"The Neapolitan pizza is a soft dough pizza with a Mediterranean perfume that is eaten with the eyes. It reflects the flag of Italy with its red from the Pomodoro San Marzano , the white of the fresh fior di latte and the green of the basil", comments Dario Tramontana, pizza master which currently carries out his work at La Pizzeria, the new Italian cuisine restaurant that has just opened its doors in the mythical Barquillo street in Madrid.
The Neapolitan and gourmet pizzas They are the bet of the place, dressing them in a casual and chic environment that gets rid of stereotypes with an aesthetic intervention by the Onlyou studio. Pure and genuine. Your managers? The Mirusata Group -with Diego Meggiolaro as CEO–, which has just burst onto the Madrid gastronomic scene with an action plan that includes the launch of seven differential concepts and brands.
Italian flour and a tomato sauce from the Campania region = magic
Naples and Madrid they blend into an informally elegant space, where a stone oven surprises customers upon arrival and a long bar with high tables welcomes you. Downstairs, the restaurant is expanded with a cozy dining room. "The project arises from a free inspiration where all the elements have been personalized, customized and made to measure", he tells of a project that encompasses a nostalgic trip full of memories and connotations of Italy.
The artistic work that accompanies his vision of the restaurant is provided by the hand-painted oil paintings by Eva Sarmiento and framed in the Rastro de Madrid; as well as the illustrations and sculptures of Curro Leyton . "The upholstery, the stools, benches... are all pieces that arise from my own sketches and Italian references," Álvarez continues. "Away from ostentation but with a large dose of style, combined with noble materials and textures, oak woods, aged mosaics and worn brass".
The letter of La Pizzeria is brief and direct, with a section of starters that, between smoked sardine bruschetta and a Parma coppa with Designation of Origin, whet the appetite to make way for the pizza , the protagonists of the house.
A casual and chic environment that gets rid of stereotypes with an aesthetic intervention by the Onlyou studio
Here they make them (both to eat in the restaurant and to send home) with italian flour and one tomato sauce from the Campania region . "An area that, due to the Mediterranean climate, provides the best pomodoro in the world, with an exquisite flavor that gives my pizza a unique profile," confesses Dario Tramontana, who makes them with ingredients such as garlic and oregano; sweet ham and mushrooms; spicy salami or buffalo mozzarella.
Although pizzas are not the only thing on offer, also highlighting a selection of home-made pastas elaborated daily by Inés Matera and her team, such as the tagliatelle –some thin ribbons of wheat flour and pesto egg–, gnocchi –potato paste– with salted anchovies and cream; malfati , a kind of spinach and ricotta dumplings or some ravioli with Pedro Ximénez cream and stuffed with mushrooms.
How could it be otherwise, the producers are a fundamental part of the menu. "Like a burrata di bufala –which they serve with tomato, basil and truffle oil– that comes directly from a little town called Piedimonte Matese, in the province of Caserta; or Blue 61, a blue cheese that began to be made a few years ago –in clay wine barrels– and is from Camalo in Treviso ", explains chef Mauricio Giovanini.
Spinach and ricotta malfatti with tomato sauce
And when Italy does not take the lead, it is Madrid that interferes with the snack time with a letter from vermouths which includes references that work wonderfully gastronomically, such as the Galician St. Petroni, the Barcelonan Perucchi and the Andalusian Lustau.
"We also have a good variety of cocktails . Here you can not only come for lunch or dinner, but our customers can also find a place at the height of any bar to meet friends for a drink", explains Gaston Verdi, director of operations of the restaurant.
A Dry Martini, an Aperol Spritz or an Old Fashioned , they all work when it comes to finding pairings that play, enjoy and stand out at the table with the flavors of Italy... and La Pizzeria.
A Dry Martini, an Aperol Spritz or an Old Fashioned, they all work when it comes to finding pairings