The arrival of the colombo brothers Madrid has been made to wait. Much? Yes. Too much we would dare to say. We needed his presence in the capital and they have decided to remedy it with The Colombo , an osteria dedicated to the venetian cuisine . The same one they have been doing since they decided to leave everything behind to set up their first restaurant in Barcelona, Xemei. The reason why they had not been seen in these directions is simple and logical: they needed to get tougher, gain experience and build the security that comes with age to give importance to a project like the one they are now launching.
The names of Max and Stefan Colombo have been making noise for 15 years, when they opened their debut feature in the neighborhood of Sec Town . Then came the brutal bar , besieged (and almost antrazo) adored by the natural wine drinkers , a kind of cult group that little by little is coming out of the darkness and the bohemian to become mainstream. Time to time.
Be alternative it is his thing and Venetian cuisine, pure and simple, is his reason for being. And without following trends, what if they are the ones who always start them?
“We have opened three or four things in Barcelona – he refers to projects like King Kong Lady , the Casa Bonay hotel restaurant, opened in 2018 o Frankie Gallo Cha Cha Cha , in the Raval neighborhood– and the coincidences of life had not yet made us arrive in Madrid. We came here a few years ago, we fell in love with the city but it just wasn't the time. Now, with 40 years on top, we are more settled ...we go out less. Madrid would have been a danger for us!” jokes Max Colombo. “Before we were more forward thinking but now we take longer to think about each project; now we do have enough experience to give good food and the treatment that all this deserves”.
Osteria Il Colombo comes to replicate Xemei's original idea in which, first, it was decided run away from the center of the city –on both occasions it has been the local that gave the order to choose where they were going to settle–. "We found a very cool and tiny place next to the United States Embassy that looks a lot like Xemei and it had to be ours." That's how this was born trattoria in which the primacy good product and natural wines and whose interior design has been done in an artisanal way with the help of Ramón de los Heros, with Venetian stucco walls and chairs from the 60s found in a flea market.
With regard to cuisine, its particularity and what always differentiates them from other Italian restaurants is that they remain attentive to tradition but with techniques and products that are not the norm. "Venice has a very peculiar microclimate and atmosphere because it is between fresh water and the mouth of the sea. That is why its characteristic is the fish and meat ; We first and foremost focus on livers, gizzards, small birds ... the fifth fourth . With regard to fish, we take advantage of everything: from the anchovy with octopus, cuttlefish, bottarga (dried and seasoned roe)...”, explains Colombo. Of course, they have joined Madrid's palates, always on the prowl for meat. “In Madrid we have realized that people are more carnivorous than in Barcelona, so we have taken the opportunity to prepare our recipe for ragout with peculiar meats like duck, hare and ossobuco”.
The pasta , queen of the house, is made daily and is always changing, which allows them to have one or two different dishes every day. There is no shortage of classics like the sepia black spaghetti ; pappardelle with hare ragù or the spaghetti chitarra al saor (sweet and sour pickle) with anchovies in salt and butter. All preceded by starters such as cuttlefish with polenta; saffron rice or tongue in green sauce . And second, Veal liver Venetian style and fish supreme.
"In the kitchen I am lucky to have very young guys who have already put up with me as boss in the past. Over the years they have gone all over the world to work and then they have come back", confesses Max. That is how Luca Mazzini commands as head chef, while Francesco Cavalieri It is in the room. " He is one of the best natural wine sommeliers , with experience in Noma, in Copenhagen, and who has also passed through the Brutal Bar... All those who are in the kitchen, too Matthew and Frank They are people I trust a lot. We have grown together and honestly I only have good words of thanks for them."
Regarding the wines, the natural ones are the rule by which the Colombo brothers are governed. "We are not a natural wine restaurant, we just serve it" he says. They have been working with them for twenty years, so the novelty is not part of their impetus for always having them on the menu. "If we serve a cuisine that is based on the product, that is, fish that is brought in fresh every day, organic meat, tomatoes brought from Baix Llobregat, artichokes from our long-time trusted producers... it is logical that our wine follows that same natural line and that it be of aerodynamic agriculture".
This does not mean that their naturals are all a bombshell of experimentation in which each bottle is a surprise. "There are natural wines very classic and many more extreme ones. Before we were more punk and that was what we were looking for; Now that we are old enough, what we want is wines with balance, correct and elegant . It just so happens that today's younger wave of drinkers were just like us before, looking for more fun and more powerful things to be rebellious and different," he jokes. " We are no longer as radical with natural wine as we were before , now we allow ourselves more things and we agree with a larger public", he confesses.
Located in an area where many ties and suits during the day, nighttime activity is a bit sparse. "This type of environment is not our real DNA, but as the days have gone by, a more alternative public you've heard about us – although they have a generic Instagram, the Colombos refuse to be part of the social media ruckus and wait for people to find out about them by word of mouth– and makes the journey here , so the atmosphere is increasingly filled with younger people, more fun is breathed", adds Colombo.
It is for this type of public that they have planned open a terrace in the coming months inside the restaurant. "So they can have a beer with a view of the urban garden what are we going to ride There, the cooks will go out to collect and cut what they need: parsley, basil, oregano... what we want is for people to have a good time and be comfortable."