clients. people who want engage with the planet in a balanced way reducing their consumption of meat, but without giving up foods that drive us crazy, such as hamburgers.
Tacos first. And not just any taco, Fantastic Tacos. The absolute star of this dish is called jackfruit, comes from Southeast Asia and the amount of nutrients it has make it a superfood . The theory is that you are going to eat a fruit taco, but in practice, your mind and your palate are going to make you believe that you are eating an authentic cochinita pibil taco.
They look like cochinita pibil tacos, but they are fruit tacos!
The key lies in how you treat it. By cooking it and subjecting it to high temperature, this fruit begins to fray in such a way that it simulates a shredded meat, in texture and appearance . In Fantastic V it is served as a trilogy, each taco with a different dressing: pineapple, pickled onion, cilantro... The magic will happen when you try it and you can't believe that what you have in your mouth is fruit.
Second, cob. This is a dish to enjoy at home, to stain your hands without fear . With house salt sprinkled with a little paprika, coriander and lime , each bite is an explosion of flavor. If you are one of the daring, put hot sauce on it and you'll go crazy.
The previous dishes could be about the first assault, but now final round! Let the fast food chains tremble, this hamburger-fries combo is unbeatable. His name is Fantastic Vurger, with the V for vegan, and his “meat”, Beyond Meat . This company is in charge of analyzing the beef to the millimeter and then searching nature for the most similar ingredients.
This cob is made so that we gladly stain our hands.
They use pea protein for texture, beet juice for juiciness, or coconut oil for fat , the result is a delicious hamburger. “What we believe is different from other restaurants is that we work the Beyond Meat as one more ingredient of the recipe , like minced meat”, that is, they create a dough, add spices, condiments, sauces... It doesn't go directly to the bread.
The bread is also not random , Cris and Sebas consider him another protagonist of the hamburger. For it, they have allied themselves with La Hogaza de Chueca , a Polish baker who has lived in Madrid for thirty years and who is a master of vegan bread. He finds substitutes for butter to make it fluffy, like potato flour.
It's the turn of the fries . Their appearance will leave you confused, they have nothing to envy to some typical potatoes with cheese and bacon. The cheese is cheddar and it is made from coconut oil. , and it has the creaminess, texture and flavor that we love so much about cheese. It is only necessary to accompany them with their Fritz-Kola, German soft drinks based on fruit juice.
As you can appreciate, the menu is discreet, simple . “We know we have good products and we want to do well. It is no use having a menu of ten hamburgers, It's THE burger and THE tacos ”, says Sebastian. They fully comply with this philosophy, because, surely, those dishes are hard to forget.
**WHY COME BACK**
Fantastic V is much more than a restaurant. It's the beginning of a change It's something you want to wear, something you want to be a part of. It is no coincidence that you are in Malasaña , Cris and Sebas are in love with its streets, and what they intend to create inside is in tune with the personality of the Madrid neighborhood.
Not only to eat, but you can also come to Fantastic V to create and learn. Another path followed by the restaurant is form a creative community. Carry out workshops, masterclasses, exhibitions and other events that have to do with music, photography, illustration, or any form of art in any of its expressions.
BREAKING MYTHS AND BARRIERS
If some still wonder what's so special about Fantastic V , the answer is simple. Their purpose is not to become standard-bearers for the salvation of the planet, but start a change together. His claim does not go beyond the pure enjoyment of food.
The fact that it does not say “vegan” anywhere in the space is precisely an attempt to bring positions closer together, so that no one rejects this way of life, but neither has the obligation to follow it. In Fantastic V, vegans and omnivores are united by one thing: a passion for gastronomy.
It's not green, it doesn't have plants, it doesn't say "vegan". We've come here to eat!
we already know that The bad thing about the new currents is that they become so fashionable , that instead of being something positive, places are born that end up distorting them and losing the north of what they really intend. The same thing has happened with the vegan trend. We find hundreds and hundreds of vegan places that promise to be the key to immortality.
It seems that we are used to the fact that in a vegan restaurant there can only be vegetables and rice , and that the space has to be green, and with some pretty plants. Really, change our habits towards a lifestyle that respects the planet it doesn't have to be one way or the other, the key is that we don't notice the difference, that we go over to the other side with pleasure, for pleasure and conscience.
Thus, work of the Triscaideca architects studio , at the gates of Fantastic V paintings of hamburgers appear, the place is red and there are no tables, just a few steps where you can sit, talk, and be part of a group where only food matters.
Sebastian says that “in Fantastic V there is a great revelation, and that is that the meat stops being an animal and becomes a flavor” . Even the most skeptical will be able to verify it. It is proven, we can be vegan and still enjoy a good hamburger with fries.
You can also accompany the food with a soft drink and no, this one is not like the others either.
Address: Corredera Alta de San Pablo, 2, 28004 Madrid See map
Telephone: 689 97 95 07
Schedule: Wednesday and Thursday: from 1pm to 4pm, and from 7:30pm to midnight / Friday to Sunday: from 1:30pm to midnight / Monday and Tuesday: closed