Tres leches: the most Venezuelan dessert on the menu.
Tequeños, arepas, chalupas, cachapas, hallacas... For the uninitiated in Venezuelan cuisine they will be strange words, for the initiated, delicious dishes; for chef Leo Araujo, in addition, are memories of his childhood in Venezuela. And they all serve them on apartment, his second restaurant in Madrid, in which he puts his memory, his sixth sense and his training as a chef at the service of a menu “100% traditional Venezuelan”.
“We have opted for it because we consider ourselves a bit ambassadors of the gastronomic culture of our country”, he says and speaks in the plural including his wife, Ivanhova Hunpierre, and the rest of the Apartaco team, "all Venezuelans."
Arepas and more arepas.
“We feel the responsibility to get customers here to try our culinary traditions and be like a piece of Venezuela in Madrid” he explains.
Being very strict, two bits of Venezuela, because before Apartaco, Araujo and Hunpierres opened The spoon in the Salamanca district.
Tequeños with different sauces.
The success of that one, which has been eight years already open (and it has just inaugurated a renovation of its space), led them to think about expanding and finding another place with a "bigger, more comfortable" kitchen in which to increase the offer of dishes.
"The concept is the same: 100% Venezuelan traditional food, but the Apartaco kitchen allows us to prepare other dishes that we cannot at La Cuchara due to lack of space”, explains Leo Araujo.
What the cachapas or cakes that instead of wheat flour are made with corn, are prepared on plates and are the base, for example, of one of the star dishes: the boat, a kind of lasagna with well melted cheese. Of those dishes not to forget and that takes Araujo straight to his childhood, he says.
They have also included in Apartaco the grill boards “with grilled chicken and different meats”.
Hallacas, the typical Venezuelan Christmas dish.
And as a novelty, in both places they now have by order and on weekends Venezuelan typical soups. What beef boil, "based on vegetables such as cassava, sweet potato, celery and beef." EITHER chicken chupe, “vegetables, avocado, corn, cream, llanero cheese and chicken”. EITHER the tripe, “similar to tripe from Madrid, but with more vegetables”. EITHER the matchbox, "It is called that because of the amount of phosphorus it has because it contains fish and shellfish."
Araujo was a student and professor at the Venezuelan Center for Gastronomic Training. There and in the heat of the stoves of his grandmothers and his mother, he learned everything that he now serves in Madrid, where despite the recent Venezuelan boom it is the only one that remains 100% Venezuelan.
“We greatly respect the tradition of our country, although in some dish we do introduce something of modernity or creativity”, he recognizes and speaks of roasted Black, “normally made with beef round” and whose black sauce, “like a sweeter barbecue”, has been adapted at La Cuchara for pork ribs.
Chalupa, you will dream of her.
WHY GO
To die of pleasure with the boat and discover the true Venezuelan cuisine. From the best-known starters, such as tequeños and arepitas, to the most classic desserts such as quesillo or tres leches.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Apartaco is a colloquial way of saying apartment in Venezuela. And from that idea they commissioned the Venezuelan architect Joseph Betancourt to design a warm and welcoming place.
Divided into two floors, both have plenty of natural light. down, has a reserved. And upstairs, on the corner, a sofa area that invites you to spend the afternoon with a piece of paper with lemon in hand. In addition, the renovation of the decoration of La Cuchara has brought the two premises even closer together.
Traditional Venezuelan food in Chamberí.
Address: C/ Luchana, 7 See map
Telephone: 686 974 916
Schedule: Monday to Saturday from 12 to 2H. Sundays from 13 to 17H.
Half price: €20