An attractive new neighbor in Ponzano.
The hinge is the joint that joins the two valves or shells of the mussel (and other molluscs). Y Charnela is the name of the new premises on Calle Ponzano in Madrid, gastronomic hub and bars. For two reasons: because in your letter, the mussel is king and because his particular hinge is the kitchen, that articulated muscle that joins the bar and the table with differentiated cards but that can be tasted in both spaces.
Charnela is the passionate project of a couple, Alejandro Yravedra and Victoria Mantaras. A family project, because they have had the support of their families (“My sister has been in charge of the decoration”, says Alejandro) and because some of the recipes come out of the kitchens and family tables that now in just a few months open they are already triumphing.
Moules Frites 2.0: that's what they call them here.
“The idea was to differentiate ourselves with a product, and we loved mussels, which are perhaps the least known, the ones that are least often placed in the top 5 of molluscs when It is a super Spanish product, we are the first producer in the world”, Yravedra explains on the phone one Monday, on the restaurant's rest day, which he still combines with his previous job.
For Yravedra, cooking has always been his passion, vocation and hobby, since he was a child. "My mother is Basque, from Bilbao, at home we have always eaten very well and traveled a lot to the north to eat," he says. He was about to start studying Hospitality, but "since there was no boom at that time," he decided on Business and in his spare time he signed up for cooking classes and, above all, he cooked a lot at home. Now his years of study and work in business management have come in handy for him to manage his own first place where, in addition, he also cooks, serves in the dining room and at the bar. His wife followed more or less the same path.
El Charnelito, tribute to ceviche.
In one of those courses, a master's degree in restaurant management, Alejandro presented Charnela as his final project. As a class project, it was such a success that they thought it could also be successful in reality, on the street. They found the place, the one that was the old Lambuzo, they transformed it from the inside, in blue and white colors, sailor and cozy, full of art in the room (pictures, ceramic molluscs that cling to the walls) . And they made a letter in which they put the star recipes of the house: the Charnela mussels, for example, with onion, cream, curry. The ones they always did at their family dinners.
The very seafaring room and also an artistic space.
“Another dish that is coming out a lot is the crab salad, we have called it Aunt Carmen's Salad, because it is a recipe from my wife's aunt”, he confesses. What the Omelette for Vic, made at the moment with 12 ingredients, one being mussels, of course, but without potatoes. "It's the tortilla I make for my wife," continues Yravedra.
Another hit are the gildas of him, that have cost them "800 tastings" of olives, anchovies and piparra until they find the perfect combination that they prepare every morning.
Tiger mussels: to devour.
MOULES FRITES 2.0
That's what they call their Mussel casseroles that come, as in the Belgian tradition, accompanied by French fries. Of course, they are "the protagonists" of the letter. They always have half a dozen types of casserole on the menu and a special that changes monthly. Also, other ways to eat mussel: tiger, pickled or white pickled, as in ceviche (el charnelito) .
Being the flagship product, they needed to find one of the perfect size, flavor and meat. They found one in the open sea (Zone A) raised in ecological rafts in the Ría de Arousa.
But in the Charnela menu there is much more to order both at the bar and in the dining room. Until that table Galician chop or matured loin, oxtail or pink tomato in flower arrive at the bar. A very important area, because Ponzano is from bars. We are very bar. And some, very mussels.
El Charnelo, a bar sandwich.
WHY GO
Because you are crazy about mussels and not only. The tigers, their ceviche version, the tortilla, any of the casseroles will make you come back. But also the rest of the dishes on the menu. And the desserts: key lime, Belgian waffle...
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
To prove their vocation as a bar, they have many open wines to order by the glass and go pairing with any of the dishes on the menu.
And there are also land delicacies.
Address: Calle Ponzano, 8 See map
Telephone: 91 024 81 42
Schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday from 12:45 to 17:15 and from 19:45 to 00:30. Thursday until 2. Friday and Saturday from 12:45 to 2:30.
Additional schedule information: Closed Monday
Half price: €25