In the Cuzco room, piscos and cebiches.
Quispe It is a surname of Quechua origin. It is probably one of the most popular surnames in Peru, and yet those who bear it have long been embarrassed because they were branded as indigenous in a highly racially and socioeconomically divided society. That's why, Cesar Figari, Lima, chose the name for his restaurant, to turn it around, “so that they feel proud of their surname”, he says he. “Because, just like gastronomy, the Quispe have been mixing with different cultures and origins, being a faithful representation of the reality and complexity of Peruvian society”.
And Quispe, the restaurant that **first opened in the summer of 2017 in Formentera (and was successful) ** and has now just opened in Madrid, in an unbeatable area, full of Alonso Martínez, "is a tribute to the cultural and gastronomic mix and diversity of Peru”, says Figari, an engineer by profession, dedicated to fashion and textiles for years, and always a lover “of eating well”.
In cold cooking, cebiche is king.
"Why has no Peruvian restaurant been fashionable in Spain?", is the question that César Figari asked himself when he decided to jump into the world of gastronomy. Peruvian cuisine is considered the best in the world, it is the pride of the country, the representation of its identity mixed for centuries between indigenous, European, African and Asian. And yet, Peruvian restaurants were still not the place-to-be. Why?
"We saw that the proposals that arrived here were very traditional, that they worked well during the day, the first dinner shift, perhaps, but nobody stayed for a drink and in part it is because Peruvian cuisine can be heavy," he explains. Figari. And so they came up with a letter to accompany the place they wanted to create, “a friendlier concept for an international public”: Peruvian tapas and pisco bar.
"It is a twist to peruvian cuisine and the objective is that each one of the dishes makes you freak out”, he assures. They want to be a “gastronomic destination”, but where you can also go to spend the afternoon or evening trying some of the piscos that your barman and head of the room has created Izael Ramos.
Quinotto with octopus.
They have divided their food menu, created by their chef Alex Vargas, in three parts: signature tapas, cold cuisine and hot cuisine. The first part are really “author”. Figari asked seven of his friends, seven renowned chefs from Peru, first to welcome his kitchen team and train him, and then each one to create a tapa that his team would bring and now serve at Quispe. What Moma Adrianzen's chilli water; Rafael Piqueras' suckling pig with a clean face or James Berckemeyer's wild salmon.
The cold kitchen and visible from the bar or the Cuzco room, where the high tables are, "more designed for quick snacks", is the sushiman. This is where Peruvian cuisine mixes with Japanese: there are cebiches (classic and new ones like the mixed one, the one with wasabi), makis, niguiris and tiraditos.
The Lima room for relaxed dinners.
In the letter of hot kitchen there are the most forceful dishes, those that you probably want to have in the Lima room, the largest with low tables illuminated by natural light during the day. There are tequeños, salted corn, sea bass with coconut bechamel and smoked yellow pepper, quinoto with squid ink and grilled octopus and lomo saltado (“The best seller”, he says).
“It is a clear and direct letter”, says César Figari, who will be changing and adjusting, and closes with three sweets they are very proud of: the chocolate and chocolate criolla, the tres leches and the lucuma coulant, a fruit that only grows in Peru.
Loin nigiri.
“But we are also a bar”, he tells him as soon as he finishes reviewing the letter. The bar stools prove it and so does the lounge area that they have created at the back of the premises, with sofas, in which the afternoons can become early mornings.
The idea of its designer, the architect Constanza Rey, Cony, was precisely that, to create a “Cozy space, a place you don't want to leave”. And playing with textures, with the darkness of the wall, the powerful black and white photos of Camila Vidal and the bright colors of the fabrics, they have achieved it. Quispe is a place where you can spend hours without having to repeat the same drink, Izael Ramos takes care of that.
Sea bass, Peruvian cuisine that you did not know.
There are 10 different piscos right now on his menu (more classic cocktails for the less adventurous), but it is "only 20 or 30% of what there will be". “We want to have about 25 different ones and for them to change”, says Ramos, who comes from the famous Slow Factory in Barcelona. "The vedette is the Pisco Sour, of course," says Figari, but he recommends trying another classic in Peru, the Chilcano. They also have replicas of classics with pisco: like the Bloody Mautas, his version of the bloody mary; wave Purple Chicha, the bleeding from him.
For the toughest, the Negroni with green must pisco that have aged for two months in barrels. And they are ambitious in Quispe, they want you to abandon the gin and tonic and turn the Pisco Tonic in a new trend.
The Pisco Sour is the star of this Pisco Bar.
WHY GO
Why can't you get out of there? That is actually the question. You will start eating well sitting down, you will get up at the bar and you will end up on the sofas. He is the Peruvian that Madrid needed.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
"Quispe is a gastronomic and cultural space in Peru," says Figari before saying goodbye. His bet is that this restaurant will be a small corner of your country. Hence the photographs, the crafts on the walls and even the music, selected and created by the group Novalima. “This is a gastronomic space where Peruvian culture and cuisine are presented and where many things are going to happen”, he promises. He has many ideas that go through exhibitions, concerts and even film series, why not.
Address: Calle Orellana, 1 See map
Telephone: 91 137 57 85
Schedule: Tuesday from 20:00 to 00:00. Wednesday and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Additional schedule information: Friday and Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Sundays from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Monday.
Half price: €40