Don't call it Palentino, call it Pez 8.
Let's get it out of the way: The Palentino is no longer. The Palentino died forever. And maybe that was what had to happen. In March 2019, a year after the original El Palentino closed following the death of Casto, one of its owners, regents and souls, The Palentino reopened its doors, willing to respect that celebration of everyday life around a bar. It was a difficult feat, very complicated, for Martín Presumed and Narciso Bermejo who took charge of the adventure of maintaining the regular clientele of the bar and attracting new ones (the only way to be able to pay the high rent and get ahead).
But not keeping veal nuggets and canes at the same price a couple of days a week, they managed to convince those who were looking for something else, something that was no longer there. The pandemic did the rest. And El Palentino had to disappear to remain only alive in our memory. Better this way. Now the place he occupied is Pez 8. Martín Presumado, owner of Mama Chico, he is still in front with his manager Anne of Lucas.
“El Palentino in the second stage was a gastrobar with a bar that was too big for such a small place. Today, with what we are living, the bars crowded with people will take time to return”, explains Smug. “We have done a total rethinking of the premises: there is no longer a bar, only tables and a terrace”.
Lots of wood, lots of candles that are lit at night to accompany the Cuban music. "A Nordic roll for the warm", says the hotelier. “It is no longer a bar, it is a gastronomic place.” Although the liquid menu is as important as the food menu.
“Pez 8 is rogue cuisine”, says Smug Martin. It is Spanish cuisine fused with Asian touches. Above all, it is fun. Something of the spirit of El Palentino has remained there because what they want for this new space is fun. He doesn't stop repeating it. The waiters come to the table eagerly. To I Interact with the customer thanks to live cocktails, which are finished in front of you, which smoke. At night, the candles light and the music turns up because they want there to be life. They want us to recover community spirit and optimism from this corner of Malasaña through a table. A table that, by the way, is very affordable.
Smug has only one ambition, “let the place fill up”. Risky but logical and for that, it not only offers originality, quality and fun, but also good prices. “The average ticket is 20 euros”, he says. "Although you can also have 18-euro dishes." The daily menu from Monday to Thursday is 12 euros. And get ready for the brunch they're planning. If the Mama Chicó already convinced you, here they want to "burst it". "I want to be generous," he announces.
Pez 8 is open all day from 12 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday with meals all day. At aperitif time, the 11 different vermouths that they macerate themselves at home. Weekend afternoons are for gin and tonics and other liqueurs (cinnamon and lemon whiskey, red fruit vodka…) also created by them.
In its menu with seasonal products there are already several dishes that you may have jumped on social networks: like the truffled lazy tortilla, Pacific scallops with smoked chili emulsion or its breaded. Pure fun.
Address: Calle del Pez, 8, 28004 Madrid See map
Telephone: 912993754
Schedule: From Monday to Sunday from 12.00 to 23.00