The Tacky himself.
There is not a word more from Madrid and traditional than "tacky". People who considered themselves good in the 19th century began to contemptuously call young men or clerks who worked in shops in Madrid tacky. men who they dressed and groomed themselves more freely, whom they saw as strange beings, without any taste.
Today, in Madrid and beyond, a tacky person is still someone who, in the eyes of the majority, has an alternative taste. So, in such a globalized world, being tacky is almost a virtue. “ Being tacky is feeling happy regardless of the other's gaze, it's being free to dress as you want and say what you want, he's someone who enlightens us”, he himself explains. Mr. Tacky in person, master of ceremonies of the new concept restaurant in Madrid named after him, El Hortera.
In the picnic room there are bambis and unicorns.
“And the Count of Coton”, he says very seriously in his phosphorescent flowered suit, his shirt with frills, an animal print tie and brilli brilli shoes. “El Hortera is the host, he is the master of ceremonies, if Lucio has Lucio, we have El Hortera, who attends you, you can take a picture with him and you have a laugh. He is a character who gives soul to the place, ”he explains. Inaki Fernandez, director of LetsGo Company, the company behind The Hole, Medias Puri and now embarking in a big way in the world of gastronomy.
Javier Aranda, El Hortera and Iñaki Fernández.
“Like when we did Medias Puri, or we brought musicals (Dirty Dancing, The Addams Family), seeing the trend of shows and leisure in cities like Paris, London, New York, we wanted a place in Madrid that was a little different and that was related to our character and our way of functioning. We wanted to unite a concept of good gastronomy, with a chef with a Michelin star, with drinks, some fun waiters and a host that generates atmosphere and makes people have a good time”, continues Fernández.
The starred chef is Xavier Aranda, endorsed by his two restaurants ** La Cabra ** and Gaytan (one Star in each one), was "the young guy with a brutal kitchen" that they needed and Iñaki and his brother Gorka went to look for him at his house, literally. "We told him about the proposal and Javier decided to jump into the pool with us and put on the El Hortera shirt."
Plastic is Fantastic.
The place was clear to them and soon when one of his partners told them that whoever was first headquarters of the Madrid Stock Exchange was available. An emblematic space that was a chapel, a bag, and then several restaurants (the last one was La Capilla de la Bolsa), three storey and with the possibility for several spaces that gave them all the possibilities to play that they were looking for. “There are three floors and five spaces”, explains Javier Aranda a week before the opening. "Downstairs is The Tacky Banquet, a large table where they will be offered only at night two tasting menus, a long one (10 passes for €45) and a short one (14 passes for €65); on the ground floor, what was the old chapel, is the Pink Room or Main Room and it is a space that changes, where we offer gastronomy but later it becomes the area for drinks, with contrasting lights and a live DJ every night”.
Bowie, Bowie, Bowie.
In this room, a large middle finger presides over and turns smugly like a disco ball behind the bar from which they come out. specialty cocktails for the central high table or the tables with surrounding sofas, where you can be alone for drinks or ask for one of the 69 dishes included in the menu.
And we keep going up. “Upstairs there are four rooms and three environments. First is the Confusion Hall” Aranda says. The largest to eat, dominated by a neon that prays “Plastic is fantastic” and by a lucky cat making you the comb (or the faun for the chanantes), with a decoration as tacky and stylish as you could expect, signed by Parodio. “And then two private ones: Picnic and Korean Karaoke. Both for a maximum of 10 people and where you can order a la carte or close a menu before”.
Welcome to the house of horterism.
For Aranda it is a great leap, a "diversification and new business path" that they were looking for just when LetsGo knocked on the door of his kitchen. But it has nothing to do with those who know La Cabra or Gaytán. “We use our potential at a technical level, at a knowledge and experiential level obtained from the trips we have made,” he says, but then they adapt it to the tacky spirit.
“In El Hortera we have brought the best of each culture and we have reconverted them with our know-how and the Spanish raw material as an ambassador. In other words, they are very identifiable stews but in a different delivery format: as a Dim sum of Madrid-style tripe or garlic prawns or a salad gunkan. Instead of a lacquered duck, we have a lacquered Landes chicken”, says Aranda. "The goal is to reach all diners and all pockets, which gastronomy is not secondary, and to be able to share and enjoy”.
WHY GO
because if you liked it puri stockings Y Puri you have to meet El Hortera in his natural habitat.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
They say out there that Puri and El Hortera had an affair. "There may even be a wedding one day," says Iñaki Fernández. The only sure thing is that if you stay until the closing of El Hortera, its master of ceremonies will give you direct entry into Puri's house.
Address: Stock Market Street, 12 See map
Telephone: 91 005 97 27
Schedule: Every day from 13:00 to 2:00
Half price: In menu from €30. Tasting menu: €45 and €65